School books store location for fair
Local firm donates space for annual Las Posas fundraiser
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

Where there's a will, there's a way.

The old adage proved true recently for Las Posas Elementary School's annual book fair.

When it looked as though the decade-old fundraiser, which raised over $4,000 last year, was doomed due to lack of space, school administrators asked M.F. Daily Corp. if they could use a vacant store in nearby Las Posas Plaza.

Representatives of the locally owned company not only said yes, they opened the 2,000square-foot space to the school free of charge. The store usually rents for $9,000 a month, meaning that Daily contributed $4,500 to the two-week event. The book fair runs through Nov. 30.

"It's a community thing, and we've done a lot of things through the years that support the community," said Ron McConville, Daily property manager. "It just turned out to be a win-win situation."

The school previously held the fair in the multipurpose room, but that space was needed for classrooms for students waiting at Las Posas for Rancho Rosal Elementary School to open. The new school in Village at the Park is expected to open after winter break.

"We just feel very fortunate to have such close community partnerships . . . very, very grateful for the generosity to our school," Principal Julie AntillaGarza said.

She hopes to raise at least as much money as last year's total to fund arts assemblies, hire a part-time music teacher or allow children more time with a physical education teacher.

The fair also keeps alive the tradition of filling classroom bookshelves through student donations. Students often donate books purchased at the fair to their classrooms.

About 40 parent and teacher volunteers have signed up to run the book fair from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. The store is situated about a half mile south of the school, at 516 Las Posas Road.

Banners announcing the book fair are expected to go up soon on the shopping center's two marquees.