Our Community Service Programs

Transforming Lives • Strengthening Community

Readers Are Leaders Volunteer reading in classroom

Readers Are Leaders

During the 2024-25 school year, our members read two books each month to over 1,000 students in 49 second and third grade classrooms. The books, along with related projects, are left in the classroom. Each child received a book of their own to take home at the holidays and 3 books to read over the summer.

Listening to Readers

Volunteers read aloud various genres of books to students in 2nd and 3rd grade San Jose schools, modeling reading with expression and instilling in students a love of reading.

Bagging Uniforms

Operation School Bell®

During the 2024-25 school year, Assistance League of San Jose provided school uniforms and sweatshirts to over 4,500 students in San Jose schools (pants, shirts, sweatshirts, underwear and socks).

Screening Eyes Early working with a child

Screening Eyes Early (S.E.E.)

During the 2024-25 year, the Screening Eyes Early Program screened 528 preschool children at 19 pre-schools to detect early signs of amblyopia (lazy eye) and poor eyesight, alerting parents and teachers to possible sight issues.

Assist-a-Shelter Petting Zoo at Family Supportive Housing

Assist-a-Shelter

Members cook dinner once a month at San Jose’s Family Supportive Housing. Four times a year, they put on a special event for the families. Members also read to Moms and their children at Parisi House on the Hill and volunteer at CityTeam, helping to provide food and toiletries to the city’s residents in need.

Baby in layette from Caring Hands

Caring Hands

In the 2024-25 year, Caring Hands created over 2,300 baby blankets for new moms at local hospitals, plus additional quilts and lap blankets for Parisi House on the Hill, Family Supportive Housing, and two residential care facilities.

Senior Bingo at A Grace

Bingo

Assistance League members provide craft activities, bingo with small prizes, holiday foods and gift bags to residents at San Jose’s A Grace Sub Acute & Skilled Care facility and Stonebrook Convalescent Homes.

Hug-a-Bear

Hug-a-Bear

Assistance League of San Jose donates thousands of teddy bears to organizations serving children in crisis through organizations including the San Jose Police Department, Santa Clara County domestic abuse centers, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and Family Supportive Housing.

Year in Review

94%

of funds raised are returned to the San Jose community

27+

thousand people served in the San Jose community

28

thousand hours volunteered

News & Events

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Holiday Party at Palermo’s Restaurant

ALSJ’s annual Holiday Party 🥳🎉 is always a good time. This year Palermo Restaurant provided food 🥘 and drink, 🍷delicioso! Many thanks to Magician Doug Jones 🪄who provided us with amazing, magical entertainment! 🥰 Thinking about volunteering in 2026? Looking to make new friends? 👩‍❤️‍👩 Check us out!

Gift Wrapping at Hicklebee’s Book Store

This year, ALSJ’s holiday elves 🧝‍♀️ wrapped gifts at Hicklebee’s Book Store. 📚 Hicklebee’s, which specializes in children’s 👭 books, has been a beloved landmark in Willow Glen since 1979. Donations were made to ALSJ for the wrapped gifts. 🎁Thank you, Hicklebee’s, for partnering with us for this fundraiser! 😁 Join us!

Thank You, George and Jeanette Stuart Charitable Trust

🙏🏼Thank you to the George and Jeanette Stuart Charitable Trust for their extraordinary gift in memory of George and Jeanette Stuart. 💖 Their support strengthens Operation School Bell 👖👕 and Readers Are Leaders 📚, helping us provide essential clothing and expand literacy programs for local students. 🧒🏾🧒👧🏼 Want to help your community? Donate now!

Alice in Wonderland Holiday Tree at Family Supportive Housing

When she isn’t busy volunteering for our chapter, AL of San Jose member Sandy Freeze volunteers to design and decorate beautiful, imaginative holiday trees for friends and associates. For several years her trees have brightened the lobby at Family Supportive Housing. This season, residents in the facility helped Sandy turn their tree into a special […]

Readers Are Leaders – Books for the Holidays!

Tis the season! Readers Are Leaders volunteers distributed “The Fascinating Animal Book for Kids (500 Wild Facts!)” by Ginjer Clarke to all 1,036 students in the program to keep and take home.👏Each of the 49 classrooms received a book for their classroom library shelf, too. The students were so excited to receive their gifts from […]

Murals and Music at Family Supportive Housing

Eleven AL of San Jose volunteers brought a morning of holiday joy ☺️💝to Family Supportive Housing. 33 residents from 11 families attended our Holiday Craft and Music event. Dipping into plates and bowls of sequins, pompoms, glitter, stickers and more, they decorated paper trees, people and snowflakes to create two murals that will hang in […]

