Sudbay Automotive Makes $100,000 Gift To Sawyer Free 2025

Gloucester, MA—Sudbay Automotive has made a charitable donation of $100,000 to Sawyer Free 2025 (visit sawyerfree2025.org), a philanthropic capital campaign to fund a comprehensive renovation, modernization and expansion of Gloucester’s public library building. The donation is earmarked to cover the cost of a Teen Creation Space inside the library’s new addition.

“We are very pleased to help with a project we know will serve the community and, especially, our youth for decades to come,” said Brad Sudbay, general manager. “We’re lucky to operate a business in such a great community and always appreciate the loyalty of our customers, which makes this possible. We know the Teen Creation Space will be a great addition to the library, and the project as a whole will add so much value and access to technology for the whole community.”

The Sawyer Free 2025 project will preserve the original exterior of Cape Ann’s oldest public library, which will house a fully redesigned interior, and will also double the size of the existing library’s footprint with a 15,000-square foot addition. Sudbay secured one of the multiple donor-naming opportunities available in support of the campaign, and it’s one that fills a large gap in Gloucester’s community fabric. Currently, no public indoor or outdoor space exists in Gloucester that is explicitly devoted to teenage use. Together with the library’s new Teen Room, the Teen Creation Space will deliver more than 2,000 square feet of public space for teenagers across Cape Ann and the North Shore.

“The library is committed to supporting teens as they grow into healthy adults during those years when they are becoming increasingly independent from their families, establishing their own identities and forming groups that set the stage for their adult life,” said Barry Weiner, a retired attorney and the campaign chair for Sawyer Free 2025. “Sudbay Automotive’s gift will directly benefit teens from the first day the new library opens by providing more and better opportunities for them to learn, grow and connect. When a local, multigenerational family business gives back to the people and places it serves, to me that demonstrates a corporate sensibility of which we can all be proud.”

The design principles of Sawyer Free 2025 are grounded in the human experience and an ambition to put people first. The newly renovated and expanded Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library will stand as a model for what a 21st century civic hub can and should be in terms of architecture, accessibility, sustainability, the use of natural resources and light, layouts, lines of sight, air quality and public safety. The end product will exponentially amplify the library’s ability to deliver critical services and outcomes not only for Gloucester, but for communities across Cape Ann and the North Shore as a place of equity, inclusion, connection, creation, compassion, renewal and advancement.

The Sawyer Free 2025 project’s total cost is $28 million, a sum that includes built-in inflation costs through the completion of the project in 2025. The Sawyer Library Foundation, the fundraising arm of the campaign, has already inspired more than $14.56 million in pledged donations and grant awards. The completion of the new facility—featuring a sound studio, a film studio, a digital tech lab and 110-seat community meeting space inside one of the most walkable destinations in the city—will result in a 25-percent increase in annual visitors, a 25-percent increase in the number of public programs offered each month by the library and a 50-percent increase in the number of programs hosted at the library by partner agencies.

The Sudbay Automotive Group has been a proud philanthropic force in the region since 1965. The Sawyer Free 2025 project has also received a pair of major five-figure donations in the past 30 days: A gift of $75,000 from the William & Betty Ellis Family Foundation and a $50,000 pledge from an anonymous donor.

✓ How do I learn more or contact Sawyer Free 2025?

Visit sawyerfree2025.org
[email protected]
[email protected]
Call 978.225.0363 or 978.225.0915

Facebook: Sawyer Free 2025
Instagram: Sawyer Free 2025
YouTube: Sawyer Library Foundation 2025

✓ How Do I Give to Sawyer Free 2025?

• Visit sawyerfree2025.org
• Text to donate: Text “325182” to 1-855-575-7888 and select an amount
• Checks: SF2025, 2 Dale Ave., Gloucester, 01930 (Checks payable to: “Sawyer Library Foundation”)
• Volunteer! Reach out if you want to pitch in at the library or with the capital campaign, either in person or virtually. Help your neighbors, serve your community and share your expertise. No matter what kind of volunteer work you do for us, you are contributing in invaluable ways.

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Sawyer Library Foundation is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization. Its Determination Letter issued by the IRS can be viewed at sawyerfree2025.org. SFL2025’s EIN is: 84-2837206.