Children’s Hospital Book Market returns to ‘record-breaking sales’ after two years

After more than two years on hold, the annual Children’s Hospital Book Market returned to St. Vital Centre Saturday to raise funds for children in hospital and their families.

The annual sale features thousands of donated and gently used books.

Established in 1961, the Children’s Hospital Book Market is the longest-running volunteer-organized event supporting the foundation.

This fall, for the event’s return after the COVID-19 pandemic, there were more than 300 volunteers.

“The most amazing thing is the support of the volunteers,” said coordinator Carol Irving. “It is absolutely incredible the amount of work and the time and the energy that they pour into this project.

“I think that speaks to how happy everybody is that we are back with such a wide and wonderful collection of books.”

Irving says the book market has now supported the hospital in various ways for 62 years.

“We have supported the clown program, the music therapy program, we have put money towards the purchase of food carts for long-term patients at the hospital,” said Irving. “And for the last little while we have supported the child life department at the Children’s Hospital.”

Irving has been volunteering at the Book Market since 1982 and says the consistent support of the public through the years is what makes the difference.

“My aunt Dorothy Ferris was one of the original Book Marketers way back in 1961 and her phrase was always ‘the public never forgets Children’s Hospital Book Market,’” she said. “And that certainly has been proven true at this sale. We have been gone now since September of 2019 and we just have record-breaking sales.”

All funds raised for the foundation this year go towards the $75 million Better Futures campaign, Manitoba’s largest-ever donor-driven campaign in support of child health.