Book sale adds to fundraiser

Cindy Coffman believes every book has at least one more read in it.

And she came up with a creative way to spread the written words.

Coffman, a cashier at the Safeway on the South Hill, collaborated with employees at the nearby 2nd Look Books to find hundreds of new buyers for old books.

The project was part of Safeway’s Breast Cancer Awareness annual fundraiser, which also took on a special meaning for the bookstore. Ann Simpson, longtime owner of the store, died of breast cancer in September.

Simpson, 69, was diagnosed with the disease 10 years prior, only to have it return.

On many days in October, Coffman stopped by 2nd Look Store, 2829 E. 29th Ave., and picked up books the store decided not to sell. Those books were then sold at the grocery store for $1 each.

A voracious reader and regular customer at 2nd Look Books, Coffman credits co-worker Cheryl Fuller for brainstorming with her on the idea.

The book drive raised nearly $1,000 and added to the store’s $6,700 total for the fundraiser. Safeway customers also brought in used books, and a few other Safeway stores took the South Hill store’s lead and started their own book drive for the corporatewide fundraiser.

Book choices ranged from paperback romance novels to hardcover textbooks, which surprisingly to Coffman, were very popular.

“I don’t like books being thrown away,” said Coffman, a Spokane resident for eight years. “I figured, everybody likes to read, and it was something (Safeway) could approve. People gobbled them up.”

Safeway store manager Dan DiCicco said that because of the fundraiser’s success, the store will hold a used book sale next October. Safeway also has companywide Easter seal, muscular dystrophy and prostate cancer fundraisers.

As for the future of the bookstore, manager Deborah Brooks said Simpson’s family continues to look for a new owner.

“We are not closing it,” Brooks said, squelching any rumors. “The family sees this as Ann’s legacy.”