The February 2023 Lifeline Canberra Bookfair was a “resounding success” marking a record of over $500,000 raised, Lifeline Canberra CEO Carrie-Ann Leeson gleefully told Canberra Daily today.

Before the doors to the pavilion opened and the highly anticipated event began on Friday 10 February, 2,000 Canberrans were already waiting in line eager to snag some goodies.  

Bookfair attendees began queuing as early as 4am on the Friday and a total of 23,500 people made their way through the maze of items over the weekend.

Ms Leeson said she was “totally overwhelmed” by how many Canberrans donated and purchased at the Bookfair.

By Sunday afternoon, very little stock was left on the rows and rows of tables, and Ms Leeson said “millions” of books, puzzles, DVDs and more found good homes.

She narrowed down this year’s success due to Canberrans’ ability to acclimatise back to a world of no restrictions and the community feeling comfortable to be out in large numbers.

“We obviously don’t have the Covid restrictions in place, but I think it’s a combination of people wanting to get out and support Lifeline,” Ms Leeson said.

The big Bookfairs at Exhibition Park are Lifeline Canberra’s key fundraising events.

“It’s wonderful to see the community out in full force again post-Covid,” she said.

“It goes a long way and is a big step towards our individual and collective recovery post-Covid.”

Ms Leeson gave a massive thank-you to the around 400 volunteers who work across the warehouse and Bookfair to ensure the event’s success.

Particularly, a big thank-you to the volunteers who work all year round to sort the Bookfair items, and the community for such enthusiastic support.

“The warehouse was receiving pallets of donations at the same time as selling, and volunteers were working all weekend to sort through all of those generous donations,” she said.

• Read more: Lifeline Canberra Bookfair bound to be biggest ever (2 February 2023)

Canberra Daily is keen to hear from you about a story idea in the Canberra and surrounding region. Click here to submit a news tip.