SHAVA's new bookstore opens for business

A quiet morning at St. Albert Centre was made a bit more exciting as a crowd of nearly 40 people gathered for the grand opening of the Sturgeon Hospital Auxiliary Volunteer Association's (SHAVA) new bookstore on Tuesday.

"This really is a dream come true for SHAVA," president Jocelyne Durocher said in an interview prior to the store's opening.

"We’re just so happy to bring this back to St. Albert and give people a place to come and be able to read affordably," said Durocher. "Our kids' section is fantastic, and we’ve got every category under the sun that you could think of."

The volunteer association has been raising money for St. Albert's hospital for the past 53 years. The group's efforts include the operation of the hospital's gift shop, a previous bookstore at the old Grandin Mall that closed in 2015, and an array of fundraising events over the years.

On hand for Tuesday's opening was Durocher; Mayor Cathy Heron; Coun. Mike Killick; Coun. Ken MacKay; Sturgeon Community Hospital's site director Mary Lou McKenzie; and more than a dozen past and present volunteers.

The volunteer association announced in early August they had signed a lease for their new store in the mall. Throughout the month leading up to the opening, SHAVA volunteers were hard at work accepting donations, sorting books, filling shelves, and training for the operation of the new store, Durocher said.

In August, the association dedicated nine days for accepting donations. “I would say we easily have 1,000 books," she said.

“We had spread the word that donations were being taken, but the [advertisement in the Aug. 17 edition of The Gazette] just opened the floodgates."

"We were a little worried about the shelves being a little sparse, but they look good, and we are just tickled pink,” said Durocher.

Many thanks

Durocher thanked the many people who helped bring the bookstore to life, including Deb Travis, a SHAVA volunteer who set up the store's children's corner, and Gail Kelly, another volunteer who took over the shift scheduling for the bookstore.

“Somewhere there’s a gold medal with your name on it, or maybe a halo and a set of wings, I’m not sure,” Durocher said to Kelly.

Durocher also thanked Guy Hebert, the owner of Bermont Realty, for helping find a location for the new store, and Joshua Thomas, the manager of specialty leasing with St. Albert Centre, for helping the association get settled in their new space.

The Sturgeon Community Hospital's site director, McKenzie, also gave a speech during the opening, and thanked SHAVA for all the work they've done over the years.

“I’m excited for them that they’ve finally been able to reopen it after seven years, and I’m excited for us because we benefit with them," McKenzie said in an interview. “This means a lot to us that we have such a vibrant volunteer group that supports the hospital.”

Since mid-August, McKenzie said, hospital staff have been doing a book drive on site, with the intention of making a large donation to the store at the end of September.

"Because SHAVA does so much for the site, this is an opportunity for us to do something for them," McKenzie said.

The bookstore will be open during regular mall hours, but will be closed on Sundays. The store is located where Carlton Cards once was.

Durocher asks that any book donations only be dropped off at the store on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

“All of this is for the hospital, and it’s really important to us," she said. “Come on down and see our bookstore, we’ll be happy to see you.”