- Common Ground Books is asking the community to rally behind them with donations and support.
- The store faces economic hardship after a challenging six months of navigating the impacts of severe weather and the economy.
- Watch the video to discover why their community presence matters and how you can support their mission.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A place for everyone and every book lover in our city is facing some tough times. Hurdles that almost meant they were unable to pay their rent. With a look at the community effort to keep the doors open here at Common Ground books.
More than just a book store, a place of acceptance and inclusivity.
“A feeling of family, a feeling of home, for those people who can struggle on a daily basis with belonging,” said Alex Spencer, owner of Common Ground Books.
Common Ground specializes in LGBT+ literature, along with carrying books that are on some banned book lists.
“I’ve had people come in and they’re just amazed because they’ve never seen a space like this before in their lives,” said Spencer.
Yet, Spencer said the last 6 months, with impacts from the severe weather and the economy, staying in business, as a local business, has been challenging.
“It’s hard to get inventory, it’s hard to pay rent, it’s hard to pay our employees,” said Spencer. “As the owner I am the last one to get paid and it’s the difference between us being able to put food on the table or not.”
Spencer posted this message on their social media asking the community for donations and support.
Spencer said she is so grateful for the help she’s received in just a couple of days; support that means they’ve been able to make their November rent.
“We love being here, we do what we do because we love it, and we want to continue being in business,” said Spencer.
Spencer hopes it will continue as we head into the holiday season, because she knows how crucial there space is.
“We are a safety net for some members of the community, we want to continue being here, continue thriving, continue living, and right now that’s hard for some people,” said Spencer.
Common Ground Books is hosting a fundraiser event on Saturday, joined by other small and local businesses as well, from 12pm until 8pm.
