Clothing Programs – Assistance League

Seattle – In Store Shopping Events

Veronika — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 21:00:26 +0000

Thank you to everyone who came out to volunteer at our in store shopping events at JC Penney and Target this October and November. This was our first year back since Covid began in 2020. Thanks to your help, with just seven events we were able to serve 1572 elementary Seattle public school students. They were ecstatic to purchase new clothes and shoes to help them feel successful for the year ahead. Each student was checked in at stores and given a $150 gift card to the respective store where they could pick out they needed. A huge thank you to Jill Navone and her book table. She spends so much time finding special books to meet each child’s reading level. Our wonderful Assisteens handed out books to each child and any siblings. They were amazing help! A heartfelt appreciation to all the volunteers that made this vision a reality. We couldn’t have done it without you all! We had such a positive response that we will be offering these events in the spring (March)…look to sign up at the beginning of 2024 via sign up genius.

Greater Wilmington – Shopping Night pilot filled with smiles and stories

Veronika — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 18:23:57 +0000

More than 25 Assistance League members and 29 students, their parents and the school social workers from Williston Middle School gathered at Target on April 5, to enjoy an evening of shopping.

Assistance League allotted each child $100 to spend on school clothing and supplies. Target chipped in another $5.

Each student was assigned an Assistance League member to shop with them. The big search then began as they wandered through the store in search of great bargains and the perfect outfits and supplies for school.

The two Williston social workers, David Pena and Stephanie Thomas, who organized the event on Williston’s side, were very helpful in making the students feel welcome and at ease.

When the carts were filled and the students checked out, each received a rack card in their bag and a Looking Smart Kit which included hygiene items for personal care.

One young girl said, “I had so much fun tonight and got very cool outfits.”

A bonus for the evening was the interest we generated among other Target shoppers. All the members had rack cards in their apron pockets so they could hand one to anyone who had questions about us.

Missy Cruz and Cheryl DeVincentis met a mother and young son from Louisville, KY, who were on vacation. After learning who we were and what was going on, she planned to go home and look up the Louisville chapter. As a fourth-grade teacher, she was impressed with what we did for the children in our community.

Janet Plzak helped at the final table before our shoppers left. She reported, “Throughout the evening, many Target shoppers stopped by our table to ask about Assistance League and what we were doing that night.

“One young woman visiting from Indiana was so impressed that she returned on her way out of the store to hand us a $20 bill. She told us that as a child she was helped by a similar program and wanted to show her gratitude for that help.

“Another young mother with two small children stopped by to see what we were doing. She was so impressed that she wanted to make a donation and we directed her to our website.”

“Besides being a great event for the Williston students,” Janet said, “Target shopping night proved to be a win for Assistance League of Greater Wilmington exposure in the community, and may even be a good source of donations in the future!”

This evening would not have been possible without the many members who gave their time and support for the program. A big thank you goes to everyone who participated…..and to Target.

The team is organized and ready to "shop 'til they drop" with Williston Middle School students.

President Sue Aber and School Philanthropy Vice President Sheila Osann take a break under the Target Circle philanthropic poster. Target was a helpful and generous partner.

A student shopper was ready to search the racks with Barb Lloyd. His mom and brother were eager to help.

Williston's social workers selected the students who participated in Shopping Night. They even had a backup list in case anyone dropped out.

Terri Gans and Cathy Egan-Gross had a great evening with their shopping buddies.

Students were excited to pick out what they wanted. Some took up to 90 minutes to find the perfect purchases.

Score! The night was a success for everyone!

Northern Virginia – Clothing for Kids

tempadmin — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 03:51:40 +0000

Assistance League of Northern Virginia made additional deliveries of clothing to students at five local elementary schools to fulfill each school’s request. After determining the specific sizes the schools needed for boys and girls, they delivered 182 items, including winter jackets, sweatpants and sweatshirts, T-shirts, and underwear. In addition, Clothing for Kids provided 72 pairs of sneakers to six schools. A student who received a winter jacket and another who received new sneakers were so grateful that they created their own works of art to thank us. It is gratifying to know our donations are so well received.

