The Assisteens® delivered the check to the Principal, Mr. Ray Hernandez and Community School Specialist, Carrie Murillo, who graciously accepted it. We believe that physical education is an essential part of a well-rounded education, and we are delighted to be able to support Beswick Elementary School in this way.

Pictured below from left- Assisteen Chair, Nina Molyneux, Assisteen Buddy Program Chair, Julia Cervantes, Assisteens Coordinator -Beth Moore, Community School Specialist, Carrie Murillo and Principal, Ray Hernandez.

Pictured left to right: Terri Spink, STEPS chair; Denise McKibben, ALSTL President; Janie Burse, a Ferguson-Florissant Students in Transition Social Worker

With school back in session, the Assistance League of St. Louis STEPS to Success program is off to a strong start.  By mid-November Assistance League volunteers will have measured and delivered brand new athletic shoes and socks to nearly 4000 students in 43 schools throughout the Metro St. Louis region, including schools in St. Louis City, Jennings, Hazelwood, Pattonville, Ritenour and Ferguson-Florissant.

In addition, because of a generous New Balance donation of 850 pairs of new athletic shoes, the nonprofit organization has increased its impact within other partner organizations in the community.  Assistance League member Kris Lewis and Assistance League president Denise McKibben worked with New Balance consultant ParisThompson to facilitate the donation.

The New Balance donation also enabled Assistance League to significantly expand its partnership with the Ferguson-Florissant School District, which serves more than 9,000 students. The district received 625 pairs of the New Balance shoes.

Janie Burse, a Ferguson-Florissant Students in Transition Social Worker, described how the shoes will be used.  “While we will be sharing the shoes with any student in need, many of the recipients will be children whose families are in transitional situations.”  She told of a recent experience with a kindergarten boy who received a new pair of shoes. “He came into my office wearing shoes wrapped in duct tape and walked out wearing brand new shoes and a great big smile. In fact, he was so intent on looking at his shoes that he walked right into the wall!  And he kept asking his mom, ‘Are you sure these are mine?’”

Burse also described two teenage brothers living with their family in a hotel, who were thrilled to receive new shoes in their very large, hard-to-find sizes—size 13 and 15.  She explained, “Often when organizations donate shoes, they are for younger students.  This partnership with Assistance League of St. Louis is helping us meet the needs of some of our older students.  The boys’ mother called me the next day to say that these two young men went to school that morning displaying a new level of confidence.”

Denise McKibben talked about the impact of the STEPS program in Ferguson-Florissant and throughout the region: “The goal of the STEPS program is to boost students’ confidence and academic engagement by providing new athletic shoes and socks.  Last year we  delivered new shoes and socks to 3,454 students in 41 schools, and we’re on target to make a difference for even more students this year.”

Assistance League of St. Louis is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that impacts lives through five community programs.  For more information, visit ALSTL.org.

Last week, we celebrated National Literacy Month by holding a book fair at a Fairfax County elementary school.  Fifteen of our dedicated members helped the students choose a book to take home at our ‘Build a Child’s Library’ event. The book selections were arranged on tables by grade level and our volunteers assisted the students in making their selections.  A volunteer stamped each book with “This Book Belongs to” and the students signed the books and got special Assistance League bookmarks.  Also, teachers selected books for their students who were absent.  In all, more than 700 students received a new book. We used some of the grant funds received from the Friends of the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library to purchase books for this event.

We love to hear the students say “Oh, that’s a good book” because it means that they are reading, that our book selections are spot on, and that the student next to them gets a good book suggestion.  It is also heart-warming when the students ask: “Can I take it home?” and we say “Yes, it is your book!”  One student chose a book for her little brother, instead of herself, because “He doesn’t have a book.”  A school administrator commented on how great the event was and said “Yesterday, many of our students didn’t have a book.  Tonight, over 700 students will have books in their homes.”  The students are always so grateful, school staff are happy their students have new books, and our members feel the joy of making a difference for so many.  It was a great day for all who participated!

