Assistance League volunteers transforming the lives of children and adults through community programs.
Essential needs are met in our community, and families flourish.
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The Young Woman’s Home Association (YWHA), again this year, has awarded grant funds to Assistance League of Southeastern Michigan. The $8,000 grant will help support their signature program, Operation School Bell®, providing new school clothing and basic necessities for students.
“We are so grateful to YWHA for their generous support of our program. Most recently, these funds enabled us to help 82 middle school students in Wayne County shop for new school clothes at a local store,” said Assistance League President Nancy Troyer.
The grant will also help support Operation School Bell at elementary schools where students select their own new winter coat, hat, gloves, pants, tops, underwear, socks, hygiene kit, book and duffle bag. One of the fourth graders, who lived in a shelter, was determined and successful in finding a book called JUNIE B. JONES because, “It makes you laugh before you go to sleep.” This is what hope looks like for many children.
In the 2018-19 fiscal year, more than 6,000 students benefited from Assistance League’s Operation School Bell program, helping to increase self-esteem and improve school attendance.
For more than 140 years, the YWHA has contributed to the successful development and enrichment of the lives of women and children. YWHA provides grants to nonprofit agencies serving women and children primarily in Wayne County, Michigan, through education, provision of basic needs and cultural enrichment programs.
Assistance League of Southeastern Michigan members recently made a visit to Alternatives for Girls (AFG) center in Detroit. Once again, Assistance League’s Operation School Bell program has supported AFG’s shelter and outreach centers by providing bedding, towels, clothing, cookware and books from Assistance League’s Book Drive.
The Southeastern Michigan chapter donations help to reinforce AFG’s goals of helping homeless and high-risk girls and young women make positive life choices.
Throughout the past year, Assistance League members have purchased and delivered these much-needed necessities to AFG, hoping to help the young women realize their potential and assuring them that someone cares.
During the 2018-19 school year, Operation School Bell serviced over 6,100 students and young adults with clothing and/or necessities.
Recently on a very special day, if you walked into Robbie Hall Parker School in Clinton Township, you could hear a lot of excitement in their gymnasium.
Nearly 600 students from Parker and McGlinnen Elementary schools were selecting their own new warm coat, hat, gloves, tops, underwear, socks, hygiene kit, book and duffle bag to carry it all.
All of these basic necessities were provided to the students at no cost by Assistance League of Southeastern Michigan.
Assistance League of Southeastern Michigan’s Legacy of Literacy book drive was extremely successful.
An initiative of National Assistance League, the Michigan chapter collected 2,648 books, benefitting our Philanthropic Programs such as Operation School Bell, Wee Help Kits, and One-2-One Tutoring.
Our book drive also serviced community programs such as Neighborhood House Blast Off 2 School, Children’s Center of Detroit, several Michigan tri-county schools and the Rochester Hills Public Library.
The book drive committee, under the chairmanship of Barb Roller, had the unique experience of accepting a donation of books from Bob Lytle, local Rochester, Michigan, pharmacist and children’s author. We aided in distributing class sets of his various book titles to schools whose students were recipients of the Operation School Bell program.
To date, Bob has donated 685 books to our programs. The gift of books continues to bring joy for reading to many students.
Students, teachers, and families at Holy Family Regional School in Rochester Hills, Michigan demonstrated love and compassion for students in the Pontiac School District when they collected coins for an Assistance League of Southeastern Michigan fundraiser, “Coins for Kids … Coins for Clothes.”
Assistance League VP Resource Development Lorraine Taliercio approached the administration asking for student participation in this community outreach of helping those in need.
Nearly $3,000 was raised to help provide uniforms for the students in the Pontiac Schools.
“With school-appropriate clothing and adequate supplies, students are better equipped to improve self-esteem and school attendance,” said Assistance League President Rosemary Dirksen. “We appreciate Holy Family Regional School students, staff and families for their generosity.”
More than 400 children from Rochester, Rochester Hills, Oakland Township, Auburn Hills and Addison Township received new hoodies, underwear, socks, hygiene kits and books from Assistance League® of Southeastern Michigan volunteers on August 18, 2018, at Neighborhood House in Rochester Hills.
This Blast Off 2 School event was co-hosted by Assistance League, a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization, and Rochester Area Neighborhood House, a nonprofit human service organization.
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Assistance League of Southeastern Michigan received a most generous grant of $30,000 from the David W. Elliott Memorial Foundation.
The funds will support the Operation School Bell Philanthropic Program and provide new clothing and/or necessities for an entire school in the Pontiac School District.
Since 1995, over 40,000 local students have benefitted from clothing distributions with the aim of improving self-esteem and school attendance.
Assistance League President Rosemary Dirksen and Grant Committee member Barb Bakker received the check from David W. Elliott Foundation Board President Henry Woloson and Board Director Cheryl Gambaro. When the check was presented at a Regular Membership Meeting, members stood in appreciation of this generous donation, which will impact the lives of so many students.
David W. Elliott was a longtime resident of Rochester, Michigan, until his death in 2011. As part of the estate plan, a foundation was established in 2015 to support charitable projects.