Montgomery County – Completes Spring High School Operation School Bell

tempadmin — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 03:46:53 +0000

Operation School Bell^®, the signature program of Assistance League Montgomery County, has completed its spring high school dressing events having served approximately 900 deserving students. Annually, Assistance League provides new school clothing for over 4000 students across all grade levels.

For the volunteer members who help at a shopping event, the greatest reward has been the smiles and appreciation on the faces of both the children and the parents.

Aside from dressing students, Operation School Bell supports literacy in our community by annually donating books to non-Title 1 schools in addition to participating in a Dr. Seuss reading program and a Reading Buddies program.

We are happy to report in total through all dressing events held in the current school year, as well as our literacy and voucher programs, we have served over 7700 students. This would not have been possible without the dedication and service of our members. Thank you!

St. Louis – Steps to Success and The COVID Challenge

tempadmin — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 02:43:08 +0000

How do volunteers provide children with shoes, when schools are closed & learning is virtual?

Mindy Hellmich, Assistance League of St. Louis member and Co-Chair of Steps to Success explains HOW: “You think outside the box. You think WAY outside the box!”

The all-volunteer Steps to Success (Steps) team has adapted and refined sizing, fitting and delivering children’s athletic shoes and socks since COVID began. They continue to streamline the system to provide shoes to children in St. Louis City and St. Louis County Schools. The program’s other Co-Chair is Beth Yeck. The Steps team focused on 25 schools in St. Louis City in the Winter-Spring 2020 session, using a voucher system. An Assistance League liaison provided each school with an envelope of vouchers for shoes and instructions in English and Spanish to be redeemed within 8 weeks at the Maplewood Shoe Carnival Store. The returns and redemption rate were disappointingly low. Results of a follow-up survey to parents revealed two issues: finding transportation and scheduling a fitting before the deadline. Undaunted, volunteers devised a new form for Spring 2021 to more accurately reflect the necessary requirements (child’s name, sizes/style). Parents’ responses and vouchers were then given to our Shoe Carnival contact, Katie Junge, who filled the orders at the Maplewood location. Chapter volunteer liaisons delivered over 1,900 athletic shoes and 3,300 pairs of socks safely to the schools.

OPERATION SCHOOL BELL^®

How do volunteers meet the challenge of providing fitted, new clothing when schools are closed? Claudia Dooley, Assistance League of St. Louis member and Co-Chair of Operation School Bell, reminisced about past years in which program volunteers took pride in being able to directly interact with the school children who visited our headquarters for uniform fittings and fun activities. Besides everyone being in high spirits, the team could take accurate measurements so that each child had fitted clothes that looked good. But that was the past, so the team leadership, also co-chaired by Kris Lewis, reviewed current processes, took what would work, dropped what didn’t and adapted so that they could continue fulfilling those objectives. The Operation School Bell team developed a process which included forms sent to school personnel; these were then passed along to parents who were responsible for measurements and noting any special needs. Schools would return the forms in batches via email. The forms were reviewed, fulfilled, bagged and delivered by chapter volunteer liaisons to the school for distribution.

If you’ve ever measured someone for a sewing project or tailoring, you’ll appreciate the challenge that the Operation School Bell volunteers had when interpreting the responses. Claudia smiled and stated that the team was fortunate to have a number of ladies who “were really good fitters” and able to work out the appropriate sizes. Their success was realized when it was noted that very few of the packages were returned requesting a different size. The fitters hit the mark the majority of the time, even without being able to physically measure the children themselves.

Each package is generously filled with two pairs of pants, three polo shirts, one fleece jacket, six each of socks and underwear, a toothbrush, toothpaste, hat and gloves, a belt and a grade-appropriate new book. That’s a lot of items to pack when serving over 1,500 students and 28 elementary schools. But again, the team went into action and continued to refine processes and develop new ones for organizing and scheduling the packing days. Being mindful of COVID rules when organizing how many volunteers could be present on a packing day, remaining masked and staying socially distanced meant finely tuned logistical work had to be done upfront to hit their goal of completing packages in one day. That goal was met every time. Even under difficult circumstances, the team delivered over 28,000 items for students in 28 elementary schools and to stock closets in eight middle schools and 20 elementary schools. Closets are maintained to provide year-round clothing, shoes, coats and other necessities. In 2022, the program volunteers continue to take pride in their accomplishments knowing that COVID didn’t slow them down and hundreds of school children were warmly dressed this school season.

