A handful Maplewood kids found out Thursday that they can really make a difference.
The Book House moved to Maplewood (7352 Manchester Road) about a year and a half ago, and is trying to pay off debts incurred in the buildout of their new space, which previously sat vacant for 20 years. They started a crowd sourcing campaign to raise $10,000, which they say will allow them to pay the debts, or they’ll be forced to close at the end of June.
See also: The Book House: $10,000 needed by end of June to keep doors open
Two Maplewood moms, Anne Cummings and Kristen Smelser, thought maybe their kids could hold a lemonade stand to help out. Smelser said her kids were pumped.
“Absolutely, instantly, they were like, we need a Book House,” she said.
Smelser said her goal this summer was to teach her kids to be a little selfless, so even if the sale made only $20 it was a success as far as she was concerned. It made much more than that. The two-hour sale of lemonade, baked goods and kid-made crafts pulled $1,704 to keep the Book House open.
Neighbor, Michelle Schiller-Baker, bought a few items.
“Last night on the news I saw these little kids. I said, my god—children who want to read and keep a book store open and they’re willing to make all these things—gotta show up,” she said. “They spent their own time and resources. This is a really wonderful story about what’s good in the St Louis area.”
Contribute to keep the Book House open.
We are just so appreciative of these AMAZING KIDS! They created handmade bookmarks, and art objects and baked goods! Everyone pitched in! and people really came out to support us! We can’t thank you enough and we hope to be here in your community for years to come! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!
The kids will continue to be involved with The Book House, and they hope you’ll join them in BUYING BOOKS LOCALLY. Kristin was right that, from a mom point-of-view, we would have been happy with anything the kids raised. (We just hoped people would show up!) The kids, however, were motivated to raise as much money as they could to keep our bookstore in Maplewood!
Here are requests from the kids:
-Books that you want to order online can also be ordered online through the Book House website. Give it a try!
-If you missed the lemonAID stand, please consider an online donation. Every bit helps.
-Book House certificates make great gifts for kids and adults! They have something for everyone.
-If you’ve never been there, stop in! It’s inviting and well organized!
THANK YOU to all the adults who made this lemonAID stand successful by spreading the word and buying items from the kids. (Especially you, Doug Miner!) What made this event magical was the loving, supportive way that adults from Maplewood and the greater STL area embraced the kids. Kristin and I commented at the end of the stand that it was a lovely reminder that the world really is filled with good and kind people.