A new used bookstore in Virgil is turning readers into donors, with every book, puzzle and game sold helping fund programs for seasonal agricultural workers in Niagara-on-the-Lake, as organizers seek a steadier source of income than grants can provide.
Virgil’s Book Nook opened Saturday at Cornerstone Community Church, a volunteer-run shop selling used books, puzzles, games and toys. All proceeds will go to the Farmworker Hub, a Niagara-on-the-Lake group that supports seasonal agricultural workers.
The store opened at the corner of Niagara Stone and Field roads and will run Tuesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Brittany Kranz, who co-ordinated the Book Nook, said the Farmworker Hub applies for grants as a nonprofit but cannot predict which ones come through, and that gap forces hard choices between programs.
“We have these ideas, but we don’t have the funding behind it,” said Kranz. “With this, it is set in stone, so if we know that this is going to do well, we can plan these events,”
The permanent store grew from a one-day book sale last year at Cornerstone Community Church after multiple customers asked when the book sale would be returning. Residents asked for two-day sales, three-day sales and longer hours. Cornerstone offered the space, allowing the one-day sale to become a permanent shop.
Reliable sales would cover specific costs the hub now scrambles to meet. Workers asked the hub to set up weekly pickup soccer games, which cost $25 an hour to rent the field.
But steady proceeds would let the hub cover that bill without asking the community for donations each time, Kranz said.
“We’ve had a lot of generosity within the community, but we would like to be able to back them … without always asking for people to donate,” she said.
The hub directs workers to local services, caters Jamaican and Mexican gatherings and is planning a World Cup viewing party with the town for July 19.
When a category 5 hurricane slammed Jamaica while some Niagara workers were still in Canada last year, the hub became a drop site for relief, Kranz said. Farmers turned up to pack boxes, haul supplies and donate the materials to ship aid back to the island.
NOTL’s fruit harvest only reaches grocery shelves because seasonal workers pick it, Kranz said, and that debt is why residents should back the hub.
“These are our neighbours. If your neighbour is going through a hard time, then you’re there to support them,” she said. “Same for us. We are here to support them.”
The Niagara Falls Public Library donated decommissioned furniture while Newark Neighbours and an MCC Thrift store in St. Catharines supplied puzzles, games and books to stock the Book Nook’s shelves.
The shop also sells a $20 annual Nook membership that gives buyers a free book or puzzle during their birthday month and half-price books and puzzles on Toonie Tuesdays. Several shoppers signed up on opening day, and two people asked how to volunteer, Kranz said.
Steven Pitkanen, a volunteer working the cash, said he expects interest to grow as more residents find out about the new local book shop.
“The first day has been very steady and a lot of people are just finding out about it, so we’ll see it continue,” he said.
