Generosity Funds Community Outreach at SonBridge

By Kimberley Kuzma

SonBridge Strategic Communications Manager

The SonBridge Thrift&Gift Store in College Place, WA, recently sold a rare first edition printing of a book by John Harvey Kellogg for $2,000 through its online eBay store. 

The book was one of several valuable books contained among the 30 or more boxes of books that a generous local woman donated to the store. The woman, whose husband passed away several years ago, found herself needing to downsize. Overwhelmed with that process, she chose to donate the books where someone would be able to thoroughly research their value and find the right market for them.

This particular book, a rare 1903 first edition of The Living Temple, is an important part of Adventist history because it reflects the point at which Kellogg’s beliefs began to diverge from those of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Kellogg was disfellowshipped from the church in 1907, in part for the pantheistic beliefs expressed in The Living Temple.

SonBridge eBay store volunteers are no strangers to dealing with rare Adventist heritage books and excitedly discovered that another copy of this book had previously sold for $5,000, while another was listed for $10,000.

Upon learning the rare book’s worth, SonBridge let the generous donor know the value of the book she had donated in case she wanted to sell it herself. They had also discovered some personal pictures in some of the other books she had donated and wanted to return those to her. 

When they contacted her, she was grateful for the returned photographs, but assured them that she wanted the item to remain at SonBridge. 

“I just wanted the books to go someplace where I thought they could be appreciated,” she said.

It is this kind of generosity that enables SonBridge Center for Better Living, an Adventist Community Services Center, to continue meeting the needs of the under-served in the local community. The Thrift&Gift Store, fueled by generous donations of quality, used items, provides more than 50 percent of the SonBridge annual budget. 

SonBridge values each and every item generously donated by their community members. Every item sold through the Thrift&Gift Store, whether in person or online, enables SonBridge to continue its mission of bringing hope and wholeness to the people of the Walla Walla Valley. 

Learn more about SonBridge and how you can support this ministry at sonbridge.org.