Elizabeth McKinstry – Page 3 – Springfield City Library

Helping Eligible Springfield Residents Who Need Help Scheduling COVID-19 Vaccination Appointments

Springfied Library and Elder Affairs staff will assist eligible Springfield residents who do not have access to technology to book their vaccine appointments.

From the City’s website:

Eligible Springfield Residents can Contact Springfield City Library and Department of Elder Affairs for Help Scheduling COVID-19 Vaccine Appointment

Springfield, MA – Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Health and Human Services (HHS) Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris announce that the Springfield City Library and the Department of Elder Affairs continue to take action to help eligible Springfield residents, especially senior citizens, who need assistance with booking their COVID-19 vaccine appointment at one of the city neighborhood vaccination sites.

Each vaccine site has a specific registration link unique to that neighborhood location. Those interested in getting their vaccine appointment must first register for an appointment by calling our Library and Elder Affairs Departments for further information.

Effective immediately, during open hours, Library and Elder Affairs staff will be available by phone to assist those eligible Springfield residents who do not have access to technology to book their vaccine appointments. In order to have a successful booking, people must have a checklist
of things at the ready:

Name
Birthdate
Address (if experiencing homelessness, a temporary address or street intersection or other general description)
Phone number (preferably mobile)
Email address (if they have one)
Insurance information

The Library and Elder Affairs departments encourage those who need assistance to call their local branch during open hours: (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, at 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, and Wednesday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm). Saturday hours include: Central Library 9:00 am – 5:00 pm; East Forest Park, Forest Park, East Springfield, Indian Orchard, Mason Square and Sixteen Acres 11:00 am – 3:00 pm. Please note that Brightwood and Pine Point will not be open on Saturdays.

All library branches, with the exception of Pine Point, will be taking phone calls during their open hours. The contact information for the library branches are below:

Brightwood Branch: 413-263-6805
Central Library: 413-263-6828 ext. 215
East Forest Park Branch: 413- 263-6836
East Springfield Branch: 413-263-6840
Forest Park Branch: 413-263-6843
Indian Orchard Branch: 413-263-6846
Mason Square Branch: 413-263-6853
Sixteen Acres Branch: 413-263-6858

Residents can also contact the Raymond A. Jordan Senior Center Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm with the necessary information ready. The City respectfully ask callers to be prepared to leave a message with their name and phone number so that a staff member can call the resident back in case there is no one immediate available. The contact information for the Raymond A. Jordan Senior Center is below:

Raymond A. Jordan Senior Center: 413-787-6785

In addition, the Springfield Department of Health and Human Services and Behavioral Health Network (BHN) have partnered to provide vaccination appointments for Springfield residents. Those eligible Springfield residents can register for an appointment with BHN at the dates and times available by visiting the City of Springfield’s website at www.springfield-ma.gov and navigating to the city’s COVID-19 Vaccine Appointment Information page.

Mayor Sarno states, “In order to help our residents who may not have access to technology, such as a computer or smart phone, our Springfield Public Library and Department of Elder Affairs will have staff on hand to assist those eligible residents with scheduling their vaccine appointment at one of our city vaccination sites. I want to thank Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris, Springfield Library Director Molly Fogarty, and Elder Affairs Director Sandy Federico and their respective teams for their continued leadership helping our residents, especially our senior citizens, signup and troubleshoot any issues they may have in registering for a vaccine appointment. My administration will continue to move aggressively to provide assistance for all of our residents as we continue to work together with all of our partners and stakeholders in defeating this COVID19 Coronavirus pandemic.”

HHS Commissioner Caulton-Harris stated, “It is critical that we work collaboratively to meet the public health needs of our residents, especially our seniors. I am grateful to the Departments of Elder Affairs and the Library system for their critical role in helping to make vaccine help available, particularly to our most underserved populations. I am also thankful to all of our local partners for helping to stand up our local neighborhood vaccination sites.”