We Are Training Screeners for Screening Eyes Early

🤔 Did you know: 🤓 80% of learning comes through the visual senses? 👀 1 in 20 preschool-age children have vision problems? 👏🏼 Screening Eyes Early (S.E.E.) is an early intervention program which is the key to successful treatment. 🔎 We train our screeners to refer children to a doctor/clinic for a diagnosis when the […]

San Jose Christmas in the Park

🎄Christmas in the Park has been a beloved San Jose tradition for decades, bringing joy to families across the community. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 ✨Each year, Assistance League of San Jose proudly decorates its tree, adding our touch to the celebration. 🎄🎅🏻🤶🏻🌟For us, the tree is more than ornaments—it’s a symbol of ALSJ’s commitment to connection, care, and […]

RAL Partnership with San Jose Public Library

This year, AL of San Jose’s Readers Are Leaders program has partnered with the San Jose Public Library system. 📚 Librarians from the King Library helped us choose 12 books to read to 2nd and 3rd graders in San Jose throughout the school year. 🏫And each month, the libraries near the schools where we read, […]

Is Gravity Still Your Friend?

AL of San Jose was delighted to 👏 welcome guest speaker, Dr. Jim Mahoney to our November Regular Meeting. 👏 Dr. Mahoney is a retired 👨🏻‍🏫teacher of 33 yrs. whose focus was in 📖 Special Education. He also taught a 🛟 Safety and Risk Management Certificate program for 28 yrs. at Cal State University of […]

Giving Tuesday begins December 2nd – Help Us Make a Difference

🗓️ Our Giving Campaign begins December 2, 2025 and will run through the 🎄 holiday season. Our 🌡️ goal is $12,000. Please help us reach our 💵 goal so that we can continue to give back to our community. ❤️Our volunteers deliver 👕uniforms to schools in the fall, 📚read in classrooms each month from October-April, […]

Dining for Dollars FUN Fundraiser

Thank you Jack Holder’s Restaurant 🥗 for supporting our Dining for Dollars $fundraiser event. Our members had a 👏🏼 wonderful time gathering together,🗣️talking, and 🤣 laughing while enjoying a 😋 delicious meal! Our Dining for Dollars is one of the many 🥰 fabulous fundraising events we have as a chapter. Want to experience a good […]

News & Events

  • All
  • News
  • Uncategorized

Holiday Party at Palermo’s Restaurant

ALSJ’s annual Holiday Party 🥳🎉 is always a good time. This year Palermo Restaurant provided food 🥘 and drink, 🍷delicioso! Many thanks to Magician Doug Jones 🪄who provided us with amazing, magical entertainment! 🥰 Thinking about volunteering in 2026? Looking to make new friends? 👩‍❤️‍👩 Check us out!

Gift Wrapping at Hicklebee’s Book Store

This year, ALSJ’s holiday elves 🧝‍♀️ wrapped gifts at Hicklebee’s Book Store. 📚 Hicklebee’s, which specializes in children’s 👭 books, has been a beloved landmark in Willow Glen since 1979. Donations were made to ALSJ for the wrapped gifts. 🎁Thank you, Hicklebee’s, for partnering with us for this fundraiser! 😁 Join us!

Thank You, George and Jeanette Stuart Charitable Trust

🙏🏼Thank you to the George and Jeanette Stuart Charitable Trust for their extraordinary gift in memory of George and Jeanette Stuart. 💖 Their support strengthens Operation School Bell 👖👕 and Readers Are Leaders 📚, helping us provide essential clothing and expand literacy programs for local students. 🧒🏾🧒👧🏼 Want to help your community? Donate now!

Alice in Wonderland Holiday Tree at Family Supportive Housing

When she isn’t busy volunteering for our chapter, AL of San Jose member Sandy Freeze volunteers to design and decorate beautiful, imaginative holiday trees for friends and associates. For several years her trees have brightened the lobby at Family Supportive Housing. This season, residents in the facility helped Sandy turn their tree into a special […]

Readers Are Leaders – Books for the Holidays!

Tis the season! Readers Are Leaders volunteers distributed “The Fascinating Animal Book for Kids (500 Wild Facts!)” by Ginjer Clarke to all 1,036 students in the program to keep and take home.👏Each of the 49 classrooms received a book for their classroom library shelf, too. The students were so excited to receive their gifts from […]

Murals and Music at Family Supportive Housing

Eleven AL of San Jose volunteers brought a morning of holiday joy ☺️💝to Family Supportive Housing. 33 residents from 11 families attended our Holiday Craft and Music event. Dipping into plates and bowls of sequins, pompoms, glitter, stickers and more, they decorated paper trees, people and snowflakes to create two murals that will hang in […]

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Every dollar funds the programs which serve the community!

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Your time is valuable.

Spend it wisely helping others in your community and having fun, too!