India Heritage Museum presents $5K gift in support of RPL’s Lincoln Branch Reconfiguration Project

In April 2022, the India Heritage Museum presented the Rochester Public Library with a $5,000 donation, in support of the Rochester Public Library’s Lincoln Branch reconfiguration project. The gift was made in appreciation for the critical role the Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County played in mounting and promoting the exhibit, Punjab: Land of Five Rivers.

note: the Lincoln Branch Grand Re-opening was held September 2023. Learn more about the Lincoln Branch and Toy Library.

Photos, above:

(left) Dr. Natasha Sodhi, Lead Organizer, Punjab: Land of Five Rivers exhibit

(center) Donna Borgus, Executive Director, Friends & Foundation of the Rochester Public Library

(right) Patricia Uttaro, Director of the Rochester Public Library & Monroe County Library System

Exhibit poster

Exhibit photos   

Entrance to exhibit with mannequins; Holi-Festival of Color; Jewelry and accessories; Musical Instruments; Punjab map; Sikh Turbans

Folk Dancers of Punjab; Food/Spices; Sikh Turban Tying Event with Senator Jeremy Cooney; Punjabi Traditional Clothing; Handicrafts of Punjab

Photos from IHM presentation of donation to Library’s Lincoln Branch Reconfiguration Project April 6, 2022

Exhibit Lead Organizer Dr. Natasha Sodhi remarks; FFRPL Executive Director Donna Borgus remarks;

Lincoln Branch Supervisor Sarah Lehman relays PU remarks;

Presentation of $5K check; Turban Tying Demo; Youth Dancers

Exhibit Lead Organizer Dr. Natasha Sodhi and youth dancers; IHM exhibit committee and youth dancers; IHM exhibit committee and youth dancers joined by Library staff

The $5,000 donation was presented by Dr. Natasha Sodhi, Lead Organizer of the Punjab exhibit, which was on view at Central Library’s Rundel Memorial Library Building, from December 1, 2021 through March 5, 2022. The gift was made which supported the Library’s core values of community, learning, imagination, innovation, diversity, inclusiveness, engagement, and collaboration.

“The India Heritage Museum of the Luthra India Heritage Center is grateful to the Rochester Public Library for giving us the opportunity to share all that is beautiful about Punjab and India. This donation to the Lincoln Branch is an expression of our deep appreciation for the RPL’s commitment to educate and enrich the Rochester community,” says Dr. Natasha Sodhi, Lead Organizer, Punjab: Land of Five Rivers exhibit.

“It is my privilege to accept this donation from the India Heritage Museum, to be used towards the Rochester Public Library’s Lincoln Branch reconfiguration project. FFRPL was proud to play a supporting role planning, presenting, and promoting the exhibit Punjab: Land of Five Rivers, for which Central Library, the India Heritage Museum, and FFRPL united around our shared objectives of collaboration, innovation, knowledge, diversity, community engagement, and public service. And for FFRPL, this represents the connection between programming and fundraising that is at the core of our mission,” says Donna Borgus, Executive Director of the Friends & Foundation of the Rochester Public Library (FFRPL).

Lincoln is one of 10 urban neighborhood branches that – along with Central Library  –  comprise the Rochester Public Library (RPL) system. The Lincoln Branch Library is a unique anchor institution in northeast Rochester. Lincoln has the largest collection of books and films in Spanish in the Rochester Public Library system and many of its staff members are bilingual. Patrons from throughout the region borrow fun and educational toys from its innovative Toy Library. And Lincoln is one of six sites for Safe to be Smart, the Library’s flagship afterschool program (FFRPL is a Founding Sponsor of StBS).

“Central Library was proud to partner with the India Heritage Museum (IHM) to present Punjab: Land of Five Rivers. The exhibit epitomized the kind of diverse, educational resources the Library always strives to provide. This generous gift from the IHM will, in turn, help provide RPL’s Lincoln Branch with new supplemental furniture, fixtures, and equipment, in a completely redesigned and renovated space, that will improve the quality of life for some of our community’s most vulnerable residents,” says Patricia Uttaro, Director of the Rochester Public Library & Monroe County Library System.