In 2016, there are still children in Tulare County that don’t go to school because they don’t have the clothes for it.
The Assistance League of Visalia wants to end that through Operation School Bell, one of their programs that provide clothing for needy Visalia Unified School District children.
The nonprofit helped 563 elementary, middle and high school students last year.
“I think we’ve made a difference, especially based on the feedback from the schools. They’re always telling us that the parents come in the next day and say how thrilled they are,” said Sandy Forbes, communications chairwoman. “Some of the people that come have never shopped in a store like [JCPenney], they’ve only shopped in a second-hand store. The shopping event itself is a big deal.”
The Assistance League of Visalia is a “nonprofit, philanthropic organization dedicated to the enrichment of our community through volunteerism, education, and service.
There are currently about 70 active members in the Visalia chapter, all of which are women. About 50 of those volunteers help with Operation School Bell. All of the Visalia philanthropies help children.
Volunteers from the Assistance League of Visalia also go into classrooms to listen to children read to them through their Rainbow Readers program, teach tolerance through an anti-bullying puppet show through Kids on the Block and paint large, colorful maps of the United States on schoolyards through 50 Sense.
Nationally, there are more than 23,000 members across about 120 chapters.
“[The nonprofit] is for people that want to make the community better and make our children’s lives better,” Forbes said. “The only thing that holds us back is we don’t have enough volunteers and money. We need more volunteers to be able to have more shopping events.”
Operation School Bell currently has children scheduled for shopping trips at JCPenney through December; that’s more than 200 children that will receive $100 each for school clothes. Shopping trips take place six times at month.
“This is so good for me because I have two boys. Thank you, and God bless,” said Donna Mek, whose children have been participating in the program for about seven years. “I struggle a lot being a single parent with two boys.”
The children are selected by Student Advocacy and Family Engagement technicians and social workers with Visalia Unified School District.
“It’s probably one of the biggest programs we work with,” said Vanessa Alvarado, VUSD state, and federal projects program manager. “There are some kids sometimes that unfortunately are not attending school and the SAFEs go and visit the family. Sometimes it’s because they don’t have clothes.”
Alvarado works as the liaison between VUSD and Operation School Bell.
“They’ve’ helped so many families in VUSD,” she said. “It’s something you don’t think about. I have my three children, and we take that for granted sometimes that we can provide clothing for our kids.”
Just last week, the nonprofit also provided clothing to children from two families whose houses burned down. They were in addition to the regularly scheduled children.
Funding for Operation School Bell comes from grants, donations and their major Derby Night fundraiser in April.
Operation School Bell project coordinator Donna Hofer said the community could help by donating money or by joining the organization and helping with volunteer hours.
“We’re here to help children, but there’s a need for money, too. We can only dress as many as we can get money for,” she said. “Operation School Bell is our biggest program. It’s where most of the money goes.”
The program is also the only one that is mandated by the national organization. The Assistance League of Visalia also recently handed out 830 backpacks to different school districts in Tulare County.
“Overall the feedback we get from the ladies and volunteers is that they’re super sweet, nice and helpful,” Alvarado said. “The parents are grateful for the help. I’ve been there, and I can attest to that.”
How to help
Those interested in helping the Assistance League of Visalia can call 559-737-1907, visit www.assistanceleague.org/visalia or email assistanceleaguevisalia@alvisalia.org. Their mailing address is P.O. Box 4108, 93278.
