Another chapter being written for the Children’s Hospital Book Market

Turning pages and helping kids for 65 years

April 2025

If the Children’s Hospital Book Market were a person, it might think about retirement. The beloved community event is marking a deeply meaningful milestone this year – its 65^th anniversary – and has no intention of stopping its important work for kids in hospital. The Book Market is celebrating with a three-day sale from Friday, April 25 to Sunday, April 27 at St. Vital Centre.

Did you know the Children’s Hospital Book Market was the first event of its kind in Canada? Check out all 65 fun facts here!

This special event first started in 1961 as a humble way for a group of volunteers to raise about $1,500 to help care for sick kids. To help promote the event, Mayor Stephen Juba declared April 15 Book Blitz Day, asking community members to bring their gently used books to community centres for the sale, which at the time ran from for three days at Polo Park Shopping Centre.

Now, supported by St. Vital Centre, Book Market is the longest-running volunteer-led event for Manitoba’s only Children’s Hospital and has raised more than $10 million dollars! It has grown into an incredible production that gives about $500,000 annually for Child Life programming to provide comfort to 140,000 kids who need HSC Children’s Hospital every year.

As I shared with you last month, this programming is vitally important. It provides purposeful and fun opportunities for comfort, distraction, engagement and play so kids can be kids while in hospital. Music therapy, the library and technology programs, The Good Day Show on CHTV and therapeutic play all contribute to a child’s recovery.

Something that’s equally remarkable is that for 65 years the Children’s Hospital Book Market has been run entirely by volunteers! Teams work all year to collect, sort and price books. Leading up to the sales, volunteers pack up and move thousands upon thousands of books, and on event days volunteers manage the many tables, help community members find their perfect read and ring through purchases.

All of us at the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba are so very grateful for the dedication of hundreds of volunteers who make this event happen. I personally want to share my deep appreciation to each and every volunteer, as well as every sponsor, from past to present for their time spent making the Book Market as impactful as possible.

The Book Market is a cornerstone community event and plays a critical role in the Foundation’s mission to support families who need Children’s Hospital. We’re thrilled to celebrate Book Market’s meaningful history and are grateful to the community for coming out to buy books and to #ContinueCaringForKids in hospital for 65 years and beyond.

The anniversary sale will be fully stocked with thousands of donated, gently used books from over 80 categories including fiction, children’s books, mystery, recent releases, sports, cookbooks, travel, poetry, reference, languages and more. If you have books to donate, you can drop off them off year-round at Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Stations and Manitoba Dufresne Furniture stores.

I encourage you, your family and your friends to head to St. Vital Centre for the Children’s Hospital Book Market 65^th Anniversary sale. It will be the largest planned Book Market for 2025. All funds raised stay in Manitoba to help kids who need Manitoba’s only children’s hospital.

Children’s Hospital Book Market 65^th Anniversary sale hours:
Friday, April 25 | 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Saturday, April 26 | 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday, April 27 | 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

Once again, I thank all of you for your continued support.