Operation School Bell committee members are each asked to become a School Coordinator with one of the campuses that we serve with our clothing assistance. Once a relationship is built between the school counselor and the AL School Coordinator., we are sometimes asked to assist with other needs that the school may identify. Our Reading Buddies Program was developed from that identified need. Members of our chapter were asked if they would like to assist with reading development skills at Houston Elementary in Conroe ISD and a short training was provided for our volunteers. We have been working with the students for two years, reading with them and improving skills throughout the school year.

A summer program was developed for Houston Elementary and we were again asked if we could help. Ten members have shared their afternoons with students for the Summer Library Program. We have read to the students, they have read to us, we have all practiced our Spanish, and have even done some arts and crafts projects.
As Pat Ledden, a chapter member volunteer stated, “I do not know who enjoyed this more, the students or me.”

At the end of Summer School, books will be donated from Assistance League for the children to each take a book home for their personal libraries.

The Reading Buddies have been a wonderful way to expand our literacy work within our Operation School Bell Program.

The Poison Information-Always AskTM committee is excited to announce their new poison information video. The presentation teaches young children about the dangers of poisonous household items and cautions them to “Always Ask” before eating or drinking anything unfamiliar.

Before the pandemic, committee members would visit schools and deliver this message in person to small groups of pre-k and kindergarten children. When that became impossible because of restrictions to maintain safety, the committee asked Randy Young of Cut-N-Shoot Studios to help create a video of the presentation.

The video, which is available in both English and Spanish, captures the three individual segments of the in-person presentation. It begins with the reading of the “Always Ask Storybook” and continues with a game where the children identify if a substance is Yummy or Yucky. This helps children identify and discriminate between safe and poisonous household products.
The presentation concludes with everyone learning and singing a simple, fun song encouraging children to “Always Ask” about unknown items.

The timing of this video couldn’t be better as the Texas Poison Center Network recently reported a significant increase in calls involving children ingesting gummy vitamins, cleaning products, disinfectants, and hand sanitizer. With the help of this new video, the Poison Information-Always Ask committee continues to deliver their life-saving message to young children in public and private schools throughout Montgomery County.

When our members gathered last month to assemble 300 Hugs Pillow packages, we were sure they would please the children who received them. They are beautiful heart-shaped pillows, in vibrant patterns, and filled with items that any child would love. But we could not imagine the real-life situations in which those pillows might be used; nor how precious they could be to the recipients. Recently, a counselor at a school we serve sent us the following description of the significant impact that Hugs Pillows had on one family.
Yesterday morning we welcomed more students back into the building for the 10th time this year! Three of those students are from a family whose mother has filed for homelessness recently for the second time. They were SO excited to be back in school and literally had a little hop in their steps as they walked through the front doors. The mother came into the office about an hour after school started to pick her kids up because she had to go to work and didn’t have any way of getting them at the end of the day. She had tried to contact the kids’ father to see if he could but was unable to reach him. She was on the verge of tears knowing that her kids were going to be so sad to have to leave. I ended up working with mom and figuring out a plan on how they could stay (She has a PK student who ends school at a different time, so I offered for her to stay with me until her brother and sister were done to make it a little easier). Anyways…the student’s father was finally gotten in touch with and was supposed to pick them all up at the end of the day. After all buses left the students came to the office and proceeded to wait for their father. They waited and waited and after an hour we finally called mom and told her she needed to leave work to come. The students continued to be happy to be in school, but you could see the anxiety increasing, especially in the youngest. Luckily, thanks to you all I was able to offer them a “coping skills” bag that the Assistance League has generously packed and given us. I was able to give them options between a Frozen bag, Alice & Wonderland, Flowers, and Blue Jean pillows and let them pick which animal they wanted as well. Immediately the youngest chose Frozen theme and pulled out all the content until her parent finally arrived. It was a gift to me to be able to provide them something while they waited that they could take home and call their own. A little after 10:00 last night I got a message from mom, that I wanted to pass this along to you just to say thank you once again. Thank you for supporting our school, students, and me always. I am SO grateful!!
“Good evening…. I am writing to you to say Thank you very much for my daughter … and for giving them present. Words cannot express how I appreciate what you did for me and my children today. I don’t know what came over me and I decided to keep the children at school. I’m so sorry. I will forever be grateful for that. Have a good night.”

Stories like these make us proud to be members of such a dedicated organization and to know our support is so appreciated, but we are also very humbled to learn the critical situations that many parents face.

