MURRIETA -- College students awake at 6 a.m. during spring break? View a video

You heard right.

More than 100 people perched themselves on carts Friday morning to rush past a ribbon-cutting ceremony and head into the new Goodwill thrift store on Murrieta Hot Springs. Among them were four yawning Calvary Chapel Bible College students in search of cups.

"Mugs would be sweet," said 18-year-old Amanda Drew. "You can eat cereal out of them."

Everything from clothing, kitchenware, lamps, books, scarves, pillows, sheets, picture frames and hats drew in the crowd at the opening at 39400 Murrieta Hot Springs Road in Margarita Square. The store is the seventh in Riverside County and the 54th in the Southern California region that includes San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Riverside counties, said Jeremy Schlittenhart, a Goodwill spokesman.

Goodwill Industries International is a nonprofit organization that helps disabled people find jobs.

President of Goodwill Southern California, Doug Barr, said the regional branch assisted 31,878 people in 2007 with employment assistance, either training them for interviews, providing them with appropriate clothing or helping them with job searches. Also last year, Goodwill Southern California helped 2,776 people with disabilities find jobs with starting wages of $10.99 an hour, Barr said.

Some patrons were ready for the early-morning rush Monday, but others were a little surprised that an almost frenetic energy accompanied the opening.

"I hear (about) people getting serious when they're giving away 52-inch plasmas, but not over this," said Riverside resident, Lisa Reyes, who held back with her twin daughters who were seated in a double-seat stroller while others pushed forward.

To Reyes' surprise, and the glee of the crowd, store officials announced a raffle to give away a $10 coupon every 30 minutes, DVD players and a 32-inch plasma television. Some 200 items throughout the store were marked with stickers that read "free." And indeed they were.

Councilman Gary Thomasian, who attended the event, said the thrift store would promote equal employment opportunity.

"When you spend your hard-earned dollars here, it will further the cause," Thomasian said.

Within three minutes of entering the store, customers were already moving large pieces of furniture from the back to the cash registers up front. Others waited for one person to put an item down so they could pick it up. A crowd formed around several large paintings, each person eyeing the price tag on the art pieces.

On the prowl for goods, 20-year-old Andrew Sherman, another Calvary Chapel student, moved from aisle to aisle, carrying a large mug and a belt. After looking at a painting of purple flowers that was going for $20, Sherman smiled and said he'd been considering another college must-have.

"I'm thinking about buying a pair of cowboy boots for that much," he said.

Contact staff writer Nelsy Rodriguez at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or nrodriguez@californian.com. Comment at www.californian.com