Building Confidence & Equity
No child wants to stand out by wearing their poverty.
Operation School Bell helps school children, pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, in the Saddleback Valley and Capistrano Unified School Districts, to shed some of the visual stigma of poverty, attend school in inclement weather, and assimilate in their school environment.
The goal is to support a child’s education by improving their dignity, health, and school participation.
Children select school clothing they are proud to wear.
Operation School Bell allows a child to select school clothing and shoes that fit, is weather appropriate, and they are proud to wear. For some children, this will be the first time they have owned a new pair of shoes, or a new warm coat.
New school clothes promotes academic success.
Well fitting, whether appropriate clothing supports a child’s health and improves school attendance. A child with shoes too small or damaged, feels like an outcast and has difficulty participating in school. Clothing a child is proud to wear boosts self-esteem, and increases academic focus.
Operation School Bell provides clothing to pre-kindergarten-12th grade children in the Saddleback Valley and Capistrano Unified School Districts.
This program changes the lives and educational experience of young children.
Please join us in giving children the confidence they need to succeed in school!
PROGRAM REVIEW
BETTER TOGETHER
“As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way.”
Mary Anne Radmacher
Thank you to Target in Mission Viejo who works with us to provide school clothing to school children in need.
Together, we are lighting the way to make a difference in the lives of children.
HISTORY
OPERATION SCHOOL BELL program originated in Los Angeles. Mrs. Ruth Ann Montgomery, a teacher, noted that three brothers attended school on a rotating basis. Upon discovering their attendance was based on which boy got to wear the available clothing that day, she decided to create a “Clothes Closet” filled with gently-used clothing gathered from friends and family. Her students were allowed to choose clothing from the Clothes Closet so all could attend school regularly. In 1954, Mrs. Montgomery moved to Bakersfield. There, she organized a group called NATIONAL ASSISTANCE LEAGUE®. OPERATION SCHOOL BELL became the signature philanthropic program for this organization, providing new, appropriate, well-fitting clothing for low-income children, thus increasing their self-esteem and acceptance by their peers.