PRATT CONTEMPORARIES CELEBRATE 10 YEARS

Group has raised $1 million for youth literacy programs

BALTIMORE— The Enoch Pratt Free Library is proud to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the Pratt Contemporaries. The young professionals group has raised one million dollars for programs supporting the Pratt Library. “The Pratt Contemporaries brings together young leaders in this city,” says incoming Contemporaries’ Board Chair, Ned Courtemanche. “It’s a dynamic group of people who are passionate about one of the most important resources in this city, the Pratt Library.”

Over the past decade, the Contemporaries have helped fund dozens of programs, including the new Book Buggy, which brings library services to daycares and WIC Centers in vulnerable communities. The group has supported photography, arts, and author programs for school-aged children. The Contemporaries also made a $250,000 commitment for the new Teen Reading & Resource Room that will debut in the Central Library in 2019. “I don’t think there is another group as powerful as the Pratt Contemporaries. I hope they will be leading the library into the future,” says Pratt Library Board Chair Pat Lasher.

In 2008, The Pratt Contemporaries held its first Black and White Party, with under 200 guests. This year, attendance soared to nearly a thousand and the party was named Best Fundraiser 2017 by the Baltimore Sun. “It’s humbling that we are stewards of this great party and this great organization for the city of Baltimore,” says outgoing Contemporaries’ Board Chair, Jacob Hodes. “We’re here to create ambassadors for the city, to put people in the community, and bring the community into the library.”