Northern Virginia – Keeping Children Warm and Fed

tempadmin — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 02:28:25 +0000

As winter’s grip tightened in January, Assistance League of Northern Virginia delivered warm clothing to seven local elementary schools. We provided 32 winter jackets and more than 100 hand-made hats, scarves, and headbands to five schools. A counselor at one school reported that students were crowding the table where the hats were arranged, because they were so eager to select their own colorful and unique item. In addition, we filled the special requests of two other schools. One requested children’s clothing (tops, bottoms, underwear, and sneakers) and the other requested gloves only, so we delivered the requested items, including 42 pairs of gloves to the two schools. One school also received sweat pants, besides coats and hats. Knowing how essential these winter clothing items are for students, our dedicated members made sure that each school’s request was promptly fulfilled.

We are very grateful for the talent and dedication of the members of the Crafts Group of Nativity Church in Burke and the Dunbarton Hugs Team in Bristow, who crocheted and knitted the beautiful items that the children so treasured.

In addition to the outerwear and clothing delivered in January, we also provided another 400 grocery gift cards to six schools to help still-struggling families cope with food insecurity. We have delivered about 3150 cards this school year and, since June 2020, we have provided more than 9000 cards, with a total value of more than $170,000. The cards are in lieu of the weekend food bags that we have not been able to deliver since the start of the pandemic.

North Coast – Assistance League Footsteps program provides shoes to Elementary students

tech11 — Sun, 02 Jan 2022 01:52:53 +0000

The Footsteps Program has been in high gear this Fall and as a result over one thousand students in 16 elementary schools in Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista are walking with new tennis shoes and socks. They also received special Health Kits with items that included: Soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, floss, comb and a facecloth.

Over 96 of our volunteers have made this possible for families in financial need. Our volunteers include the Professional Working Group who put together the Health Kits, our School Advocates who meet with the schools’ health clerks to determine which children are in need of our services, and many other members who work on making labels, unpacking shoes and socks, bagging them for each child, delivering to the schools and restocking the shelves. Many others work in our Thrift Shop so we have the money to fund this project.

Sierra Foothills – Assistance League Helps Caldor Fire Victims

tech11 — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 03:23:14 +0000

Many of the Caldor fire victims are people known to Assistance League members. The California Fire Department had all neighborhoods and roads blocked, and everyone had to evacuate making it impossible to get life essentials in the victims’ hands. When the chapter members heard firsthand how long it was going to take these victims to get any relief, Assistance League of Sierra Foothills knew something needed to be done right away!

The chapter organized a shopping event and provided gift cards to the victims within just a few days of the fires. The grand total received and distributed to the fire victims was $15,090.

Northern Virginia – Assistance League assembles clothing bundles for schools

tech11 — Sun, 07 Nov 2021 04:52:43 +0000

Eleven Assistance League volunteers gathered recently at a member’s home to assemble bundles of new clothing items for the schools we serve. Our members are excellent shoppers with keen eyes for bargains who had assembled a wide and colorful variety of shirts for boys and girls, as well as winter jackets. These items were paired with leggings, underwear, and socks and all are scheduled to be delivered to counselors at the schools we serve as soon as possible. This is our first major clothing donation since the pandemic. Now that schools have returned to classroom instruction, we know that our students, their parents, and teachers will welcome this delivery of needed clothes. We hope to continue providing students with essential new clothing items during the remainder of the school year.

Boise – Operation School Bell where Magic Happens

tech11 — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 00:12:47 +0000

Idaho Press

By IDAHO PRESS STAFF newsroom@idahopress.com – September 19, 2021

Operation School Bell where ‘magic happens’

GARDEN CITY — After a year of modified operations due to the pandemic, Assistance League of Boise will again be providing new school clothes for 3,700 elementary students at 80 local schools through Operation School Bell.

Since 1990, Assistance League of Boise has worked closely with the school districts to provide brand new clothing to students with the greatest needs. Students are transported to Operation School Bell to “shop” and are outfitted from head to toe with the help of volunteers. Each year, volunteers work approximately 7,100 hours in preparation time ordering clothes, tagging, assembling kits, scheduling schools, communicating with schools and dressing students.