Competitors are helping one another get ahead.

It may sound strange – but that’s exactly what happened in California when a bookstore was nearly forced to close its doors.

Other stores in the area teamed up to make sure they could stay in business.

Lindsey Pena reported.

It’s only been open about a year, but The Book Catapult has become a go-to for people looking for something different…something special.

From a collection of carefully curated shelves.

“They know their business, put it that way, and they know what’s interesting.”

Jennifer Powel and her husband Seth Marko love sharing their passion for books with others.

But in the last days of January, the couple discovered that Seth needed emergency open-heart heart surgery.

“Very intense surgery, but there was no other option and we were confident that everything was going to go well,” said Powel.

Thankfully he made it out okay, but was in no shape to work.

And since Jennifer was taking care of him and their three-year-old daughter, neither could she.

But once word started to spread…They realized their doors wouldn’t stay closed for long.

“Everybody really kind of jumped into action like almost immediately, which is really wonderful because then we were literally only closed for a day,” said Powel.

Colleagues from other bookstores decided to staff the shop, free of charge until Jennifer and Seth could get back on their feet.

“It’s not really hard to believe that this happened but it’s still heartwarming to see that it actually did come into place,” said Powel.

Jennifer and her husband are touched by the outpouring of support.

“I think he would probably say I don’t know how to thank you but I will probably spend the rest of my life trying to,” said Powel. “From our customers to our friends to our volunteer staff, just thank you smiling.”