SitemapLooking for that perfect book to snuggle up with as the weather cools? Look no further than the Westminster Presbyterian Church’s 68th annual used book sale that begins Wednesday at the church, 119 Stadium Drive, Boardman. The book sale has been an important fundraiser for the many missions the church helps throughout the year. It began as a simple idea, according to book sale co-chair Andrea Armbrecht. “It started in 1956 when my father, Rev. Sam Warr, was pastor of the church,” Armbrecht said. “The church was located in downtown Youngstown.” She said the church used to be at the end of the Market Street bridge in downtown Youngstown on the site where the Thomas D. Lambros Federal Building is located today.
The first book sale was credited to the idea posed by church member Hazel Thorne. She had been to another church that hosted such a used book sale and thought the idea was a good fit for Westminster. The first book sale was in 1956 with the Westminster Church’s Women’s Association taking on the project. The first year brought in close to $300. Every year except for the COVID-19 years has seen the sale continue and grow. Following the pandemic, it did drop a bit, but is returning to the pre-COVID-19 sales that saw more than 50,000 used books offered. The books offered for this year’s big sale have been collected since Nov. 1 of last year. A volunteer staff, including church members and non-members who love books, gather on two Mondays each month to sort the book donations. Co-chair Jan Machel said the program is part of the county’s recycling program. “We are an official dropoff center for used books,” she said. “We work with the Mahoning County Green Team to recycle.” She said when a donation of books is dropped off at the church, the volunteers will go through the donations and check them for things like letters, bookmarks, or even money stuck between the pages. The books are then separated into categories and are priced. “We usually price them at 10% of the value,” Macher said. “And that is for the first day of the sale.” She said on Thursday, all the paperback books will be sold at 25 cents each. On Friday, all books will be half price until 4 p.m. The sale runs 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. all three days. After 4 p.m. on Friday, it’s time to move some books and Macher and her staff have just the way to do that. “We’ve had a donation of paper bags from Rulli’s,” she said. “On Friday, shoppers can buy the bag for $1 and fill it with as many books as they can fit.” At the end of the three-day sale, the remaining books are then sent to the recycling center. Volunteer Tom Davis said it is an important service. “I have been doing this since the church was downtown,” he said. “This is a community service for people who can’t afford new books. This is a win-win for everyone.”
Last year’s event, according to Machel, brought in $17,000. That amount, she said, was down from the pre-pandemic years. She said a small amount of those proceeds goes to the church for use of the room, but the majority goes to international, national and local charities. Among the local charities to benefit from the used book sale are the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley, Protestant Family Services, Needles Eye, Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp, Habitat for Humanity, Pregnancy Help Center, Hope for Renewal, Sleep in Heavenly Peace and Purple Cat. Machel added the Hope Lodge in Cleveland for cancer patients is also supported.
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