The bookshop has been a vital source of revenue to the Uckfield Lions club over the past years.
Thanks to the generosity of the Uckfield community and those from the surrounding villages, we are able to turn used books into money. This is then ploughed back into local community projects, grants and help for those who need it most. However, we are seeing a slow decline in the number of donations that are being made.
When it comes to donating books to the Lions, many people assume we can sell and raise funds from everything we are given.
Unfortunately, it’s not the case. Donations have to be of a type that we can resell.
In the past year the quality of the books being donated has fallen and to some we appear to have become part of the waste stream.
Books that are damaged, with pages missing and stacks of old magazines are just a few of the items we cannot sell.
Not only can we not sell the donation, but it costs the shop to dispose of them, thereby reducing the income we get from good quality books.
Can I ask that the people of the Uckfield area continue to donate good quality paperbacks to the shop, as they always have done in the past.
But if you are having a clear out or decluttering, just look at the item and ask yourself, would anyone buy this? If the answer is no, then recycle the item through the normal waste streams.
Many people who make their way to our shop say that browsing in the shop is an entirely pleasurable experience, that they want to repeat time and again. Help us to continue this by making a donation and also helping raise vitally needed funds for your local community.
Graham Baldwin Club President and bookshop volunteer