After the group enjoyed cocktails and dinner, there was a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the chapter’s beginnings and continuing through the 20 years.  The remaining chapter members who have served 20 years or more were honored; each received special recognition and a potted plant of miniature roses.

June Gray, founder of the chapter, received special recognition with a PowerPoint presentation of her service from the beginning days when the chapter was first a guild until the present.

Everyone received a measuring tape which was meant to symbolize building for the future as well as continuously taking stock of how the chapter is doing by measuring its effectiveness.

The evening ended with a special video produced by one of the chapter’s new members.  Members and guests wished the chapter a happy anniversary, and one group of four members wrote a special song, performed it, complete with hand movements, to the Y.M.C.A. tune, but changed to ALMC.

Co-Chairmen Susan Kwiatkowski and Trish Severns spent eight months organizing and planning the event. Together with their committees, they created an informative opportunity for attendees to renew acquaintances and make new connections. Hours of work went into finding an appropriate venue, crafting items for welcome bags, planning an interesting agenda, cooking for the Monday night dinner at the Kwiatkowski home, printing name tags, assigning break-out sessions and engaging speakers.

In the afternoon of the first day of the conference, participants were divided in two groups which simultaneously took turns touring the AL Indianapolis chapter office and the Northbrook Warehouse that houses Operation School Bell®   After explanations of the AL Indianapolis philanthropic programs, guests had the opportunity discuss their programs and how they operated. Many thoughts were shared, and hopefully some of the ideas discussed will prove useful for various home chapters.

On day two of the conference, Cathy Weimer, President AL Indianapolis welcomed all and introduced the keynote presentation, “Connecting to Purpose and Building Belonging”. The interactive talk, given by Beth Perdue Outland, Vice President of Leadership Indianapolis, succeeded in waking everyone up for a day of informative presentations and breakout sessions. Outland was immediately followed by Peggy Cotter, AL Minneapolis/St. Paul and Barbara Condra, AL Kansas City who jointly spoke on “Approachable DEI”. During lunch, Sandy Ross, National President/Board Chair and Matt Zarcufsky, National CEO, spoke to the group.

Prior to the afternoon’s breakout sessions, Karen Mollohan, AL Kansas outlined her chapter’s experience during her talk, “Basics of Bylaws Compliance Understanding State and Local Regulations”. Participants then attended sessions they chose when they registered for the conference. The presentations included, “Expanding Your Fundraising Capabilities”, “Membership- Making the Most of our Greatest Resource”, “Member Enrichment: The Value of Educational Moments at Regular Meetings”, “The Power of Marketing and Media for Non-Profits”, “Leadership Development: Barriers and Strategies” and “Roundtable Networking Discussion: Literacy and Scholarship Programs”.

Breakout presenters enthusiastically shared insights regarding their topic. The majority of speakers were from AL Indianapolis and included: Amanda Congrove, contracted grant writer; Janine Bercovitz, VP Membership; Judy Tomke, Past President and current Policies Chairman; Barb Kulsrud, Lisa Plank, Literacy co-chair;  Susan Seet, Literacy co-chair;  Amber Pirtle, Advisory Council Member and Ann Marie Shambaugh, Advisory Council Member. Other presenters were Julie Singer, financial advisor and Board of Directors member of United Way of Central Indiana; Jane Marschner, AL St. Louis and Karen Altergott Roberts, Family Sociologist, Purdue University (retired).

The members of AL Indianapolis sincerely welcomed the chance to show guests some famous “Hoosier Hospitality”.  It is hoped that what was learned and the connections that were made will help regional chapters grow and enable them to continue to serve their communities. Attendees are looking forward to another networking conference in the future.

Click here to read the full article featured in TownandStyle.com.

“On behalf of Superintendent Ketti Davis and Foundation of Central Schools, I am writing to tell you some great news! We have selected Assistance League of Fresno as the 2023 Champion for the Community for Central Unified. We want to celebrate you and a few other incredible individuals during our upcoming State of the District event. Your commitment to supporting our students well-being is a true blessing to our school district.”