Assistance League: 75 Years of Community Service
Providing Support for Young and Old with Myriad Philanthropic Programs
From post-World War II years through the digital revolution transforming society, the Assistance League of Santa Barbara remains strongly committed to serving children and adults throughout the county as it salutes its 75th anniversary.
In 1948, a time of hard-earned peace and budding optimism, local women established the Assistance League’s Santa Barbara chapter — the 10th of 120 chapters of a national organization founded in Southern California in 1919.
As an all-volunteer nonprofit, now 300 members strong, the Assistance League of Santa Barbara this month celebrates three-quarters of a century of planting deep roots to support and enhance services that benefit the lives of thousands of local children and adults.
Early Assistance League fund-raising efforts purchased an artificial respirator used to treat polio patients at a local hospital and a mobile unit for Tri-Counties Blood Bank. Later efforts helped establish the local Girl’s Club, funded dental care for children, and sponsored addiction-treatment programs for women.
The Assistance League of Santa Barbara is in a unique position among nonprofits. There is no paid staff, and the chapter owns the buildings and land at its headquarters at 1259 Veronica Springs Road.
Its award-winning thrift store at the site generates the lion’s share of funding for a myriad of philanthropic programs and two auxiliaries.
Chapter President-Elect Carol Sauceda gets a kick out of staffing the thrift shop. “It’s amazing what we do with our little thrift shop,’’ she said “We have lots of repeat customers, like a guy who buys cookbooks. I love seeing people’s faces when they find something they like. The shoppers do so much to help us do what we do.”
In 1964, the auxiliary Las Aletas (little wings) was established to broaden volunteer opportunities. The auxiliary Assisteens is open to high school students wishing to fulfill required community service hours.
The Assistance League also supports “community friends” — local organizations that can use donated goods, especially adult clothing and linens. They include the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission, the Father Virgil Cordano homeless services center, Showers of Blessing, the Grace Fisher Foundation, and others.
The Assistance League of Santa Barbara is proud of its heritage developing and implementing community-service programs in partnerships with other local agencies, including school districts, colleges, social-service agencies, and other nonprofits.
Members find camaraderie working together. Mary Ann Gherini joined 18 years ago because, she said, “I like the idea that there are so many programs to be involved in — it’s not just about one thing.’’ Last year, league members volunteered 41,000 hours, collectively, staffing the thrift store and serving among 16 philanthropies.
Partnering with other agencies is deeply engrained in the chapter’s heritage. Links with the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, for example, helps 49 young local young people further their college education this year. Each qualified student was awarded $3,500, paid to the recipient’s institution.
Fun in the Sun (FITS) is another example of the league’s partnerships. Each summer since 1999, hundreds of local elementary schoolchildren, enrolled in United Way of Santa Barbara County’s six-week water-safety and recreational program, get outfitted with bathing suits and sun hats at the league’s headquarters. FITS has an academic component to which the chapter provides funds for instructional materials.
The Assistance League’s “commitment to this community has and will continue to generate lifelong impacts for students and families,” said Steve Ortiz, president and CEO of United Way of Santa Barbara County. “We are grateful for their partnership and look forward to many more years of service together.”
Among the most popular and enduring philanthropy is Operation School Bell. Established in 1969, it currently provides brand-new clothing and school uniforms to 600 elementary school students from Santa Barbara to Carpinteria, with a similar number outfitted in North County. Teen School Bell provides shopping excursions for qualified junior and senior high school students needing new clothing. Another popular offering is the annual Prom Boutique which makes available hundreds of gowns and accessories to local high school girls.
Other philanthropic programs include Bear Hugs, distributing teddy bears to fire departments and law-enforcement agencies to comfort traumatized children; Family Learning Center, providing after-school tutoring through the city Housing Authority; Fostering Friends, an outreach at Santa Barbara City College; Santa Barbara Smiles, providing dental hygiene tools to 1,000 community members last year; and VIP luncheons, rewarding achievement of junior high school students.
Las Aletas runs Operation School Bell for the Goleta schools. Las Aletas also manages Kids on the Block educational puppet shows and Operation Book Shelf that provides materials to home-bound individuals.
The Assistance League reaches seniors through Friendship Luncheons, joining forces with Food from the Heart, Meals on Wheels and the adult day program Friendship Center to serve hot meals five times at league headquarters, thus assisting more than 2,800 seniors each year.
As the Assistance League celebrates the past 75years, it looks ahead. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” The dream of the Assistance League is to continue a meaningful journey toward bettering the conditions of local residents.
The Assistance League of Santa Barbara will hold an open house on October 26 from 3-6 p.m. to which all are invited. The League is at 1259 Veronica Springs Road.
