The Friends of Sims Library organized the 10th annual “Wine with Friends” to help the Sims Memorial Library financially.

The event was held at the library on Friday, Nov. 3.

The event included a wine tasting paired with food, a silent auction and door prizes. The silent auction items included paintings, photographs and a private wine and food pairing at the home of one of the board members.

According to Library Director Eric Johnson, 100 percent of the funds raised go to providing resources like laptops and tablets for students to borrow, dry-erase whiteboards, charging towers and books for the library.

Board Member of FoSL Janie Branham explained that the funds are used to help students.

“Everything we buy is to support the work we do to help our students directly as in dry-erase board or charging towers, or indirectly in resources that students can use,” said Branham.

Johnson and Branham estimated that “Wine with Friends” raised around $60,000 for the library over the past 10 years.

Johnson expressed his happiness on having successfully organized “Wine with Friends” for the past 10 years.

“It is a fun and friendly, just a totally enjoyable evening,” said Johnson. “It is our biggest fundraiser, and it’s been very successful. So, we are delighted with that.”

Branham discussed the fundraiser’s growth over the past 10 years.

“It’s grown as the word has gotten out about what we’re doing,” said Branham. “As people have understood what our mission is, they have been more willing to give over the years, and we’ve seen growth in the number of people who come, the number of donors and in the amount of money we have raised.”

According to Branham, this year’s reservation and silent auction generated a fund of $4,400. Branham was pleased with the event’s turnout.

“Several guests were first-time attendees, and they made a point of telling us they definitely plan to come back next year because the food, wine and people were so awesome,” said Branham. “That’s what we love to hear.”