The Book Rescuers - Mostly $1-3 Online & In-Store
Donation protected
Did you know 800,000+ Tons of Books end up in the Dump Yearly? Neither did we...
My wife and I now Rescue and Rehome 4,000+ Landfill Destined Books Affordably to the Public Every Week
**5+ Ton Weekly Donation from 1 Amazon Seller Pictured Above (10,000+ lbs)**
A few months ago we had to turn down a Weekly Donation of 15-20 Tons from Just 1 Organization!
We currently Rehome 4,000 donated items weekly in our Obscure Warehouse Location, but having to turn that down was the point we decided we need to Go Bigger AND GO ONLINE with Shipping!
To do this we needed to:
- Write Custom Inventory Software - Check!
- Find a Bigger & More Visible Location - Check!
- Put $40k Down to Hold the Building - Check!
- 30 Days to Raise the Buildout Money - the building will be held for 30 days for u to raise the money
Benefits of the New Location:
- Rehoming & Shipping Online ($2 PB & $3 HC)
- 3x In-Store Shelving (currently 1 mile)
- Full Community Lounge (Coffee/Tea Bar, 60 Seat Lounge, Stage, Covered Hammock Patio)
- Communal Space for Book Clubs, Art Classes, Kids Field Trips, Non Profit Meetings, and More
- Double Kids Books (20k currently - all $1 & Teachers get 50% Off for Classroom)
- Kids STREAM Room (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art and Math)
- Stage for Spoken Word and Music Nights
- Support Artists with In-Store AND Online Sales of their Art
- Donate More we donate 3,000ish books locally each month to children literature programs, ESL, and other Reading Centric Programs and could easily double that or more
How did we get here?
In January of '21 I met an Amazon Seller that Threw Away 5 Tons of Books Weekly and when I got home I asked my wife if we could rescue these books...to which she vehemently replied "We Must! How is that even a question?"
We held 3 Events in our driveway (800, 1200, and 2200 books) and we were able to Rehome most of them!
2 Months & 20 Custom Double Sided Bookshelves later we Took It To the Community
Biweekly we paired up with Local Businesses & brought 10k Books around Tampa Bay
A year later the Community pushed us to open a store (warehouse) and Volunteered Supplies, Shelving, and over 600 Hours to help us build out our current location:
**A Few of the Monthly Teacher Sponsees Pictured Above**
With 1+ Mile of Shelving - priced as follows:
$1 Kids
$1 Media (8 Track, Cassettes, VHS, DVDs, CDs, and Vinyl)
$1 Post Cards, Greeting Cards, Rescued Bookmarks
$1 Magazines
$2 Paperbacks
$3 Hardcovers
$5 Coffee Table and Vintage Books
$8 100yr old Antiquarian
$10 Autographed Books
$10 Easton Press / Franklin Library
- Free Teacher Supplies donated by the Community
- Teachers always receive 50% off for their classroom
- Touring Band Members & Roadies Receive a Free Book or Movie
- Kids get a Free Book on Sundays
- 10% Off to Help with Gas for those that drive from Out of County
- Daily BOGOs on FB/IG
- Daily Sales
- Discounts Stackable Up to 30% Off
We Love Our Teachers
Teachers receive 50% off for their Classroom Books and we Sponsor a Teacher Each Month with $100 Cash & a Box of Books they Handpick themselves.
Zero Landfill Policy
We work with 35 Libraries, Schools, Multiple Amazon Sellers, Estate Sale Co., Junk Removal Co., Thrift Stores, and even other Used Bookstores to the tune of 3,000-15,000 Landfill Destined Books per week...and that doesn't even put a dent in the Tampa Bay Landfills.
This New Facility & Online Shipping will allow us to work with the 15+ Ton Weekly organizations and Truly be able to Make a Difference
We Upcycle / Repurpose / Properly Recycle (in that order of priority) any book that we can't rehome (damaged / 18th copy of a title we get often / etc). We were gifted a Hydraulic Guillotine & are the only ones in Central Florida that Properly Handle All Books.
We turn everything we can into Art & Craft Supplies (pages, spines, hardcovers) to give them New Life and Future Enjoyment by many.
Unfortunately sometimes that means doing so to a great copy book, which is the worst part of our job (even though w/o us they would be in the Landfill). When we Go Online and Extend Our Reach we will only have to do this to Damaged Books
How will the Money be Spent?
What we Need: $230,000 (buildout + normal credit card processing fees)
$217,000 - Buildout
$63,000 - Shelving, Displays, STREAM Kids Room
- - 130 Custom Double Sided Bookshelves (increase shelving from 1 mile to 3 miles)
- - 5 Custom Double Sided $1 Vinyl Displays (increase capacity from 1,000 to 4,000)
- - Kids Section (increase shelving from 1,150' to 2,500'+)
- - Tiered Stadium Storytime Seating
- - Kids STREAM Room (Science Technology Reading Engineering Art and Math)
- - $1 DVD Display (increase capacity from 4,000 to 8,000)
- - $1 CD Display (increase capacity from 3,000 to 8,000)
- - $1 VHS Display (increase capacity from 300 to 1,000)
- - $1 Cassettes (increase capacity from 100 to 1,000)
$35,000 - Coffee / Tea Bar Equipment & Inventory
$23,000 - Signage
$20,000 - Comfy Seating, Tables, Hammocks
$20,000 - Computers & Hardware
$14,000 - Covered Hammock Patio
$13,000 - Audio Equipment
$11,000 - Grease Trap & Plumbing
$10,000 - Electrical
$8,000 - Forklift
$10-12k - Credit Card Processing Fees (4-6%)
If Our Mission is one You Support - Please Share and, if you can, we'd appreciate donation that wouldn't burden you.
Thank You Again from The Bottom of Our Hearts <3 We will not stop Rescuing and Rehoming Affordable Books!
Important Note:
No raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or returns on investment are offered in exchange for any donations made to your GoFundMe
Fundraising team (4)
George Brooks
Organizer
Pinellas Park, FL
Charlee Howard
Team member
George Brooks
Team member
Gina Staniszeski
Team member