Raising money for the Sharing Fund, which helps cover the $3 million gap between care that is compensated and the actual cost of care Fairmount provides, is a group effort. Kent Richard, vice president of operations, helps out the fund by working with Mitch Hanna, director of marketing, to hold an annual book sale.

The seventh Fairmount book sale will be held on Friday, Oct. 4, from 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 5, from 7 to 10 a.m. in the Farm Crest Community Room, 1100 Farm Crest Drive, Ephrata, on the east side of campus. On Oct. 5, books will be marked to half price. The public is invited to attend.

Donations have been pouring in for the sale. "We will have 7,000 to 10,000 books and magazines," shared Richard. "It's a lot." About 50 Fairmount residents help to sort the books into more than 10 categories. Magazines, periodicals, CDs, puzzles, and games will also be offered at the sale.

Sale attendees will find books divided into categories including history and biography, health and nutrition, Christian and non-Christian fiction, hobbies such as gardening and crafts, theology and devotional books and Bible studies, Anabaptist materials, cookbooks, children's, and young adult books.

Richard noted that children's books are plentiful this year. "We do have a lot of kids' books, and we have puzzles and games," he noted, adding that a large number of books in the Christian theology and biography genre will be available for purchase. "We have an especially strong collection of local history and Anabaptist books," Richard added.

A few books of special value are included in the sale items. "This book is an autographed copy of 'The Earth is the Lord's' by John Landis Ruth (Ruth's history of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference)," said Richard, who noted that an 1871 book by Menno Simon will be sold.

Richard shared that leftover books will not be thrown away. "At the end of the day, (Fairmount volunteers) pack them up, and we take them to the Re-Uzit Shop of New Holland, so they go to another good cause," he stated.

According to Richard, the book sale has raised more than $28,000 since its inception. The 2023 sale raised $7,500 for the Sharing Fund. "The books are all donated," said Richard, who noted that many books are donated by residents when they move to Fairmount, but also that area neighbors bring books for the sale on a yearly basis. "We have a lot of strong community support," said Richard.

More information about Fairmount may be found at http://www.fairmounthomes.org.