It is important to note and understand that librarians and Elder Affairs staff are not able to give medical advice and are only capable of helping everyone understand the online forms and book the appointments. Please call your medical provider if you have any specific questions about vaccines before calling the libraries or elder affair.

Residents can visit the City of Springfield’s website and navigate to the City of Springfield’s COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Situational Update page for more information on registering for a vaccine appointments, the city’s vaccination sites, the Commonwealth’s vaccination timeline, and COVID-19 statistical information.

My Beloved Springfield – 2021

Join us for the 7th annual My Beloved Springfield women’s leadership event. | Adults and Teens

ONLINE via Zoom
Wednesday, March 31, 2021 | 5:30 – 7:30 PM | Teens and Adults

Here’s the video in case you missed it!

What a fantastic event! Here’s a screen shot of our amazing presenters:

The FREE seventh annual My Beloved Springfield Women’s Leadership event will focus on Resilience: How We Recover and Transform.

Explore local leadership development opportunities aimed at women and girls, then join us to be inspired by a panel of prominent local women as they tell us about their different paths to leadership. Time for questions and answers will be included.

Registration is now over.

NEW – Download a My Beloved Springfield background for your Zoom account! (Here are instructions.)

my beloved spfld backgrounds (6)

my beloved spfld backgrounds (5)

my beloved spfld backgrounds (4)

my beloved spfld backgrounds (3)

my beloved spfld backgrounds (2)

my beloved spfld backgrounds (1)

Moderator:

The leadership panel will be moderated by Vanessa Pabón Hernandez, Senior Director for Educational Engagement and Executive Producer of Presencia at New England Public Media.

Panelists include:

Halley Kelly, Chair, Ward 5 Democratic Council and current Springfield Technical Community College student;

Tanisha Arena, Executive Director, Arise for Social Justice;

Camryn Kynard, first African American female appointed commander of the Junior Air Force ROTC at Springfield Central High School and current Springfield College student;

Waleska Lugo-DeJesús, CEO of Inclusive Strategies and entrepreneur.

Additional Performances:

Poet Amina Jordan-Mendez will inspire us with a reading.

A BRAND NEW poem by Springfield’s Poet Laureate and host and creator of the Jazz Ready podcast, Magdalena Gomez. Magdalena’s new poem is named The Holiness of NO!

Springfield librarians, elder affairs workers will help residents register online for COVID vaccines (MassLive)

The Springfield City Library is helping Springfield seniors make vaccine appointments.

SPRINGFIELD – After hearing constant complaints from older people who are eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine but cannot navigate the state’s website to make an appointment, city librarians and the Department of Elder Affairs are coming to the rescue.

This week the state announced the second phase of vaccinations will begin on Feb. 1 for people who are 75 and older but they required eligible residents to make appointments online. Those who do not have computer access or have limited computer skills are frustrated and angered with the process.

The city library and the Department of Elder Affairs will now be available by phone to assist people who are 65 and older to make appointments for vaccinations to prevent COVID-19 that are taking place at the Eastfield Mall, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said.

Seniors: Need help signing up for COVID vaccine in Springfield? (WWLP)

The Springfield City Library is helping Springfield seniors make vaccine appointments.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The Springfield City Library and the Department of Elder Affairs are helping Springfield seniors who need assistance with booking their COVID-19 vaccination appointments at the Eastfield Mall.

According to a news release sent to 22News from the office of Mayor Sarno, Library and Elder Affairs staff will be available by phone to assist those 75 and older to book their appointments.

National Day of Racial Healing 2021

The Springfield City Library joins many organizations across the country in observing the 2021 National Day of Racial Healing on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

SPRINGFIELD, MA — The Springfield City Library joins many organizations across the country, including The American Library Association (ALA) and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, in observing the 2021 National Day of Racial Healing on Tuesday, Jan. 19. On this day, thousands will celebrate our common humanity and take collective action toward a more just and equitable world.

