Local nonprofit forced to shut off water to stay open

WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Off the side of Seymour Highway stands what looks like an old, abandoned building. On the inside, there are well over 70,000 books you can buy for under two dollars.

The Friends of Wichita Falls Public Library is a place to buy affordable books. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Alan Martin, the President of the charity behind the bookstore, was convinced of the library’s important role in the community.

“During the pandemic, the children were out of school, a lot of parents were out of work. We had a lot of people come in here and get books for free,” Martin said. “And that convinced me that this is an essential service to the city of Wichita Falls and all of north Texas and southern Oklahoma.”

Recently, the group hit a rough patch. Due to drops in donations, Martin elected to shut off the water in the building to stay open. He said that despite how little water they used, they just didn’t have enough money to pay the bill. But thanks to the group’s work in the community, Martin found out that the water might not be shut off for long.

“I had some people on Facebook get in touch with me and say, ‘We’d like to help. How can we make a donation?‘” Martin said.

And sure enough, the donations started rolling in.

Martin never intended to ask for money as he’s working on getting grants for building improvements and paying off the mortgage.

However, community support vindicated what he does with the charity.

“[If] somebody wants to learn something and they want some books on a certain subject, we’re glad to help them out,” Martin said. “A lot of people came in during the pandemic and got books, and a lot of them have since come back and made a donation just because we helped them.”

Donations and volunteer hours are always welcome at The Friends of Wichita Falls Public Library. Martin is accepting one-time, monthly or yearly donations through PayPal.