We had our annual fund raising jumbo sales for our church this morning. Many church members came early to set up their stalls in the church grounds. Those with good culinary skills cooked different types of food to serve the folks who had bought coupons. Others had stalls selling fruit, finger food, fresh vegetables, plants, drinks, ice cream, cakes, sushi and handicraft. My daughter and I set up a book and magazine stall.
We had lovely ladies’ magazines, the National Geographic, Reader’s Digest, novels, biographies and other books for sale at steal-away prices.
Unfortunately, many of the folks that came to the jumbo sales hardly glanced at the books and magazines. There is no reading culture these days, especially among the younger generation who are more at home with social media, smart phones and tablets.
However, there were a discerning few who snapped up some of the books and issues of the Reader’s Digest which were bundled at 3 for RM5.00. The National Geographic magazines were sold out bought by two teenaged boys who liked the photography. Another lady purchased some of the ladies’ magazines for her beauty salon. Despite the knock out prices, there were hardly any takers except for this young lady.
It is such a sad thing to note that the love of reading has not been instilled into the young by their parents. Indeed I personally consider it tragic that these young people will never know the pleasure and joy that reading will bring to them. This is apart from the other benefits such as a better proficiency in the language together with the acquisition of a wider range of vocabulary.
The sales ended just before noon. Many of the stalls did good business, selling out their stock. All in all the easy camaraderie and cooperation among the church members made the event a success and fostered better bonding.
