By John Philip Wyllie | SDUN Reporter

When he began writing “Finding Solace at the Kensington Café” local author Tim Scheidt had no idea that his book would trigger a community-wide fundraising effort for the beleaguered Kensington Public Library. Initially, the book was simply an effort to shine a positive light on the café, which is located at 4141 Adams Ave., as well as the surrounding community. Somewhere in between here and there, a light went on in Scheidt’s fertile mind.

After learning that the nearby library located at 4121 Adams Ave. was facing drastic budget cuts, Scheidt decided to donate a portion of his book’s proceeds to help replenish the library’s dwindling budget. A goal of raising $20,000 was set and several promotional events were scheduled. With the help of a matching grant, over $1,000 has been donated in just the first month of 2011.

“Initially, it was about sharing with the book with people and helping to foster a sense of community, but when you do something like this you can’t predict what things that are going to come from it,” Scheidt said.

“Knowing that we wanted to give something back from the book proceeds and then reading a stream of articles about library budget cuts (made it easy to decide upon the appropriate beneficiary).”

For every $15 book sold through the cafe or through the book’s website the library reaps a $12 benefit.

Over the last year Scheidt invested countless hours recording the thoughts of a representative cross-section of the café’s regular customers. He found that each one of them considered the venerable Kensington landmark to be much more than just a place to grab a cup of coffee or a bite to eat. It is a gathering place where locals share stories, debate politics, enjoy good times, listen to music and reaffirm neighborhood ties. His subjects, which ranged in age from 21 to 83, offered interesting insights and shared their thoughts on a variety of topics.

Here is an excerpt from “Keegan” one of the 14 people interviewed for the book that inspired Scheidt to take action with the library initiative:

I try not to use the word “hope” very often because, to me, hoping is wishing something would happen. Hoping does not imply direct action, and I’m a big advocate of direct action. I try not to spend my time “hoping” for a better world but rather spend my time “making” a better world. I think the more that people take that approach, the more that’s going to get done. Real change happens from the bottom up and emerges in the collective consciousness of the people. The more people are proactive and don’t resign themselves to what is, the better our world can be.

Scheidt, clearly fascinated by people and their journeys, said that the direct participation from residents and café patrons such as Keegan all helped make his book possible. Better yet, now anyone who merely purchases the book can be involved too as each purchase will help to positively impact the library.

“While the Kensington Café was the catalyst for the book, the themes presented are more universal in nature,” Scheidt said. “Hopefully, it will inspire people to open up and share a little bit of themselves with others and in doing so they will encourage others to do the same. This project can serve as an example for other communities and other creative endeavors to take place. We are planting a seed that could sprout in many, many directions.”

“Finding Solace at the Kensington Café” is available online at solacekencafe.com, at the Kensington Café 4141 Adams Ave., and various locations throughout Kensington.