For thousands of students across the Valley, the big red bus is a welcome visitor to their elementary school. The Delivering Dreams Bus is in its fourth year visiting more than 50 schools as part of Operation School Bell®, a program managed locally by Assistance League of Phoenix, an independent chapter of national Assistance League.
For more than 30 years, Assistance League of Phoenix has provided new school clothes and basic essentials that all kids need in order to enter the classroom ready to learn.
Operation School Bell, which serves 85 schools in 11 school districts, is the largest of Assistance League of Phoenix’s six philanthropic programs.
Working with staff at Title 1 schools in Phoenix and neighboring cities, we provide full school-uniform packages, including all-new products valued at over $250 retail.
A complete wardrobe
For families living at or below the poverty rate, it’s a huge help. Each child receives three polo-style shirts, two bottoms (pants, shorts or skirt), a pair of shoes, six pairs of socks, six pairs of underwear, a sweatshirt, a belt, a health kit and a book of the child’s choice. Each qualifying Title 1 school selects up to 100 children (students on the free or reduced lunch program). The children come to our Philanthropic Center on a morning field trip or we take our Delivering Dreams Bus to their campus.
The Delivering Dreams Bus is a 40-foot city bus that was converted into a mobile dressing center that includes a waiting area with iPads loaded with games, four dressing rooms, shoe-fitting area and racks of clothing. At the Philanthropic Center there are dressing rooms and an activity area where students who are waiting to be dressed can work on crafts, choose a book to read or play board games or computer games.
Each child “goes shopping” for new clothes with an Assistance League of Phoenix member or community volunteer. When children arrive, their demeanor is often withdrawn. After trying on their new clothes and seeing their reflection in the mirror, they are transformed. They often wear one of their new outfits back to the school, and there is a palpable difference in their physical appearance: head held high and full of smiles, confidence overflowing. As many as 35 to 40 children a day, three mornings per week, are dressed at the Philanthropic Center.
This spring we will celebrate a significant milestone — Operation School Bell will clothe its 100,000th student. We’ll commemorate this important achievement with a celebration 10-11 a.m. Thursday, March 2, at the Philanthropic Center with students from Cactus Wren Elementary, part of the Washington School District.
Join us
This achievement is particularly rewarding to the women of Assistance League of Phoenix, members who give their time, talent and treasure to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of our programs.
Individuals who volunteer with this program are trained by experienced volunteers. Our volunteers are understanding and sensitive to the children’s needs. We are always in need of volunteers, not only for Operation School Bell, but for our other programs as well.
From the early days, a resale shop has been an important part of our fundraising activities. Assistance League of Phoenix Thrift Boutique is at 7044 N. Seventh St. and provides nearly one-third of the organization’s funding. The Boutique is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays; donations are accepted during business hours.
Our other philanthropic programs are Birthday Book Corners, providing new books for children at nine Title 1 schools on their birthday; Book Gifts, which provides books for classrooms full of children; Symphony Education Project, an educational/cultural program for children; HUGS, which provides teddy bears for children in crisis; and WEE HELP, providing layettes for babies born into poverty.
Assistance League of Phoenix is a qualifying organization eligible for State Tax Credit donations from individuals. To learn more about how you can support our work with Title 1 schools, please visit our website at http://www.alphxaz.org/membership-2/.
