Beneficiaries

Texas Book Festival
The Texas Book Festival was established in 1995 by First Lady Laura Bush, a former librarian and an ardent advocate of literacy. Since the first Festival in 1996, the Tocker Foundation has been a proud supporter of the Texas Book Festival organization. This annual event on the grounds of the state capitol promotes of the joys of reading, honors Texas authors and benefits the state’s public libraries by awarding grants from the proceeds of the festival.
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Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering
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Digitized Archives at the University of North Texas
The Tocker Foundation grants have moved small Texas towns a long way toward preserving their community footprints. Rural public libraries that receive initial Tocker grants often quickly see how strongly these grants instill in the local populace a sense of identity, as well as how they help these communities leave their mark in the world at large. It is notable that history researchers who otherwise might never have had prior knowledge of these very old Texas towns now regularly access and cite their newspapers in published research.
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Charter Affiliate of the Friends of the Libraries & Archives of Texas
The Friends of Libraries & Archives of Texas advocates for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission among the public and government leaders, striving to increase the visibility and awareness of its statewide library services and historical preservation and access of the Texas State Archives. The Friends also fundraises to expand the special collections and services of the State Library and Archives and to fund archival exhibits and preservation of historic artifacts. The Friends fosters development and growth of local groups in support of local libraries and archives in Texas.

Photo by Daniel Meyer

Don Tocker Library in Israel
As a young man of 20 years, Don Tocker moved to Israel in 1971 to work the land and later become a founding member of Kibbutz Ketura in Southern Israel. His vision and leadership was an inspiration for all who encountered him. It was a terrible loss when, in 1976, just as he was spearheading a new venture for the kibbutz and preparing for university studies, his life was cut short in an automobile accident. To honor his memory and his dedication to life on the kibbutz, Don’s family members at the Tocker Foundation decided to fund a library at Kibbutz Ketura. The new building was dedicated in 2003.
Writer's League of Texas

For more than three decades, the purpose and mission of the Writers’ League of Texas has been to provide a forum for information, support, and sharing among writers; to help writers improve on their craft and market their skills; to promote the interests of writers and the writing community at large; and to elevate the art and enterprise of writing.
In addition to many wonderful, year-round programs, WLT offers Texas Writes. Now in its second year, the Texas Writes program sends accomplished, published authors into rural libraries across the state for half day presentations and panel discussions focused on the craft of writing. Supported by a generous grant from the Tocker Foundation and established and overseen by the Writers’ League of Texas, this program comes at no cost to the libraries or the participants. Recent workshops included topics such as writing family history, creating believable characters, understanding metaphor and mastering dialogue.

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