RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Last year, Video Fan was desperately seeking donations as the video store faced closing after almost 30 years in operation. But in the eleventh hour, thousands of dollars poured in guaranteeing Video Fan a second act.
“That was an amazing experience, even if that campaign had not worked, just to know that it wasn’t just important to the people who worked here but it really mattered to the community,” said general manager Andrew Blossom.
Blossom says since then, they’ve successfully become a non-profit.
“It’s over 40,000 titles and so we think of it as a library or an archive that we want to keep together for the community instead of disbanding,” said Blossom.
The store is now working on changing the way they do business. It’s raising donations by giving away some leftover goodies from last year’s fundraising efforts, including clothes and signed DVDs if a certain amount is donated. But this year, the store’s not fighting for its life.
“This is not the same thing as last time, we don’t have our backs against the wall,” said Blossom.
Blossom says their online efforts will support ongoing fundraising.
“Is really just a booster for that effort, it’s a way to get us going,” said Blossom.
And soon, they’ll do away with late fees and instead have people pay for memberships, allowing them to check out rentals for free. Blossom says it’ll continue to give residents a place to look for and talk about movies.
“We feel so lucky that the people in this community care about Video Fan and the video store culture and we really appreciate it,” said Blossom.
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