TelEm Group recently made good on a promise to assist the Philipsburg Jubilee Library with its recovery plans, following a burglary in August, during which equipment was damaged and several items, including computer hard drives were stolen.
The company made a cash donation to pay for repairs of windows and doors, reinforce security and also replace some of the damaged equipment. On Tuesday, Director of the Philipsburg Jubilee Library, Monique Alberts, gratefully accepted the donation from TelEm Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mrs. Helma Etnel, after Mrs. Etnel was given a brief tour of the facility to show how the funds were being put to good use. “A lot of the expense has gone towards securing our administrative offices, especially to make them less vulnerable, and also to pay for the clean-up that was required at the time,” said Ms. Alberts. She said the burglary in August was only a first blow to the facility because some weeks later, hurricane Gonzalo also came calling, causing other damage which also had to be repaired and paid for. “We are most grateful to TelEm for being a good corporate citizen and for once again assisting us in our time of need,” said the Library Director. She said as a non-profit organization, the Library continues to depend on donations from companies and organizations in the community, subsidies, membership fees and corporate sponsorship to stay afloat, therefore the assistance from TelEm Group was especially welcomed.“The library is an important institution in our community which is used daily by hundreds of children and adults on a daily basis and as such needs to be updated, made safe and put up to standard under a general funding arrangement with government to secure this learning environment for the entire community,” said the Library director. Mrs. Etnel said she was indeed impressed with how the Library director and her team are utilizing the funds donated, and suggested additional monitoring by a security firm, as an extra measure should funds become available. “Over the years we have had a close working relationship with the Library because it serves a very important function for our youth especially in the community, not to mention that many of our own personnel have children who make extensive use of the library’s various facilities and services,” said Mrs. Entel. She wished Mrs. Alberts and her staff continued success, especially with the replacement of stolen hard drives, which contained irreplaceable archived and general information and data that would be of no use to anyone other than the Library itself.
