WESS 2025 Library Gala
2025 WESS Art Gala
The Art Gala was a huge success, and we are so grateful for the support we received from WESS families in attendance. We achieved our goal of raising $10,000 towards the school library, and are extremely happy to have been able to feature so many WESS artists.
The Journey
The books that WESS had were in disarray, pilled and stacked in the back of a mostly unused room. As two students that had grown up frequently visiting libraries, this was extremely disappointing to see.
The "library" that was in place could hardly be called one at all. Shelf frames were the only signs of what might have previously been a library. The shelves themselves lay dusty and forgotten about.
January 2025
We started work on this project in January of 2025, recognizing that our school lacked a library and needed more community spaces.
One of our goals when starting this project was to create a community space at WESS where people could gather and collaborate, in a setting with the peace and quiet to cultivate meaningful conversations.
With the money raised from this event, we will be able to create a space that fosters collaboration and allows productive work.
Half of this room will work as a traditional library space, where students can read or complete work. A table and comfortable chairs will be on this side, to promote comfort and productivity.
The other half of this room will serve as a lounge area, where students can talk to each other, play board games such as chess, or decompress during a hard day. This area features lounge chairs, bean bags, a couch, and desktop computers.
The WESS community spoke up - we weren't willing to wait for education. A WESS library didn't exist a year ago, and look at us now. We want to thank you again for your support, as it took the entire WESS community together to build this library.