Assistance League celebrated another year of putting “caring and commitment into action” in the New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties. At its end-of-the-year luncheon, The Ada Edwards Laughlin Award was presented to Jan Jacobson for her dedicated work for the chapter.
This award is presented to a volunteer who goes beyond all expectations to work quietly behind the scenes. Like Assistance League’s co-founder Ada Laughlin, Jacobson works quietly and diligently without recognition. She works in the backroom of the Thrift Shop: cleaning, sorting, polishing, sewing and pricing. She also sews bags to hold personal items that are placed into each backpack for Operation School Bell. Her infectious smile and dedication are assets to our chapter and contribute to the success of our “Boutique Thrift Shop”.
Former National Assistance League Historian Anne Salenger was the speaker at the luncheon. Salenger gave a brief look into the history of the proud organization.
“Assistance League has a rich history of courageous, forward-thinking women with high ambitions and remarkable achievements. Organized as a national organization in 1935, Assistance League’s roots can be traced back to 1894 when founder Anne Banning, a prominent Los Angeles socialite, enlisted other charity-minded women to help out locally, coining the name Assistance League.
In the early morning of April 18, 1906, the San Francisco Earthquake struck with the firestorm to follow. The tragedy inspired the ladies of Assistance League to action. Like other Los Angeles clubwomen, they offered aid to the victims and collected money and saved money for the families in San Francisco. The next month, the Los Angeles Times reports “Society Women Organize the Assistance League.” They held teas, charity balls and other fundraising and social events for the next six years.”
Anne Banning and Ada Laughlin continued their work with the Red Cross and raised $250,000 at the Red Cross Shop by involving local volunteers. This was the beginning of the Assistance League Thrift Shops.
Operation School Bell® is the group’s signature Philanthropic Program. Ruth Ann Montgomery, a teacher in the Los Angeles school district in the 1950s, noticed children who were not coming to school on a regular basis. The families only had clothing of one or two of their children to attend school, so they took turns. Montgomery went to some of the other parents for help and got donations of clothing for these children. She formed a group in Bakersfield called the Volunteer Service League and in 1958 they became a chapter of Assistance League. In 1997, Operation School Bell was adopted as a national philanthropic program for all Assistance League chapters.
Assistance League of Greater Wilmington was chartered in 2012 as the 119th chapter of Assistance League. The Thrift Shop opened a little more than two years ago at 420 Eastwood Road, the local group’s main fundraiser.
For more information, 910-769-2345 or www.ALGW.AssistanceLeague.org.