The day was established in 2017 by leaders across the United States who wanted to have a day to take action together. It is a day where people of all ages can come together to (adapted from healourcommunities.org):

Find ways to reinforce and honor our common humanity and create space to celebrate the distinct differences that make our communities vibrant.
Acknowledge that there are still deep racial divisions in America that must be overcome and healed, and
Commit to engaging people from all racial, ethnic, religious and identity groups in genuine efforts to increase understanding, communication, caring and respect for one another.

Visit our Facebook or Instagram on Tuesday, Jan. 19th for a recorded video storytime read by Children’s Services Supervisor, Ellen Sulzycki, that you can share with your family at your convenience. She will be reading Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham, a picture book about racism and racial justice, inviting white children and parents to become curious about racism, accept that it’s real, and cultivate justice.

Resources

We also have additional reading suggestions for all ages:

Books About Anti-Racism and Marginalized Voices (Springfield City Library)
American Library Association’s recommended reading lists on race and equality for all ages and reading levels
Anti-Defamation League’s Children’s Literature List
A Collection of Diverse Book Lists from WeNeedDiverseBooks.org
Unity, Kindness and Peace Booklist by the American Library Association
Saint Paul Public Library’s Resources on Race

And here is a guide to help get these very important conversations started:

CONVERSATION GUIDE – Talking about Racism, Racial Equity and Racial Healing with Friends, Family, Colleagues and Neighbors

The American Library Association also has issued a proclamation about the National Day of Racial Healing, which you can read here.

Virtual Events

You can see virtual events happening all around the country at this link, including a national livestream event at 3 p.m. ET.

ongoing efforts

The Springfield City Library is dedicated to continuing its work in these efforts and has ongoing community programming to reflect this.

Molly Fogarty, Library Director, notes that, “The National Day of Racial Healing is one important day, but the Springfield City Library is committed through its programming for all ages, including library collections and programs emphasizing economic and civic engagement, to support the critical work needed for racial healing in our community.” The Director and Board of Library Commissioners previously made a statement affirming the importance of Black Lives, which can also be seen on the library’s website.

Interactive literacy program encourages families to explore Springfield (MassLive)

An initiative to get families out into the community reading books

SPRINGFIELD — Lined up along the outer wall of Gardening the Community at 200 Walnut St. is a laminated copy of Somerville author Grace Lin’s “The Ugly Vegetables.” The book has been taken apart so that the pages sit side by side.

“We want families to be able to relate the book to the place they are visiting,” said Chrissy Howard, program manager for Reading Success by 4th Grade. “In this case we are at the beautiful GTC Farm Store, so the book talks about farming and gardening and vegetables.”

Reading Success, Springfield’s community-wide early literacy initiative, has launched an initiative to get families out into the community reading books and enjoying the many family-friendly locations Springfield has to offer.

Mayor Sarno Joined with the Springfield Library’s Reading Success by 4th Grade Program to Kick off the Story Walks Series

Unveiling of the Story Walks series

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno joined with the Springfield Library’s Reading Success by 4th Grade program for the unveiling of their Story Walks series. The first installation is at the Gardening the Community’s Walnut Street Farm Store and Garden at 200 Walnut Street.

The program has partnered with local sites to post laminated pages of children’s books in sequence so families can walk along, see, and read each page of the story together, promoting exercise and early literacy in a socially distanced way. Sites include Gardening the Community, the Springfield Symphony’s office windows, and the East Forest Park Branch Library’s windows.

Mayor Sarno stated, “This is such a great program for our children and families. It is so nice to see that even amid this COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic our dedicated Springfield Library’s and community partners have gotten creative in making this successful reading program available for families through this new Story Walks series which will be opening up throughout our City, starting first here at the Gardening the Community’s Walnut Street Farm Store and Garden.”

Also attending the event were City Councilors Tim Allen and Jesse Lederman, Chrissy Howard, Manager for Reading Success by 4^th Grade, Zee Johnson of Olive Tree Books N Voices, and Tye Weir of Springfield Rise Academy.

See photos at the City website!