There are times you should really keep your mouth shut, just in case you tempt the gods of fate to shut it for you.
“We won’t need an umbrella. It’s not going to rain.”
“What are the chances of your parents walking in?”
“Lightning never strikes twice, Mr. Trevino.”
“At least we won’t have to worry about tables this year.”
That last one was at a Times Colonist book drive organizing meeting. Rounding up enough folding trestle tables on which to display the books at the charity sale is an annual challenge. The sale uses more than 400 tables, generously loaned by rec centres, school districts, the Saanich Fair.
Sometimes there’s a conflict with another big table-intensive event, such as an election, and it’s a real scramble to find enough for the book sale. No election this spring, though, which is why organizers were feeling smug — right up until this week’s federal government labour dispute meant the 100 tables that were to be provided by CFB Esquimalt were no longer available.
So, does anyone out there have a spare 100 tables down the back of the couch? Ones that you don’t need back until the second week of May? If so, please contact Ed Kennedy at [email protected]. He will be pathetically grateful.
Meanwhile, the show must go on. The drive-through book drop that precedes the sale is today and Sunday, from 9 to 3:30 both days, at the Victoria Curling Club at 1952 Quadra St.
Here’s how it works: Readers donate good-quality used books, which volunteers sort for resale to the public. The money raised at the sale is matched, in part, by provincial government funds via Decoda Literacy Solutions (the more you spend, the more they send). The money, more than $6 million since the first sale in 1998, goes to further literacy on Vancouver Island, mostly via grants to schools. No, the TC doesn’t make a cent.
If you would like to donate books this weekend (and gosh, we hope you do) there are a few things to note.
First, it would really help if you packed them in boxes or bags that you don’t want back. Doing so speeds the unloading process.
It would also be appreciated if the boxes were small enough to be lifted by the volunteers, many of whom have good hearts but bad backs (and if you feel like unloading cars for a couple of hours, they would be thrilled to share the job).
Also, quality really does matter. No encyclopedias, textbooks, magazines, directories, outdated reference works, Reader’s Digest condensed books or National Geographics, please. Ditto for anything dog-eared, mouldy, smelly or otherwise in poor condition (this feels vaguely autobiographical.)
Sorry if that sounds overly picky, but the truth is that discarded books cannot be recycled in the same way as newsprint or office paper. Last year it cost the Times Colonist Literacy Society several thousand dollars to dispose of books that couldn’t be offered for sale; that’s money that would have otherwise gone to literacy grants.
If coming to the curling club by car, enter off Pembroke Street between Quadra and Blanshard, then follow the volunteers’ directions. (Please don’t come in off Caledonia; the Victoria police need to use that lane.) Stay in your vehicle while the volunteers unload your books. (There’ll be a spot beside the Quadra Street sidewalk where pedestrians and cyclists can drop off books, safe from moving cars.)
A hint: the line of cars can be long, so you might want to give yourself a bit of extra time when heading for the curling club. And if the queue is tailing back and you have the time, maybe just roll your eyes, say “nope” and come back when it’s less busy.
Remember, it’s only the book collection that takes place this weekend. The sale itself will take place Saturday, May 6, from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m., and Sunday, May 7, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
