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Planned Parenthood California Central Coast selling 100,000-plus items at annual book sale KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOSShoppers browse through a vast selection of books and other forms of media during the Mary Jane McCord Book Sale at Earl Warren Showgrounds. Proceeds from the event went to Planned Parenthood California Central Coast.
Many people are visiting the Earl Warren Showgrounds this week for a sale that features everything from the first Wonder Woman comic book to a complete set of Mark Twain’s works.
Those are among the treasures at the 48th annual Mary Jane McCord Book Sale, Planned Parenthood California Central Coast’s benefit that runs through Sunday at the Santa Barbara site.
The event, which began on Sept. 15, offers attendees the chance to purchase heavily discounted books, puzzles, games, CDs, DVDs and vinyl records that have been donated by supporters.
Dozens of shoppers were lined up for entry prior to the event’s opening for business on Wednesday, with more than 100 others filtering through the book sale before the first hour of operations had concluded.
The book sale, which opens at noon today, is free to attend. (See the FYI box for the complete hours.) Proceeds from the sale will go directly to Planned Parenthood, which operates six clinics throughout Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties.
“The Ultimate Guide to the Animal Mind” is among the 100,000-plus donated items.Those who visit the book sale during its final day on Sunday will be greeted with an additional 50% off the already discounted prices.
“For 10 glorious days, you can live the ‘reduce, recycle, reuse’ dream,” Planned Parenthood wrote in an email. “By the time you have roamed this HUGE sale — from Fiction to Non, History to Mystery, Nautica to Erotica, Self-Improvement to Home Improvement — you will have burned enough calories to try some of the wonderful recipes from one of the hundreds of cookbooks available at the sale.”
A few notable finds the News-Press observed among the 120-plus tables while visiting the event on Wednesday included a 1974 reprint of “Sensation Comics” No. 1, featuring the first adventure of Wonder Woman; a 24-volume set of the complete works of Mark Twain from 1923 and a 1937 edition of Charles Dickens’ “David Copperfield.”
Also catching the attention of the News-Press was a Sept. 15, 2001 edition of the New York Times, which ran the Saturday following the Sept, 11 attacks bearing the headline: “Bush Leads Prayer, Visits Aid Crews; Senate, 98-0, Backs Use of Armed Force.”
This year’s event received more than 100,000 donated items, registered over 150 volunteer signups, and secured more than 180 table sponsors, which is the largest number of such sponsors the event has ever had, according to book sale Co-Chair Christina Schowe.
“We’re having a fabulous sale, our best ever. We brought in over 4,000 boxes of books, and we still have books in the back that we’re bringing out so there’s still new books every day,” Ms. Schowe told the News-Press. “Each year it’s a bigger and bigger sale … every year beats the year before, the community support is amazing.”
In terms of meeting the event’s fundraising goals, Ms. Schowe informed the News-Press that “(Planned Parenthood is) very close. If our sale keeps progressing the way it is, we will hit our goal and probably exceed it.”
When asked if the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade in June contributed to this year’s success, Ms. Schowe said she believed that it was “part of it.” But she largely attributed the book sale’s success to the organization “(getting) the word out more than any other year we have, especially in the Tri-Counties.”
The Planned Parenthood warehouse in Goleta accepts book donations throughout the year to be sold at the book sale, and books that remain unsold are listed on amazon.com.
email: jdaniels@newspress.com
FYI
Planned Parenthood California Central Coast’s annual Mary Jane McCord Book Sale is taking place through Sunday at Earl Warren Showgrounds, 3400 Calle Real, Santa Barbara. Hours are noon-6 p.m. today, noon to 8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
For more information on the event, visit ppcccbooksale.com.
lcw-PPBooksale-5, lead photo
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