During her time as outreach director for the Flagg-Rochelle Public Library, Sarah Flanagan attended numerous community events and built connections with Rochelle residents dedicated to helping others.
Now serving as the library’s director for the past 11 years, those connections have led Flanagan to volunteer with numerous causes and organizations in Rochelle, including the Rochelle Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Downtown Rochelle Association, the Rochelle Rotary Club, the Hub City Senior Center, From the Heart, the Lincoln Highway Heritage Festival and the Community Action Network’s holiday shopping trip.
“I volunteer a lot,” Flanagan said. “Some of that is because I love it. I like to be around people and the way it makes me feel. And it’s great for the library because it gets the word out about the library in a positive way. I chose those causes because they’re all about helping people. And helping people is what the library does every day.”
The library serves people from many different walks of life, Flanagan said, including some facing needs such as housing or food insecurity, and her involvement with community organizations has helped her connect them with the resources they need.
From the Heart raised funds for nine Rochelle-area nonprofits through its annual gala over 18 years, generating about $1 million in total, and Flanagan served as one of the organization’s board members.
“From the Heart helped people,” Flanagan said. “That’s what it was all about and why I liked it. You can see a difference in those organizations from that help. Those nonprofits do remarkable things for people. All those organizations help a variety of different people. But it’s important because helping is what we’re supposed to do.”
Flanagan has served on the Hub City Senior Center’s board for more than 10 years. She teaches line dancing at the center each Monday during her lunch hour, finding value in being an active board member. She also teaches computer skills at the center.
Through her involvement with the Rochelle Rotary Club, Flanagan has helped plant flower gardens, install Little Free Libraries and write grants for projects including books for school libraries and improvements at local nonprofits.
“The service above self aspect is something I really like about Rotary because it gets you out into the community and you see a lot of people,” Flanagan said. “My volunteerism has helped me to better serve patrons at the library and people in the community. I like to serve so many causes because I meet a lot of different people. And I think all of them have a great mission. I don’t want to pick just one.”
Flanagan called her volunteer work rewarding, knowing she’s helped people in the Rochelle community.
“Rochelle is a really wonderful community to live in,” Flanagan said. “Rochelle is small enough that everyone knows everyone. If someone needs help, everyone probably has some sort of connection to that person. We see so much giving for a town of our size.”