The Billie Jean King Main Library’s KidSpace was dedicated today to the late John and Helen Apostle, whose namesake foundation donated $1 million to the library to support bilingual children’s programs.
Leaders from the community and the library gathered Friday morning at a ribbon-cutting for the newly dedicated KidSpace, which includes a plaque and new wall art featuring dolphins leaping through waves in the ocean-themed children’s section.
“This reminds me of our ‘Why?’ This is why we do this,” said Library Foundation Board President Ryan Ballard. “Libraries are one of the only public spaces I can enter and you’re not expected to spend any money. This is one of those silent giants, quiet giants in the community that makes such an impact.”
The $1 million gift was the largest pledge made to a 2020 library renovation fundraiser, which raised more than $3.3 million for technology, programs and enhancements to the main library.
The late John and Helen Apostle were the owners of Golden Sails Inn in Long Beach for two decades. After selling the hotel and entering retirement, the childless couple were left with dividends from their “wise” investments, said Jim Sullos, a co-trustee for the foundation.
“They wanted to do something for Long Beach […] They wanted to leave something for Long Beach,” Sullos said, explaining that children were a “big part of their philanthropy.”
The donation will be contributed over ten years, half of which will be used to establish the John and Helen Apostle Endowed Fund for Children.
Councilmember Mary Zendejas expressed her gratitude for the donation, noting that she grew up in a “tough neighborhood” where there were “very few places” for her to go.
Her local library, she said, made her and her siblings “feel so included and so part of something, and that’s the magic that stays with you when you grow up.”
Thanks to the donation, the library has hired three bilingual library staff who design and implement children’s programs in Spanish in English, such as “Dive into Reading/Sumérgete a Leer,” “Circle of Stories/Círculo de Cuentos,” and “Cuentos y Cantos.”
“Frederick Douglass is credited with saying that ‘It’s easier to build strong children than it is to repair broken men.’ So this donation today, what it represents and what it extends to our children’s programming, does just that,” Ballard said. “It allows us to continue to build strong children. The impact of the gift will surely be felt throughout our communities.”
The Billie Jean King Main Library, located at 200 W. Broadway, opened to the public in 2019. The library is open Tuesday from noon to 8 p.m., Wednesday from noon to 6 p.m., Thursday from noon to 7 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Richard H. Grant contributed to this report.
Correction: May 23, 2022, 4 p.m.: A previous version of this story identified Jim Sullos as Jim Solace. The Signal Tribune regrets this error.
