The Great Give Back 2024 took place on Saturday, October 19th and we wanted to share the amazing work patrons of New York libraries achieved this year! One hundred and fourteen libraries (out of two hundred and seventy five participating libraries) filled out the follow-up survey to share the impact they made in their communities. This year, almost 6000 patrons offered their time and efforts to create positivity at their libraries. Close to 20,000 items were donated throughout the state! The numbers are impressive and we are so grateful to both library staff members and patrons who came together to make The Great Give Back the amazing event it has been over the last eight years. Thank you!

We are excited to announce that The Great Give Back 2023 will take place on Saturday, October 21, 2023! As always, libraries will be able to participate on whatever day works for their community and also can include long term events, but the bulk of events will be taking place on that Saturday.

Looking back at 2022, we’d love to share some of the exciting stats to come out of this year’s events:

We can’t wait to see what libraries can achieve this year! Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks and months.

We asked you to give back, and boy did you deliver! Libraries all around the state hosted (and continue to host!) service events, from donation drives to community cleanups to pet adoption events and more. Thank you to everyone who participated in a GGB event for helping recognize that libraries live at the heart of their communities. Check back later this week as we begin to post event photos from GGB events. And don’t forget to check if there are any upcoming or ongoing events in your community!

The Great Give Back is just around the corner and we couldn’t be more excited! Over 280 libraries have joined for our 2022 GGB season, and more are signing up and sending in events every day. Many libraries have donation drives and other long-term events that have already begun! Don’t know where you should go to join in? Find a local library to team up with by clicking here and selecting the county you’d like to see events in.

Will you be participating in The Great Give Back this year? Show us how you give back by tagging us on Instagram at @greatgiveback and using the hashtag #GreatGiveBack22. Don’t forget to follow us to see exciting events from around the state!

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for giving back to your communities!

In 2021, 263 libraries throughout New York State participated in The Great Give Back – WOW! Click through to read more about how libraries gave back last year!

Let’s make those numbers even higher in 2022! Want to join in the effort? Libraries participating in The Great Give Back 2022 will begin to be posted to this website around July or August, and program details will begin to be posted in September and continue to be added right up until the day itself – Saturday, October 15.

We hope to see you at a Great Give Back 2022 event!

From the bottom of our hearts, the biggest THANK YOU possible to all the libraries who joined TGGB 2021, and all the community members who turned out at events, whether they were in person or virtual, to help each other and make New York State a better place! To celebrate all your beautiful work, we’ll be updating the photos page with pictures from all the events libraries have held this year. Check back often! Also, take a look at some of the wonderful press libraries have been receiving about their events here. If you see any more links or articles we should share, let us know!

It’s finally here! This year for The Great Give Back 2021, we are thrilled to share that over 250 libraries around New York State have committed to giving back with and for their communities. Today and all month long, libraries are hosting donation drives, putting together care kits, cleaning up their communities, and more! We can’t thank everyone enough for helping make this special time of year possible, and look forward to hearing about and sharing all the wonderful events that libraries host. Check back soon on the photos page soon to see for yourself!

September is flying by, and as of today The Great Give Back is just a month away! Over 200 libraries have already signed up to help their communities give back – wow! Find somewhere to join in by going to “Find a Participating Library” in the menu and clicking on your county in list view or check out all the libraries participating around the state in map view. We can’t wait to hear about all the wonderful ways you give back to your communities!