A Gibsons bookstore named Reasons to Live has been raising money for suicide prevention. Last year, they raised over $60,000 –more than their store earns in a year.
For more than a decade, the owners of Reason to Live Books and Records, a used book and record store in Lower Gibsons, have held an annual Christmas party where bands donate their time to play and raise money for a good cause.
Co-owner Tim Clapp said that while some people ask if the name of the store is dark, he would call it optimistic. “I think for me, books, and records have definitely been reasons to live.”
Clapp said that in 2022, the event raised $17,000, an amount he did not expect to top. However, after 18 bands came to play at the 2023 Christmas party at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom, a staggering $63,757 was raised for the Crisis Centre BC and 1-800-suicide.
Clapp and business partner, Calen Degnan, first met as teenagers at the Gibsons & District Public Library, the Tyee reported in a profile last year. Clapp said Degnan’s cousin connected the two after hearing about their mutual love of reading and they hit it off instantly.
And they started throwing Christmas parties long before they owned a book and record store. Sixteen years ago, they started inviting friends and musician acquaintances to perform. The early parties were held in Degnan’s basement or local cafes, but as the event grew, Clapp and Degnan had to start renting larger venues. About five years in, they had to decide what to do with the money the event garnered. “We were like, what are we gonna do, split 400 bucks around like 10 bands, you know? So we’re like, ‘Let’s just donate the money,’” said Clapp.
“The store makes a lot of shirts so it only made sense for us to do a limited shirt every year to raise money for charity, and it’s added to the donation by thousands of dollars each year,” Clapp said. “We are so grateful that Peach Pit allowed us to make the shirt for free, allowing us to donate 100 per cent of the profits.”
Clapp said that the Crisis Centre BC and the 1-800-suicide are important causes to him. “I think a lot of people close to us have been affected with depression and mental illness (not to mention ourselves) and this cause means so much to us. The people at Crisis Centre BC are so amazing and we couldn’t be prouder to support them,” he said in an email.
Helping fill out the parties’ rosters are Clapp’s connections to the B.C. music scene through his Kingfisher Bluez music label.
Reason to Live Books and Records first opened in 2019 and this year, the store hosted two events, one all-ages, and one 19 and older.
Clapp said that while the all-ages show costs considerably more to host, it is more than worth it.
“It’s really important to me, because I grew up on the Sunshine Coast, I grew up in Roberts Creek, going to all ages shows, and putting on all these shows before I was old enough to go to a show because I just wanted to go see music,” he said.
He added that he and Degnan used to perform together at Roberts Creek and Granthams’ halls.
“Growing up on the Sunshine Coast, it’s really important to me to show people from small towns that you don’t have to wait for anything, you can make a scene where you are,” Clapp said. “You can put records out or you could open a business or write a book or do anything you want wherever you are.”
How to find help
Multiple resources are available for those who grapple with thoughts of suicide as well as other mental health struggles.
1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) is available for any individuals who are or know someone who is having thoughts of suicide. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is available in 140 languages.
The Crisis Centre Chat is available online for adults 25 and older, where you can chat with a trained volunteer from the Crisis Centre. For those under 25, the Youth in BC service is available.
There is a Seniors Distress Line for topics specific to older adults which may include suicide, retirement, stress, relocation or loss of a loved one.
Jordan Copp is the Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
