"Knowlege Is Power" Library Challenge Met and Exceeded!

Limestone College will break ground later this year on a new $6 million state-of-the-art library, thanks in large part to meeting a $2 million challenge before the end of last year.

In April of 2014, Limestone Trustee William Brown issued a challenge to the school to raise $2 million by December 31 in order to receive an additional $1 million contribution for the library from the Betsy M. Campbell Foundation. Limestone officials tabbed the fund-raising effort as the “Knowledge is Power” Challenge. Prior to the challenge, Limestone had raised $3 million toward the library’s construction.

Kelly Curtis, Limestone’s Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Director of the Capital Campaign, announced this week that the College hit the challenge’s $2 million mark before the deadline. The exact amount raised will be announced on Jan. 29 during a celebration event that will recognize the volunteers who helped the College cross the finish line on the library fundraising efforts.

“To say that we are ecstatic about meeting the challenge would be an understatement,” Curtis explained. “We cannot say enough about the volunteers, our staff, and our trustees who helped make this possible. Through their hard work, we are ensuring that our students are getting the facilities they need and deserve.

“At a time when many colleges are facing numerous funding challenges, Limestone has been fortunate enough to see a surge in its philanthropic support,” she continued. “Knowing that 50 percent of every dollar contributed to this campaign was matched by the Betsy M. Campbell Foundation really inspired our donors. They knew that they could make a large impact even with a small gift. We appreciate Mr. Brown for making this foundation gift possible.”

Limestone’s “Today’s Needs…Tomorrow’s Dreams” capital campaign, now underway, seeks to raise a total of $12 million, including $6 million for the new library, $4.8 million for athletics improvements, and $1.2 million for the “Limestone Fund.” To date, over $10 million has been pledged to the capital campaign.

With a groundbreaking ceremony expected later this year, the library will be constructed in a now vacant area between Montgomery Hall and the Carroll Fine Arts Building. The new facility will replace the A.J. Eastwood Library, built in 1966, that currently has no study rooms and is so tightly crammed that thousands of books are stored in a facility in downtown Gaffney.

The new library will allow other campus programs to expand into the A.J. Eastwood building, relieving some space issues on other parts of campus. With a record 1,185 students now on campus, Limestone is experiencing unprecedented growth.

“This was a challenge that will benefit our students, faculty, and the community,” said Dr. Walt Griffin, Limestone College President. “When the challenge was made we were at the halfway point in fundraising for the library. We went out and pushed really hard to get broad support from our alumni and friends, and the end result is that we can now work toward finalizing the construction plans and then moving dirt. We are celebrating the visible beginning of a new milestone in the journey of Limestone College.”

Dr. Griffin also stressed that while the challenge was successful, library fundraising will continue in order to equip the new facility with the proper furnishings and latest technology. Curtis pointed out that several different naming rights opportunities are available for the library. For more information, Curtis can be contacted at (864) 488-4602.

Curtis noted that Limestone’s “Pave the Way” brick initiative, as part of the fund-raising effort to meet the library challenge, will continue for a limited time. Students, parents, faculty and staff, alumni, and friends of Limestone College can purchase personalized bricks that will pave the entranceway into the library. Playing to Limestone’s history and founding year, the individual bricks are $118.45 each, and available for a limited time only. For more information, visit www.limestone.edu/pavetheway.

In 2013, Limestone had a similar challenge for the Athletics portion of the capital campaign. If $1.5 million could be raised by the College, the Robert Campbell Foundation would kick in another $750,000. Limestone exceeded that goal, raising a total of $1,645,905.