Pictured is Stephen Sellstrom, Carnahan-Jackson Foundation board member; Anne Greene, executive director of the James Prendergast Library, and Dan Hickman, library board president, with one of the new hand dryers for the public restrooms.

The Carnahan-Jackson Foundation in Jamestown has awarded the James Prendergast Library with a grant to improve energy efficiency by updating the library’s public bathrooms.

The foundation supports regional nonprofits with grant funding for educational, public safety, religious and literacy projects. Focus areas include human needs, educational initiatives and public libraries. Over the last several years, the foundation has supported the James Prendergast Library with several sustainability projects.

In 2023, the library replaced fluorescent and incandescent lighting with LED lamps and fixtures, improved the hot water heating system, and implemented new technological controls on the HVAC system to adjust the building temperature during unoccupied heating season periods. The most recent grant, in 2024, updated the public restrooms to improve energy efficiency and waste management, emphasizing health and safety and removing the use of more than 48,000 feet of paper towel waste a year.

“The Prendergast Library is grateful for the continuing support of the Carnahan-Jackson Foundation,” library officials said in a news release. “Grant funding, such as the above mentioned projects, is essential to operations, permitting the library to invest in the building, programs, educational materials, and more. Public libraries serve many purposes: safe spaces, warming and cooling centers, access to educational materials, programs, and services, and are places where people can find a friendly and knowledgeable person to help them navigate questions and resources. ”

The Carnahan-Jackson Foundation is accepting applications for grant funding from public libraries in Chautauqua County. To inquire about grant opportunities, libraries can contact the foundation to request a grant guideline letter detailing the application format and required documentation. Contact Stephen Sellstrom, board member of the Carnahan-Jackson Foundation, at 716-484-7191 or email sellstromlaw@prodigy.net.