On Thursday, September 14, members and friends gathered for a commemorative dinner to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Assistance League® of Greeley.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner, and heard remarks from Rob Waldo, son of ALG’s founder.  A slide show featured photos of members through the years as they volunteered for our community programs and at the Bargain Box Thrift Store. The event was also an opportunity to recognize past presidents and their accomplishments.  The event also featured the presentation of the National Assistance League Operation School Bell® award to Gilbert Arizmendi, Manager of the School District 6 Warehouse.

In May,1970, Nancy Waldo and four friends envisioned an organization that could provide solutions for unmet needs in the Greeley/Weld community. Twenty-eight women became charter members. Each member donated $50 worth of merchandise monthly to sell at The General Store. Gradually, the guild solicited and received community donations of clothing and household merchandise.

Three years later, the Assistance League Guild became the 54^th chartered chapter of the national Assistance League. This fall, the Assistance League of Greeley recognizes the date of its charter, October 29, 1973. Greeley’s chapter started as an Assistance League Guild on May 15, 1970.  Nancy Waldo and four other visionaries were the driving force behind the beginning of our chapter.

Operating in several downtown locations until February 2000, the chapter bought its current building, The Bargain Box Thrift Store at 1706 9th Street. The store is run entirely by volunteers, who also administer the ALG philanthropic programs.

Over the past 50 years, revenues from the Bargain Box, grants, and donations funded programs at local schools, children’s libraries, Houston Gardens (until 2013), nursing homes and hospitals. Although ALG has supported numerous programs since its charter, our six current signature philanthropic programs include:

• Single parent scholarships – started 1991; total awards to date $998,983.12. Students at Aims and UNC are eligible to apply.
• Warm Up Weld County – started 1993; Blanket and bedding purchases to-date total $159,667.93. The Assistance League works with schools and non-profits across Weld County to distribute items through Weld County.
• Assault Survivor Kits® – started 1995; clothing and other personal items totaling $48,103.83 have been purchased. SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners) at regional hospitals alert us to the need for their patients.
• File of Life® – distribution began in 2000; in total, $35,992.68 of their medical documents have been purchased; emergency responders look for these life-saving records in homes and vehicles.
• Operation School Bell®, our largest program, was initiated for the 2004-05 school year and has provided $1,166,547.03 in school uniforms to students attending Title I schools in Greeley-Evans School District 6.
• Color Me Weld – begun in 2017; to-date and $2,941.10 worth of coloring books, crayons, etch-a-sketch, and handheld games has been given to children hospitalized at North Colorado Medical Center or waiting for a loved one in the Emergency Department.