Word Up Community Bookshop in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, has launched a $34,000 fundraising campaign to "help with continuing to maintain its book supply, distribution of mutual aid, providing Covid tests, managing its community fridge, expanding its youth programming, creating its second uptown community space, and more," Patch reported. Thus far, more than $11,000 has been raised since the campaign began in late November.
"Since the start of the pandemic, Word Up has been connecting people to resources and providing support to countless neighbors old and new," the bookstore wrote on its fundraising page. "Of course, we love books, and we want to make sure everyone has the books they need to feed their minds and hearts. But during these last few years, we knew we needed to do more. That's why Word Up became a driving force in the neighborhood to address issues like income inequality, food insecurity, systemic racism, and a lack of universal healthcare.... Please contribute today so that Word Up can continue to be a resource for the neighborhood, for our communities, for you."