A beloved bookstore in Southwest Detroit that fell prey to a credit card scam will get to stay open after the community comes to their rescue. Earlier this year, less than a year after opening their brick and mortar store, 27th Letter Books was scammed by a customer placing multiple online purchases with stolen credit cards. The store was left on the hook for more than $35-thousand and was forced to shut their doors.
In a last ditch effort to keep the store going, the owners started a GoFundMe to raise some money. They were shocked by the community response. “We were super thankful we reached that goal after 10 days, which was just so incredible," store co-owner Erin Pineda says. Over 400 donors contributed more than $35-thousand to keep the store afloat.
So now the store can continue providing a valuable service to their community: giving reading recommendations and amplifying lesser-known authors, offering weekly bilingual storytime for kids, events with local artists, open mics, and a book club. And the owners now have this advice to offer other business owners: “Don’t be afraid to ask for help and reach out to your communities. I don’t think we could have been able to get through this without all of that support.”
Source: WXYZ
Photo: Getty Images