When a local bookstore needs to move its entire inventory to a new location, who do you call? How about 250 volunteers to form a human chain?
That’s exactly what happened for a local nonprofit in Southampton, United Kingdom. When October Books’ rent went up, it needed to find a new location. The challenge was figuring out how to move the 2,000 books to the new shop. It was only 500 feet away, but it would still prove a huge challenge for the small staff.
The community turned out in ways the staff never expected.
On Sunday, Oct. 28, 250 volunteers showed up to lend a hand — literally. The volunteers made a human chain winding from the nonprofit’s original location to the new building. They managed to move 2,000 pieces of inventory in only an hour, completely emptying one of the stockrooms.
This community is clearly a giving one. October Books raised money for the new location almost entirely from donations — about $640,000.
Photos show people old and young standing bundled in coats on the chilly sidewalk, passing books and full of smiles.
One of the shop volunteers, Claire Diaper, said that some of the people weren’t even planning on joining in the effort that day. They simply saw what was going on and jumped in to help.
“I get quite emotional thinking about the amazing people who have come out to support us so far,” Diaper said. “There were local cafe owners, people from the local shops, families and general passers-by, including those who were standing at the bus stop.”
It’s a chance for people to repay the store’s kindness.
Diaper says the bookstore has always made an effort during its 40-year history to stand for the Southampton community, and it was touching to watch the community pay back that effort.
There was still a lot to be done, though. The bookstore still had about 18,000 pieces of inventory that need to be moved. It is now open at the new location with the help of more community volunteers.
The community outreach will continue in the bookstore’s new location. Located in a former bank, the bookstore will join three community rooms that serve for local events, as well as a chapter of the St. James Society that will give homeless men and women a place to stay.
The store has been trying to make Southampton a better place for 40 years.
October Books was founded in 1977. The staff aims to put funds into the community while encouraging equality for people of every background. The nonprofit’s website describes the store as a “co-operate radical neighbourhood bookstore” promoting a “fair and equal society.”
The money earned is put back into their shop, and the staff makes an effort to promote diversity and stay out of partisan politics. But that doesn’t mean that they aren’t political. October Books sells books of many genres, along with “specialised radical books and magazines.”
“Our specialty areas are social issues, adoption, humanities, and political issues,” says the website.
The store also sells a range of eco-friendly household and food items, as well as greeting cards.
Some human chains are for more dramatic reasons.
Human chains have been featured plenty in the news, and often, they’re more dramatic than emptying out a bookstore’s stockroom. Back in summer 2017, during the destruction of Hurricane Harvey, a Houston woman found herself in a terrifying position: She was going into labor while stranded by the flooding.
It was pure coincidence that Andrea Smith and her husband, Greg, were in Houston at all. The Smiths didn’t live in the city. But they were both doctors, and they had come to take advantage of some specialty medical training offered in the area. They knew that they would probably need to deliver their baby there, but they weren’t banking on the extreme flooding from the hurricane.
There was no flooding when the couple went to bed on Aug. 26, 2017. They thought they would be able to get up in the morning and head to the hospital. Andrea had been having contractions for several weeks and knew it was time to deliver. But when they woke on Aug. 27, they found themselves surrounded by several feet of water that was quickly rising.
Neighbors were quick to offer help.
Many of the neighbors were medical professionals. The Smiths tried to get in contact with 911 but weren’t able to get in touch with any emergency services. So, they reached out to the others in the neighborhood. They were coming to terms with the fact that Andrea might have to deliver their baby right there in the house without hospital equipment or pain medication.
Neighbors rushed over with the medical equipment that they had available. They also tried to figure out how they could get Andrea to higher ground. They were concerned about the water levels continuing to rise. Finally, one neighbor spotted a way out for the Smiths.
He managed to flag down a dump truck that was passing by.
The truck was armed by local fire rescue. He explained to them that there was a woman in labor who needed to get to the hospital. Quickly, everyone rallied to help get Andrea and Greg into the truck.
But the couple still had to be transported from the house into the vehicle. So, neighbors waded out into the deep water to make a human chain and help the laboring woman and her husband get safely across the street.
“We sat on top of all these fire hoses, while firemen drove us to the hospital,” said Greg Smith. “They were careful to go slow and keep us safe.”
They’ll have an amazing story to tell their daughter.
The couple arrived at the hospital soaking wet but safe. They were admitted to labor and delivery and cleaned up. There, Andrea gave birth to their daughter Adrielle early the next morning on Aug. 28, 2017.
“Moments like these are incredibly precious and remind me of all the good in the world,” said their neighbor, Molly Askers, on a Facebook post that caught the human chain on video.
The human chain in Southampton might not be as dramatic as passing a laboring woman through a tropical storm.
But it still goes to show the strength and love of the human community when people come together to help one another. Hopefully, October Books will continue to see an outpouring of community support as it settles into the new location.
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One hour. 200+ people. One stock room, emptied. THAT is community, friends pic.twitter.com/LbgeAUMa3y
— OctoberBooks (@OctoberBooks) October 28, 2018
