Agency name: Assistance League of Stockton
Contact: Camilla Wolak, VP Marketing/Communications, (209) 466-8386 or camillawk@yahoo.com
Website: assistanceleague.org/stockton/
History: Assistance League of Stockton, a 501 (c)(3) organization, began as a guild in 1968 with 35 dedicated women. In November of 1973, we were chartered as Assistance League of Stockton, California, becoming the 55th chapter of the national Assistance League organization. For four years, the ladies ran their thrift shop out of a rented building on West Fremont Street but in 1992 they took a leap of faith and purchased the 1319-1323 East Harding Way property through self-financing. It was a dingy, dirty place, but it was theirs! With hard work and muscle, they turned it into what became a 20-year icon: the bright yellow Assistance League Thrift Shop. Half of the 8,000-square-foot building was rented to a grocery store. Finally the dream of occupying the entire building began to come true: in 2012, the membership voted to take over the whole building; thus began a four-year saga of challenges and changes. In 2014 we were awarded a “Facade Improvement Grant” from the Federal Government and Stockton, and now our building has a new, rather classy look of slate gray and indigo blue with brand new windows and doors. Our thrift shop moved into the previously rented grocery area, which doubled our retail space. Work and storage space also doubled, and we were able to establish a chapter house with offices and a conference room. The saga finally came to an end when we held our Grand Opening in September 2016!
Mission: Assistance League of Stockton is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the community through philanthropic programs. We are always eager to have new members join our women/men-volunteers who work in the thrift shop on Harding Way and support our philanthropic programs, including Operation School Bell, our signature program, and a proud partner of United Way. Since 1989, we have clothed more than 25,000 schoolchildren in need. Each kindergarten through fifth-grade child receives brand new clothing – socks and underwear, polo shirts, a sweatshirt, a warm jacket, a grooming kit, a new book and a $15 shopping card for Payless Shoes. For many, this is the first time they have ever owned brand new clothing.
The Kids On The Block puppet shows are designed to teach tolerance and acceptance of others. Our volunteer puppeteers perform such shows as “Divorce and Separation,” “Bullies,” “School Safety” and “Cerebral Palsy.” More than 2,500 third-graders enjoy these shows each year.
Book Buddies is a literacy program with the goal of improving the reading skills of struggling second-graders. Our volunteers visit Stockton Unified School District’s Lottie Grunsky Elementary School and listen to individual children read aloud and work on phonic skills for 30 minutes each.
Our volunteers put together Comfort Kits, backpacks filled with age- and gender-appropriate comfort items such as socks, blankets, books, toys, and hygiene products for children who are moved into foster care. The Child Abuse Prevention Council distributes approximately 300 Comfort Kits for us each year. The Women’s Center distributes another 60-80 special kits for adults/children who have been traumatized by violent abuse and treated at San Joaquin County Hospital; these kits have clean underwear, sweats, flip-flops and a hygiene kit so the patients can leave the hospital with a sense of dignity.
The needs of our community increase each year, and, to help meet those needs, we have expanded our thrift shop, doubling our commercial space and hopefully doubling our revenue, which will allow us to expand our philanthropic programs to reach even more children and adults in our community.
Our biggest need is for more volunteers, who can choose to work in the thrift shop, put on The Kids on the Block puppet shows, help Operation School Bell clothe children, tutor poor readers in Book Buddies, make Comfort Kits for foster children and assault survivors, as well as participate in our many social activities. We are a small but active and loving group! Should you be interested in joining our wonderful organization please call (209) 466-8386, visit our thrift shop at 1319 E. Harding Way, or e-mail ThriftshopAL@att.net. Among the items for sale are clothing, jewelry, furniture, art and housewares. We encourage more donations to our thrift shop as well as financial support. We have a gold medal rating from GuideStar, which rates nonprofits in America. Donations can be sent to: Assistance League of Stockton, P.O. Box 7766, Stockton, CA, 95267.