Assistance League of Tucson, a volunteer organization whose mission is “Volunteers working in the Tucson community to help those in need,” faced some grim moments at the outset of the pandemic last year.

The nonprofit saw a dramatic drop in the number of volunteers who are vital to the organization’s operations.

But the organization reacted quickly to the changing conditions brought about by the pandemic.

“We’re coming up on our 61st anniversary of helping people, those in need here in Tucson,” said Kim Sterling, Assistance League of Tucson president. “You look ahead and you go, did we do well during the pandemic? Are we going to survive another 60 years and still be here to help out?”

At the start of the pandemic, Sterling said they closed down their thrift shop, which provides about 60 percent of their revenue, with donations and grants providing the rest.

As soon as they closed they began to look at their expenses. In 1959, their founders built up a reserve fund totaling one year’s operating expenses, which they didn’t want to dip into since they could not see the end of the pandemic and worried about the possibility of another disaster, Sterling said.

“We did three things, but we had one goal in mind, keep serving those most in need in the Tucson community,” said Sterling. “So we pivoted our program, we cut costs, and we created new revenue streams.”

Sterling said all five of their programs continued with $190,000 in cuts with the proviso that if revenue increased, funding would return to the programs. They looked to maintain the number of people they served, but reduce the amount provided. Their Starting Over Supplies program required a shift in the way the program operated.

Through the program, the organization works with social workers to provide basic housekeeping supplies and other provisions tailored to individuals who may be experiencing homelessness for the first time or coming out of foster care, said Sterling. So when social service agencies shut down and they could not deliver a kit because they were no longer meeting in person, Sterling said they panicked.

“First we panicked, and then we flung into action, and we started reaching out to different agencies and organizations and finding those that are meeting face to face with clients who needed help because we figured the need had probably increased,” said Sterling.

She said now they are back to providing about 100 kits per month and increasing. They are looking at a loss of about $110,000 for this fiscal year, said Sterling, but as an organization with an $800,000 annual budget, they typically return about 70% to the community and expect this year’s percentage to only drop to 65%.

Assistance League of Amador Valley has kept up some of its programs while putting others on hold during the pandemic.

Assistance League of Amador Valley member Marti Vattuone delivers birthday goodies to a child in a shelter to help make a special celebration.

One continuing effort is donations of milk, eggs, flour, sugar and oil to the Food Pantry in Livermore on Junction Avenue, which serves more than 1,200 families each month. These deliveries are made weekly, thanks to donations and grants.

The league has also provided birthday bags to 22 children in local shelters to help them celebrate. The gifts go to two shelters for victims of domestic abuse and one shelter for homeless people.

“This is one way for these children to feel special during a very challenging time in their lives,” league officials stated in a press release. “Birthday bags let the children know we care.”

The chapter’s annual fundraising activities — the Poinsettia Sale, Crab Feast and Mad Hatter’s Tea — are on hold due to COVID-19, but members are planning a virtual fundraiser for the spring to help them continue their programs.

One might think that Assistance League of Amador Valley has not been doing much with the COVID-19 restrictions.

Assistance League, however, has been busy. While some of the programs have been put on hold, others continue. In times of such great need it is vital to continue the work of helping those in need.

Donations of milk, eggs, flour, sugar, and oil to the Food Pantry in Livermore on Junction Avenue are now weekly, thanks to donations and grants. Currently, the pantry is serving more than 1200 families each month. The need is great, and can-do workers are helping to fill a need.

The Birthday Bag program this year has provided birthday bags to 22 children in local shelters. The bags contain age-appropriate gifts and items to celebrate their birthday. In Livermore alone, the chapter helps children in three different shelters – one for homeless and two for victims of domestic abuse. Children in shelters may not have any other acknowledgment of their birthday, and this is one way for these children to feel special during a very challenging time in their lives. Birthday bags let the children know people care.

As a nonprofit, Assistance League of Amador Valley relies on fundraising to support their programs. The annual Poinsettia Sale, Crab Feast and Mad Hatter’s Tea are on hold due to Covid-19, but they hope to resume both activities next year. In the meantime, volunteers are busy working to plan a virtual fundraiser this spring, which will provide some much-needed revenue to continue the programs.

Assistance League of Montgomery County purchased  900 children’s books from the thrift shop and presented them to Creighton Elementary School. Additionally, 60 donated books we received at our chapter Christmas party, and 253 additional books bought from the thrift shop were given to Greenleaf Elementary School; making a total of 1213 books donated to the schools for ACTION!Week.

Books were given to the school libraries as well as individual students.