Edinburgh Community Bookshop Startup Fund

UPDATE 5th August 2022

We have now agreed to lease premises in Great Junction Street, Leith and aim to open the doors on 1st October. However, we still need your support to cover the startup costs.

The short description

Help us open a second-hand bookshop in Edinburgh that will support a different local charity each month by donating its profits.

The long description 

The shop will have a paid part-time manager supported by regular volunteers. We would aim to be open seven days per week, perhaps 10am-4pm.

 

We would ask the charity of the month to support us by providing leaflets, posters and collection cans as well as promoting through their social media and email lists to gain donations of books and perhaps some temporary volunteers to help in the shop.

 

After accounting for all costs, the profits would then be donated to a different charity each month. Conservative forecasts suggest that we could be sending at least £2000 to a different charity every month, and it could be a lot more!

The difference your donation will make

Your donation will help us set up something that will not only pay back your donation to different local charities within the first year but then continue to go on donating to more charities year after year. So whatever you give us today will be multiplied many times over!

Although we will always look to the community to make suggestions of which charities to support, here are some example charities that we might be able to help:

 - Edinburgh Children's Hospital Charity - transforming the lives of seriously ill children so they can be child first patient second

 - Rock Trust - Scotland's youth homelessness charity

 - Cyrenians - tackling the causes and consequences of homelessness

 - U-Evolve - helping young people to improve their mental health

 - LifeCare - supporting and empowering older people to live life to the full

 - People Know How - helping and empowering people in Edinburgh and East Lothian to fulfill their potential and solve social issues

 - Ednburgh Dog and Cat Home - rescuing, reuniting and rehoming dogs and cats across Edinburgh and the Lothians

- Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre - supporting survivors of sexual violence

- Canongate Youth Project - recreation and training projects for young people

- Fresh Start - practical and emotional support for those that were previously homeless 

- Edinburgh Food Bank - operates seven food banks across Edinburgh

How much money we need

We need £5,000 to cover the setup costs (painting and decorating, bookcases, shop counter, equipment, signage, etc), initial rent and first month's running costs (utilities, insurance, repairs, website hosting, etc).

If we end up raising more funds than we actually need in this campaign to get the shop up and running, then surplus monies raised will be donated to Edinburgh Children's Hospital Charity.

About the founder

Alasdair is well prepared with the necessary experience and knowledge to make this project come to life! He has many years of experience working and volunteering in the charity sector:

- Service Manager with British Red Cross, managing staff and volunteers across multiple sites to provide support to people in emergencies and also provide wheelchairs to those that couldn't get them through the NHS

- Shop manager with The Children's Society managing successful shops in Cambridge and London

- Shop manager with Edinburgh Children's Hospital Charity looking after the shop and cafe in the sick kids hospital

- Volunteer First Aider providing medical cover at events across the country

- Volunteer First Aid Trainer teaching other volunteers and members of the public

He also understands what is required to run a successful business. These days he is the owner of Easter Greens, a 100% vegan grocery store, established in August 2019 and now with two shops in Edinburgh - one on Easter Road and the other in Morningside. Easter Greens has done several fundraising activities for Cyrenians, The Rock Trust and LGBT Youth Scotland, as well as collecting food donations for the Edinburgh North and Leith Foodbank.

Find out more

To follow our progress please like and follow our facebook page. You can also visit our website.