Tony Grove of Tony's Kingdom of Comics in Keizer, Oregon writes in to share his grateful Free Comic Book Day experience.

As most of you know Tony's Kingdom of Comics just had its 4th annual Free Comic Book Day on May 1st.  This year's event was an even bigger success than any of our past events in many different aspects.  As usual I always try to sponsor various charities during my events.  On FCBD we had donations of two barrels of food plus $20 cash, and we raised just under $300 for the Shriner's Children's Hospital through items donated by all my guests and myself.  Last December we also collected even more food, and piles of toys were donated to the Somika House for Women and the Marines Toys for Tots programs.  The turn out and support for both of these events was personally overwhelming.  The response from my friends, family, guests, customers and community never ceases to amaze and inspire me.

However on FCBD I was taken further by surprise because everyone seemed to be supporting me personally more than ever before.  I didn't start this shop with the idea of making a ton of money.  All I wanted to do was pay the bills and make a difference in the community.  Well I have succeeded in making a difference, but not always in paying the bills.  Since the economy took a huge dive in September 2008, my financial future and the future of Tony's Kingdom of Comics has been in doubt on the best of days.  But the support on May 1st FCBD has renewed my spirit and will help me weather this economic storm.

So this is a huge 'thank you' to all of you who have joined me in various ways to show how much you care.  There are way too many to name, but you and I know who you are.  I am sorry it has taken this long to write this but this last week I have just been processing all the positive input I have received from everyone.

Once again, thank you and God bless all who help me make a difference.  Lets all continue to do so.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.