Transformations, Fall 2025: This blog is excerpted from the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation’s newsletter. To join our mailing list and receive the newsletter by mail, click here to enter your information. Physical copies of the newsletter are available at all Library locations. Digital versions of all issues can be found here.
From sanctuary to lasting legacy:
a Library employee’s gift of gratitude
“The Library has been my lifeline of opportunities throughout my life since I was a 14-year-old boy… a place where I could be comfortable… my sanctuary.”
Four decades ago, a teenager walked into his neighborhood library seeking a safe place to study after school. Welcomed by North Branch* staff who saw his potential (most notably then branch manager Vanessa Ramseur), Everett Blackmon was given trust, encouragement, and a job offer that changed the trajectory of his life. That summer job led to a career spanning 40 years, a college education, and countless opportunities to serve the community he loves.
As he reflects on his journey, he credits the Library with “pulling him up from his undisciplined bootstraps” and giving him the stability, mentorship, and purpose that shaped his life. In gratitude, he has chosen to make a planned gift through his will to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation.
He hopes his gift will ensure that future generations will find “a place that cares about the people in communities; that wants to see people be their best possible selves; a place equipped to help people be all they can be; a place of opportunities.”
*Now Allegra Westbrook Regional Library
Your legacy, your library
Your story doesn’t end with you. If you choose to include the Library in your plans, please let us know so we can thank you and recognize your kindness appropriately. You can reach Teleia White directly at 704.416.0803 or by email at twhite@cmlibrary.org for a private, confidential conversation.
