Freedom Library offers opportunities for scholarships, education
The Freedom Library in Yuma is all about “Educating
Minds in Liberty!” and the independent library works to accomplish this in a variety of ways: from teaching classes to providing scholarship opportunities and offering a large selection of books to check out. Although the library has events year-round, the nearest upcoming events will include opportunities to earn scholarships and show support.
Howard Blitz, founder and director of the Freedom Library, said that the library has been providing education about the ideas of liberty and free markets for 25 years.
One of the primary ways this education is provided is through the library’s classes on government and economics. This coming fall, the Freedom Library will offer a 12-week class on the U.S. Constitution starting on Aug. 16 and a 12-week class on economics starting on Aug. 18. Both classes meet once a week for two hours, cost $50 to cover text materials and upon completion, students have the opportunity to write an essay and earn a $1,000 scholarship that can be monetary or be applied toward the attendance of a seminar.
And although these classes are designed for people ages 14 and up, the Freedom Library also has classes for kids ages eight to 13. These five-week classes are $20, meet for one hour and end with a relevant field trip. Blitz shared that on past occasions, kids have been on field trips to First Bank Yuma, City Hall and small businesses.
“We try to give them a field trip that’s correlated to the field of study that they’ve been studying for five weeks,” Blitz said. “They all enjoy it.”
He also noted that the children’s books are adapted from larger adult books and simplify complex topics. For example, “The Tuttle Twins and the Miraculous Pencil” tells the story of how a pencil is made and draws its story from Leonard Read’s “I, Pencil.”
Currently, these classes are offered at Fourth Avenue Junior High and Southwest Christian School.
For those looking to read, the library also meets plenty of interests through its books. Sections include, but are not limited to: biographies, classic literature, war, government, religion, free trade, communism, socialism, capitalism, philosophy, foreign affairs, gun rights and immigration.
Additionally, the Freedom Library puts on events for the community. Some are meant to raise funds as Blitz explained that the library solely raises money through private means. Others fulfill the educational goals of the library. Interested community members looking to show support or get involved can do so at any of their upcoming events:
• Tuesday, April 26: Pizza night takeover from 4 to 8 p.m. at Round Table Pizza (2544 W. 16th St.) Community members looking to support the library must mention the Freedom Library when ordering.
• Thursday, May 5: 26th Annual Awards Forum from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Yuma Sun (2055 S. Arizona Ave.) Scholarships will be awarded at this forum and guest speakers include Kiran Hill, a retired Marine Corps officer, and Joshua Stanwitz, a Marine and Army national guard veteran, who will discuss Realism and Restraint in Foreign Policy.
Proceeds from book purchases and the 50/50 raffle will benefit the Freedom Library Education and Scholarship Program. Admission is free, but the library will also be accepting non-perishable food items for the Crossroads Mission and Yuma Community Food Bank.
•Wednesday, May 11: Civility Session with the Freedom Library (virtual). A partnership with the Civility Project, Freedom Library leaders will host a 90-minute Civility Session with journalists Nolan Finley and Stephen Henderson, who’ll explore how to build civility as the best way to uphold the principles of the U.S. Constitution.
Interested individuals can register at https://bit. ly/AZFreedomLibrary.
To learn more about the Freedom Library and its classes and resources, visit http://www.freedomlibrary.org/. For questions, contact (928) 246-2327 or info@freedomlibrary.org.