BY JARROD MELMETH

Singleton PCYC has given the popular annual Singleton book sale a new lease of life, following news this years sale would be the last.

The Singleton Lions Club announced prior to this years book sale, it would be the last with the group.

PCYC Manager David Andrews has been a big fan of the annual event and says he saw an opportunity to raise some much-needed funds for the club.

“I was disappointed when I first read that the Lions wouldn’t be able to continue it on but then I thought about it and thought maybe its something the PCYC can take on with the Lions Clubs blessing.

“I made some enquiries and went to the book fair on the opening morning and spoke to Mrs Merrick who is the coordinator of the event and I was a bit concerned to be honest. I thought it could go one of two ways, they could be excited that someone wanted to take it on or they could be annoyed that someone wanted to come in and keep it going when they couldn’t keep it going.

“I was a bit nervous to be honest but they were very excited about the prospect of someone taking over and Mrs Merrick has been very supportive since then filling me in on everything I need to know,” Mr Andrews said.

The Singleton PCYC offers a number of no-cost and low-cost initiatives for the local community including Safer Drivers Courses where learner drivers can log 20 hours for attended a five hour course. 

Another popular offering at the club includes the Rise Up program which is in partnership with NSW Police and aims to empower young people and counter the impact of juvenile crime.

Mr Andrews hopes to line up the book fair with book week and include a program for local schools to come along.

“There’s three schools within walking distance of the Pavilion at the showground so if we could somehow engage with those schools and get them to incorporate a visit to the book fair as part of their book fair week activities that would be great,” Mr Andrews said.

The next book sale is already locked in for the 28 – 30 July, 2022.

Image: Singleton Argus.