Assistance League of Fresno Assisteens made a video about which program impacted them the most. View the many programs supported by their chapter as the Assisteens members describe their experiences.

A talk from Mr. Johnson, one of our longtime Sharing Partners, was the highlight of Assistance League of Albuquerque’s most recent general meeting. He told us about immigrating from Africa and spending time living on the streets of New York as a homeless man. He actually had money and a passport, but did not know how to book a hotel room. Eventually he and his wife moved to Albuquerque and established Tender Love Community Center (TLCC) to aid and assist our homeless community. Their program includes sewing and cooking classes and GED prep classes, as well as provision of clothing and household items. Where does he get clothing? From Assistance League, of course! We set aside items we cannot sell in our Thrift Shop, and Mr. Johnson distributes them throughout the state of New Mexico and the Navajo Nation. He says, “Everything can be used by someone.” Nothing goes to the landfill. We are proud to partner with Mr. Johnson and TLCC!

The lockdown/pandemic/shelter-in-place/coronavirus shutdown, however one wants to refer to it, did seem to bring the entire nation to a standstill.

But nothing, no not even a pandemic, could bring the generosity of the people to a halt.

Assistance League of San Jose® (ALSJ), a chapter of a nonprofit national organization, has been a recipient of this generosity. Recently, a local Barnes & Noble Bookstore donated 2,335 children’s books to ALSJ. These books were then distributed by ALSJ members to children‘s shelters, to 10 elementary and 3 middle schools in low socio-economic areas, and to the children’s unit at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. One of the recipients of this generosity sent the following email:

“Dear Assistance League San Jose,
On behalf of the Pediatrics and PICU staff at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, I just wanted to thank you for your generous book donation. We appreciate you choosing to partner with us in positively impacting our patients’ lives. The assortment of books that you recently provided us was perfect for the various populations we serve and we’re sure they will enjoy them! Especially during this difficult time of Covid-19 and the limitations it has brought us all, we are honored that you chose to support our Child Life Program and our services. We couldn’t do this without you. We hope in the future you will keep us in mind for future book drop-offs, as we were so grateful to receive this past one.
Thanks again for your generosity and your friendship!”

Safeway Inc. donated $3,000 to the ALSJ Readers Are Leaders Program. The presentation of the donation was made at a local supermarket reopening celebration. These funds will be used to purchase books for classroom teachers and for children as they wait for the return of in-person learning.

JOANN’s Fabric honored the ALSJ Caring Hands Program with a $100 Handmade Hero Award. The award with the annotation, “thank you for continuing to inspire and help your community using your hands, hearts and minds” could not be a more appropriate acknowledgment to describe the unique, creative and amazing layettes that the ALSJ members crochet/knit every month and donate to the new born babies at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.

Assistance League of San Jose would not be able to perform all their much-needed community services if it were not for the generosity of the corporations mentioned above and others. Thus, from their “productive hands, compassionate hearts and active minds” ALSJ members thank you!

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.

Back to Health Chiropractic Alliance, located at 621 Klamath Avenue, just celebrated their 20 year anniversary in Klamath Falls. As part of their celebration, on February 1 the practice offered a 20th anniversary special of $20 per visit. They also held a raffle for their patients. Community partners Blue Zones Project, Leap of Taste and Sammy’s Parlor contributed to the raffle. The winner of the raffle received a free year of visits.

Michael Shatto, owner of “Back to Health Chiropractic Alliance” and his staff donated the proceeds from the event to Assistance League of Klamath Basin.

The donation will be used for the League’s primary philanthropic program, Operation School Bell®. The program provides school-age children with clothing, supplies, and meets other challenges.

“We feel very fortunate to practice in such a wonderful community,” said Shatto. “We value our patients and consider it an honor to support the community when we can.”

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.