People from Steinbach and surrounding communities waited at the doors for the opening of ROC Eastman’s Used Book Fair.
Board Chair Shauna Doerksen says that the event has become embedded into the community.
“Every opening day there are folks waiting outside to get in. Even you know summertime and wintertime and so just seeing folks outside waiting really demonstrates how much this has become a part of the community.”
Not only can people browse books, but they can also donate. This begins the process of reuse and recycling.
“Some of them are more loved than others. And so sometimes they have sort of reached their shelf life. And so, we do have them out outside for free. But then if those don't move, absolutely we partner with a company, and they will collect and recycle books.”
Doerksen says that this local company turns books into blown-in insulation. This company then reimburses the charity accordingly.
“It becomes this beautiful way of keeping things out of the landfill, supporting the charity, and again, it's just another great example of how we try to find uses for many different things that we find.”
This event continues to grow, allowing the organization to turn funds into tangible activities.
“Post COVID we found a lot of our families and just a lot of folks in general are turning towards more home-based recreation. And so we sort of think outside the box and that might be getting a family, some fishing licenses and fishing poles. It might be a park pass. So really trying to look at what each child and family might be interested in and working together with them to try to support that.”
To support the charity, you can donate or buy books at the book fair all weekend.