Community members came together Tuesday to participate in a “cash mob” supporting Lawn Gnome Publishing after its recent robbery.
Soon after Lawn Gnome Publishing owner Aaron Hopkins-Johnson posted a Facebook status update about the robbery last Friday, downtown Phoenix community member Layal Rabat created the cash mob event on Facebook.
The event encouraged community members to donate money and books or to shop at the store to help it recover from more than $1,500 worth of damage.
The bookstore also sells merchandise on websites such as AbeBooks.com, but because the computer with its inventory database was stolen, they have not been able to sell their products online.
By Tuesday evening, around 60 to 80 people had visited Lawn Gnome to support the cash mob, said Lawn Gnome employee Ariel Monet. People donated more than 100 books, and around 10 also gave cash.
“On one level it’s a terrible loss for the community; (on) another level it’s this like national way of changing business and how businesses are ran and supporting local arts in your area and then giving them a national stage,” Hopkins-Johnson said.
Hopkins-Johnson added that the cash mob event alone led to national support, with people as far as Boston donating via PayPal.
“All of this happened because of the cash mob,” Hopkins-Johnson said. “(Rabat has) really brought a larger audience to it than I ever thought was going to happen.”
The idea to start the cash mob came to Rabat after she saw Hopkins-Johnson’s Facebook status, she said. Rabat then began brainstorming ways to help the bookstore with a friend.
“The response has been enormous,” Rabat said. “I know that we already have a really amazing community, but it’s been super nice to see all these people you see around all the time and people you don’t always see around all the time support the bookstore.”
Community member Kevin Patterson participated in the cash mob after he heard about it on Facebook. Patterson said he was motivated to purchase books for his niece and nephew on Tuesday because he knew the robbery occurred during one of Phoenix’s better shopping seasons and would therefore be a negative impact on Lawn Gnome’s revenues.
“It’s not just the money’s gone, (Lawn Gnome) lost that key shopping period,” Patterson said. “I’m glad that the community’s aware of it, and they want to show their support. I think it’s fantastic that people are coming around.”
Although Hopkins-Johnson could not specify the amount of money raised Tuesday from the cash mob, he said it would make a significant impact on Lawn Gnome’s recovery, as insurance will not cover most of the damage.
“It’s really helping out all of the people who work here who don’t deserve to have their hard work taken from them.”
Rabat said the cash mob brought the community together to counteract the damage caused by the robbery.
“It’s really brought the community together and I feel like whatever negativity the person who broke into the shop created, that has been avalanched by the positive community support.”
Editor’s Note: Downtown Devil staff reporter Becky Brisley works for Lawn Gnome Publishing. She did not contribute to the reporting or editing of this story.
Contact the reporter at pkunthar@asu.edu
