Charity unleashed

NEWPORT BEACH — The Compassion In Action Club set out to benefit someone at Newport Harbor High School Saturday morning — whether it was five animals packed in a cage or five family members in a motel room.

The animal-advocacy club held its first-ever rummage sale outside the school to raise money for programs, spreading books, clothing, electronics and food on tables across the lawn. In case the items didn’t sell, the club had a backup plan. Any goods left by the end of the day went to local thrift shops and people who lost homes in the wildfires.

“No matter what, the stuff will go to a good cause,” said club advisor Karen Coyne, an English teacher at Newport Harbor.

The sale, which began shortly after dawn and continued through the early afternoon, marked the first major event of the fall for Compassion In Action, a nonprofit that aims to raise money to start chapters at schools nationwide. While a larger crowd gathered for a volleyball game behind the gates, Coyne and a dozen students manned the tables outside and collected signatures for two initiatives — one a petition to increase the size of cages on factory farms, the other a letter to Assemblyman Chuck DeVore supporting a bill to require spaying and neutering of pets.

Many of the customers who stopped by said they hadn’t heard about the causes, but a few signed the petitions before leaving.

“I care about animals, and I think it’s terrible that they’re crammed in cages like that,” said Newport Beach resident Kim Monaco, who added that she grew up in a house full of cats and dogs.

By the end of the sale, the club had netted more than $400, part of which was earmarked for other nonprofit organizations. Coyne said one of the beneficiaries, In Defense of Animals, planned to support her club’s upcoming trip to Animal Acres, a sanctuary for animals rescued from slaughterhouses.

Newport Harbor PTA President Patricia Nance, whose neighbor recently started a drive for wildfire victims, stopped by after noon to pack some of the remaining items into her truck; club members took the remainder to the Salvation Army. Coyne solicited most of the goods through community e-mails and fliers, as students and others turned in old clothes, toys and even VCRs and telephones.

Compassion In Action got a hand from another supporter Saturday: The Veggie Grill, an all-vegan restaurant in Irvine, donated food.

Members of Humane California, an animal-advocacy group, milled around the petition table throughout the morning. Bob Penney of Laguna Beach set up a display by the sidewalk that he said mirrored the condition of farmed chickens: five stuffed birds with their beaks cut off, packed in a wire cage.

“I’ve raised chickens before, and they’re much more complex creatures than people think,” said his colleague Annika Roman. “They do ritualistic things every day.”

THE COMPASSION IN ACTION CLUB

SCHOOL: Newport Harbor High School

FOUNDER: Karen Coyne

YEAR STARTED: 2005

MISSION: To educate students about compassion toward animals and raise money to start chapters at schools nationwide

WEBSITE: www.theciaclub.com

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at [email protected].