Philadelphia’s Wooden Shoe Bookstore is 40 years old: it’s a collectively run, volunteer “anti-profit” bookstore; they’re hoping to raise $25,000 for much-needed remodelling and refurbishment.
Wooden Shoe Books has been in Philadelphia since 1976. The Shoe, as it is sometimes called, primarily operates as an infoshop, meaning that we function as a space where people gather, learn, and share ideas, news, and events related to our local radical communities. The infoshop is solely sustained by the passion of our volunteers. Functioning within a system we oppose, we seek to be an example of one way people can work together to challenge dominant power structures. As a collective, we do not have a boss or managers, but rather all of the decisions in the space are made through consensus by collective members and volunteers to empower everyone involved in the space to have a voice.
This past year has been tough on us. We are currently short on volunteers, and our core group has been stretched thin. We depend on sales and donations to ensure that we can pay the rent and other costs, and the winter months are particularly rough on us every year. As the collective is undergoing a much overdue restructuring, shifting our focus away from finances would allow us to focus on more important issues, such as building a stronger sense of community.
Wooden Shoe Books & Records Fundraiser
(Thanks, Albo!)