Three women named as outstanding 20-year members of Assistance League of Glendale are, from left, Anne Wilson, Lina Harper and Lorraine Meylan.
Three women have been honored for giving 20 years of outstanding volunteer service to the Assistance League of Glendale.
Anne M. Wilson is chair of the vocational training program that provides job training for adults in the Assistance League’s Thrift Alley second-hand shop.
Currently, there are 16 clients and four staff members that participate from the Tierra del Sol Foundation, a private educational organization for developmentally disabled adults in Sunland. The trainees come to the Thrift Alley for two hours on scheduled days to participate in store-keeping tasks appropriate to their individual interests and skills.
The staff members supervise their work and evaluate them monthly. Some trainees learn transferable skills that enable them to get a job. They receive hands-on experiences while contributing to the operation of the store and serving the community.
Some of the tasks the clients perform are greeting the donors who bring items to the thrift store, loading items from donors’ cars onto a cart and bringing them into the store. They sort the blouses, shirts, pants, shorts and children’s clothing and work with the staff members to determine if items are ready to place on hangers. They also go through linens, housewares and knick-knacks.
Volunteering with the clients is very rewarding, Wilson said.
“I’m working with physically and mentally disabled people, and they all have a place in life, and I just feel if we can give them something that’s worthwhile to do and they enjoy it, it just makes their life a little happier,” she said. “They seem very happy to come, and when they leave, they thank me and Assistance League for letting them come. And, of course, we thank them profusely for all their help.”
One special honor the taller clients get to perform is to set out the two American flags — one in front of the shop and the other near the street.
“That’s something they really look forward to,” she said.
Clients also water the plants in the patio of the Assistance League building.
“They sometimes ask if they can do that, and they get so excited because they get to watch the plants and roses grow,” Wilson said.
The motto of Tierra del Sol really impresses Wilson. It says, “Changing challenges into opportunities.”
Another Assistance League member who was honored for 20 years of service was Lina Harper, who not only served the Glendale Unified School District as a PTA volunteer but also as a member of the school board.
In Assistance League, Harper led the group to many accomplishments during the two years she served as president from 2007 to 2009.
“We paid off our mortgage in full in 2008… and we paid Judson Studios in Los Angeles to refurbish the stained-glass window in the meeting room at the front of the building on Harvard Street,” she said. “We all work in the thrift shop and participate in the other philanthropic projects, and one thing I’m proud of is the members earn the majority of our funds and the thrift shop is our main fundraiser.”
Lorraine Meylan has also given 20 years to Assistance League as well as her church and other organizations. One of her activities with Assistance League is serving on the committee that interviews Glendale Community College students who have applied for the league’s scholarships.
She has served as co-chair of the Senior Neighborhood Fellowship, a project of Assistance League that provides lunch and entertainment programs for senior adults. She has also served on the committee that provides SAT seminars for high school students.
“Last Thursday, one of the mothers of a student came in and thanked the teacher of the class and two Assistance League members for what they were doing,” Meylan said. “She said it was very valuable, and she was very appreciative that her child was able to take the course at the cost that we were charging and she thought it was a wonderful service for the community.”
