Overview
Our Book Sale has become PSUMC’s most successful and perhaps best-loved annual fundraiser. Launched in 1994, this event consistently attracts hundreds of book lovers from all over Brooklyn and beyond. We are proud that we can raise significant amounts of money for the church simply by selling donated books at extremely low prices! It’s a win-win situation for everyone. Our 2010 sale is Saturday, February 20, 8:30 am to 4:30pm and Sunday, February 21, 12:30 pm to 4:30pm.
Park Slope is very much a book-loving community and this is reflected in the terrific quality and quantity of donations we collect and the delight expressed by virtually everyone who comes to the sale. The sale is an absolute feast for book browsers, but to help things along, we sort the books into about fifteen broad categories (Fiction & Literature, History, Religion & Philosophy, Fine Arts, Humor, Biography & Memoir, etc.). We also have a wonderful Children’s Corner every year.
Donations
We gratefully accept donations (excellent condition only) starting about two weeks before the sale date: new & used books, CDs, records, tapes, videos and DVDs, as well as children’s books, videos, games and puzzles. Donations come from church members, friends, colleagues, neighbors and others in the community, and we offer car pick-ups within Brooklyn. All donations are tax deductible.
Pricing
Every year we amass many thousands of items (we estimate that we had approximately 20,000 books at our most recent sale) which we then sell at terrific prices. Hardcovers go for $2.00, quality paperbacks are $1.50 and pocket-sized paperbacks cost 50 cents.
Volunteers
We always need plenty of volunteers from our church community to lend a hand in a wide variety of ways including helping with publicity, doing car pick-ups, sorting books (which means getting “first crack” at the goodies!), setting up, distributing flyers around the neighborhood, working at the sale (checkout, cashiering) and helping with clean-up. Church members also play a vital role in helping “get the word out” and soliciting donations from friends, neighbors and colleagues.
Supporting Other Charities
Every year we donate at least five or six cartons of books to the Books Behind Bars program (specially selected books, sent to prisoners throughout the United States) and we partner with other charitable organizations as well (partnering organizations need to pick everything up the day after our sale). See below for contact information.
Contact Information
If you would like to be on our Book Sale email notification list, if you are a charitable organization interested in our leftovers or if you have any questions about the Book Sale, feel free to send a note to
churchbooksale@earthlink.net. We’ll respond as soon as we can.
