WESTFIELD ­– The Friends of the Westfield Athenaeum (FOTWA) partnered with local businesses for a fundraiser in honor of Mother’s Day.

The “Our Hearts Belong to Mom” fundraiser included the purchase of customizable paper hearts for $3 to be put on display in the windows of businesses in downtown Westfield May 3 through May 14. Each heart has a message on it honoring someone for Mother’s Day. All funds raised will go towards Westfield Athenaeum activities and programs.

The Mother’s Day fundraiser is similar to a fundraiser the FOTWA conducted last year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual Lantern Light Parade had to be cancelled. In its place the FOTWA hosted a fundraiser that had people purchasing paper luminaries that were put on display in the windows of local businesses in December.

FOTWA member Tasha Caswell said that the fundraising group wanted to keep local businesses involved as the pandemic continues, so they came up with a similar fundraiser for Mother’s Day.

“When we talked about ‘Our Hearts Belong to Mom,’ we wanted to involve the businesses again because we really feel that Westfield is a community,” said Caswell. “Being able to come together and express our appreciation for each other – for our heroes in December, and for our moms now – and support the Athenaeum in a public way that anyone walking or driving downtown can see is part of what makes this town special.”

Caswell said that she and the rest of the FOTWA are proud of what they have been able to achieve for the library despite a global pandemic. Even though the actual building was closed for much of the past year, the library has been able to offer programs and services.

“We’ve funded online ukulele and American Sign Language classes, purchased supplies for craft projects for kids and teens, and have also supported the purchase of electronic equipment to create Bob Brown’s history talks,” said Caswell, “The Friends’ support has allowed the Athenaeum to provide a sense of community to its patrons safely and remotely.”

She said that more fundraisers are being planned for the rest of 2021. In the summer they hope to have a dining fundraiser at Classic Burgers in West Springfield. Later in the spring the FOTWA will host a paper shredding event. In December, the group is planning to offer a jigsaw puzzle depicting the City of Westfield.