SHOP LOCAL, LIVE LOCAL campaign leads to charitable donation after a tough year
AdventureKEEN is pleased to announce that their 2020 SHOP LOCAL, LIVE LOCAL campaign raised a total of $4,332 for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc). A matching $4,332 is being dispersed and mailed to 261 participating independent bookstores.
AdventureKEEN President Richard Hunt will virtually present Binc with a check on Thursday, February 18th at 2pm in Binc’s booth at the virtual Winter Institute. “2020 was a tough year, but AdventureKEEN witnessed two silver linings,” says Richard. “First, we watched Binc continue their hard work to provide much-needed support to indie bookstores and booksellers. Second, we noticed that people found solace and safety while outdoors and in nature. We are thankful that our outdoor-focused titles helped those sheltering in place and that we are able to make this donation to further Binc’s efforts.”
Pam French, Executive Director of Binc added, “We are grateful for our long-standing relationship with AdventureKEEN and the participating Shop Local, Live Local stores. This give-back campaign demonstrates that when we work together and support each other, our communities thrive. Thanks to AdventureKEEN for their leadership and steadfast commitment to supporting bookstores and booksellers.”
The Book Industry Charitable Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that coordinates charitable programs to strengthen the bookselling and comics communities. Established in 1996, the core program provides assistance to bookstore and comic shop owners and their employees who have a demonstrated financial need arising from severe hardship and/or emergency circumstances. Since its inception, the organization has provided more than $9 million in financial assistance and scholarships to more than 7,300 families. In 2020, the book and comic communities helped Binc raise and distribute over $2.9 million to help over 2,200 stores and individuals. To give these numbers some context – Binc helped more individuals and stores in 8 weeks in 2020 than they had in the prior 8 years combined. Additional information can be found at http://www.bincfoundation.org.
By creating SHOP LOCAL, LIVE LOCAL, AdventureKEEN hopes to help readers find new outdoor activities and reinforce the importance of shopping locally. The goal of the program is to enlarge the scope of support to Binc and provide an equal-dollar benefit to all participating bookstores. AdventureKEEN understands, emotionally and financially, especially after a year like 2020 the operational challenges and intrinsic rewards of selling books. Independent bookstores and independent publishers add immeasurably to their communities; it is amazing what book lovers can accomplish together. AdventureKEEN is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to donate to Binc again this year.