11th Annual SEEDS Free Book Swap A Major Success, Breaks Records

HONESDALE – Sustainable Energy Education and Development Support (SEEDS) of Northeastern Pennsylvania hosted the 11th Annual Free Book Swap on October 8th and 9th at the Wayne County Fairgrounds. The second year at this location allowed for the event to be bigger and better than ever and had one rule: take as many books as you want!

Leading up to the event, over 41,000 books were donated by the greater Northeastern PA community, beating the total from the 10th annual event by over 11,000. 

Throughout the two-day event, over 700 book lovers gathered at the Fairgrounds and took home 24,000 books. 

The event’s goal is to make sure no book ends up in a landfill. Any books leftover were either donated to Operation Paperback, which sends books to VA Medical Facility Libraries, or given to New Legacy Books, which resells them. 

Jenna Mauder, SEEDS Chair and Free Book Swap Coordinator, said, “This event started with one goal in mind – to see that books don’t end up in landfills. Only in my wildest dreams would we be able to say that we have kept 166,000 books out of landfills in the past 11 years. We are forever grateful to the sponsors and community that supports this annual event. We can’t wait to do it again next year!”

The Free Book Swap is one of the single largest recycling events in the area. The event won an Environmental Partnership Award in 2019 given by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. 

The event was made possible by 95 volunteers over 7 days–a total of more than 600 hours–and the following generous sponsors and partners: Honesdale National Bank, Hickory Hill Foundation, American Historical Truck Society, Pioneer Construction Company, Olsommer-Clarke Insurance Group, Buselli Solutions, Dirlam Bros. Lumber Co., Wayne Bank, Turano Insurance, Frey Fetsock Funeral Home, Beech Grove Grange, Wayne County Community Foundation, Nature’s Grace Health Foods & Deli, Citizens Savings Bank, The East Shore LLC, Platform Industries, RE/MAX Wayne, Hamlin Dental Center, Complete Health Dentistry of NEPA, Dyberry Creek Farm, Rymeg International, Scarfalloto’s Towne House, Roche Supply, Community Vocational Service, Inc., Quality Printing, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, and Pocono Forest Wildlife Services. 

SEEDS (Sustainable Energy and Education Development Support) of Northeastern Pennsylvania is a nonprofit environmental education organization based in Honesdale, promoting sustainable energy and sustainable living in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Upper Delaware region. Its goals include improving the health of our environment and local economy through energy efficiency and sustainability practices, such as conservation and recycling. For more information about SEEDS, visit www.seedsgroup.net, call 570-245-1256 or email jenna@seedsgroup.net.