Family Reading Partnership moves, opens new family space

Late last month, the Family Reading Partnership (FRP) moved from its previous location in Danby to The Shops at Ithaca Mall in Lansing. Along with the move came the opening of FRP’s new family space, dubbed The Nook at Family Reading Partnership. FRP is commemorating this achievement with a grand opening celebration, scheduled for Oct. 27 from 3 to 6 p.m. Registration is requested at forms.gle/XrZjU4iCaXzFBH5M9.

According to a recent press release, “The Nook is a fun and relaxing space designed with families in mind,” offering things like toys, activities and, of course, plenty of books. The space, primarily geared toward children age 5 and under and their families, is a welcome addition to FRP’s lineup of community offerings, said Executive Director Amber Smith.

“Our mission really is about bringing the joy of books and literacy experiences to families in Tompkins County,” Smith said. “This allows us a place where we can do that.”

As Smith explained, the impetus behind The Nook came during the pandemic, when Smith and FRP’s Board of Directors discussed the nonprofit’s strategic plan.

“During our strategic planning, we spent time looking at very particular bits and pieces of our work — so, our volunteer recruitment, our staffing recruitment, the makeup of our board of directors, our program impact — and at every single level that we talked about pros and cons, and what was working and what was wasn’t working, location came up over and over and over again as something that was standing in our way,” she said.

Smith pointed to Danby as a poignant example of this issue, as FRP’s previous location at 54 Gunderman Rd. was very out of the way for many families, making it difficult to engage with community members and meet their needs.

“While we took a big risk in increasing our budget to come down here, we think it will pay back tenfold in the amount of positive change it will bring to the organization and the things we’re able to do,” she said.

On top of the organization benefits, FRP sees The Nook has having many benefits for families. For one, as Smith put it, “Tompkins County has always had a lack of places and spaces that are really wonderful for very, very young children to play that aren’t fee based.”

“The Sciencenter is a lovely place; the Museum of the Earth is wonderful, but they are places that require a fee,” she said. “And you can get scholarships and reduced fees and things, but the pressure being off of a fee is a really nice thing to have.”

Making the space their own was a long process that still isn’t done, Smith said. FRP’s spot at the mall was a hair salon well before the nonprofit moved in, leaving some leftover layout plans that FRP and its volunteers and staff had to work around to create The Nook.

“There’s a very strange little pony wall that [creates] this little 10-by-12 space, and … we decided to just make it into a soft play area for babies,” she said. “So, now, it’s not fully enclosed, but it just feels like a nice little cozy nest in there for people to play with infants and toddlers.”

While it’s been a long process to get to this point, Smith said the work has been worth it.

“I think we’re all a little tired, but the adrenaline has kept us going — and the excitement of having a new space for families and the support of our community,” Smith said. “We know that all of our community partner organizations are really excited about this space, too. They’ve been behind us. This is something that a lot of the early childhood organizations locally want to have as another kind of gentle space for families to hang out and play. So, that’s been keeping our momentum up.”

Smith was quick to add that The Nook was made possible thanks to a wide variety of financial supporters, including the Community Foundation, Triad Foundation, Park Foundation, United Way and more.

Since The Nook’s soft opening last month, Smith said the reaction from mall-goers has been positive.

“A lot of people are already in the mall and wandering into the space,” she said. “We’ve had great reactions. We have several families that are now coming on a regular basis, already coming every couple of days and hanging out. As it gets colder, people are looking for places to go with little ones, for sure. And the nice thing about the mall is we have our space to play in. But … we don’t have to be our own destination in the mall, which has been really great.”

FRP plans to use The Nook to host future community events, especially events related to reading like story times, Smith said. Beyond that, she said FRP does have hopes for expansion in order to meet the needs and wants that community members will undoubtedly voice as The Nook gets more visitors.

“Right now, we’re only open 10 to 4 on weekdays,” she said. “That’s because we have 2.75 staff, and I just can’t make them work weekends at the drop of a hat. So, we do eventually hope to be able to open on weekends, and we have some creative ideas for how we think we might be able to do that with volunteer support and such.”

For more information about FRP, visit its website at familyreading.org.

Lansing at Large appears every Wednesday in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com.

In brief:

School district holds Capital Plan vote

Lansing Central School District will be holding a vote on the district’s Capital Project on Nov. 1 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the District Office, which is located in the upper parking lot of the elementary school at 284 Ridge Rd.

The Capital Project includes a wide variety of proposed improvements across the district that collectively are expected to cost about $22.8 million. The district held a presentation open to the public Oct. 18 breaking down the plan’s components. To view the recording of the meeting and learn more about the plan, visit lansingschools.org/Page/162.

Input on conservation plan sought

The Town of Lansing, with input from residents, is developing an Open Space Index and Conservation Plan that will identify and rank areas for potential conservation and result in a strategic action plan for future conservation efforts.

The town’s Conservation Advisory Council will be soliciting input from residents about their values and opinions through a 15-minute survey that will help guide the development of the Open Space Index and Conservation Plan. Lansing residents can pick up the survey at the Town Hall, or they can complete it online at arcg.is/1rP80b before Nov. 30. A summary of results will be shared with the Lansing Town Board.

For more information on this project, contact C.J. Randall at (607) 533-7054 or crandall@lansingtown.com.