Big Brothers Big Sisters of Saint John set a new record during its recent Big Book Sale.

A total of $22,719.31 was raised during the 17th annual event at Brunswick Square in August.

The money will support mentoring programs for kids and youth in Saint John, Sussex, and Charlotte County areas.

Executive director Laurie Collins said the organization was able to hold the event at its usual location.

“We were able to go back to the original setup that we did for about 14 to 15 years before the pandemic,” said Collins.

“We were able to go back to our set up in Brunswick Square on the first level of the centre court area … and going back seems to have been a major success.”

Planning is also underway for the organization’s social enterprise project called “The Big Book Shelf”.

“We’ll be announcing that at a later date, but we will be working with some local coffee shops to have bookshelves in their stores, so folks can grab themselves a book and make a donation at the same time,” said Collins.

Collins added the organization has upcoming book drop-off dates at its office in Brunswick Square.

The dates include October 17 and 24, November 7 and 21, and December 5.

Residents can also call ahead to make arrangements for drop off at the door.

Also coming up for Big Brothers Big Sisters is the “Walk and Win” event, which is in partnership with several local restaurants.