Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine November 2017 | Page 13

Successful Completion of
Assistance League® of the Bay
Area’s Operation School Bell®
By: Lisa Holbrook
Marketing Chairman
Assistance League of the Bay Area
Diana Maya, Technical Services & Development Engineer,
Kuraray America, Inc., poses with a family of shoppers she
assisted throughout the clothes selection process.
Over 135 individuals collectively worked 1,548 hours to
provide 2314 students with school-appropriate clothing
from August 21 through September 29 at three area Kohl’s
Department Stores, located in Friendswood, League City,
and Pasadena.
Operation School Bell, the signature national program of
Assistance League® was originated by Ruth Ann
Montgomery, charter member of the Bakersfield chapter in
California. The purpose was to clothe children who might
otherwise be unable to attend school because they lacked
the most basic attire.
Today, 120 Assistance League chapters and guilds across
America, with combined chapter budgets of over $11
million per year, provide proper clothing, learning
materials, and tutoring programs to more than 270,000
recipients annually through the Operation School Bell
program.
In the Texas Bay Area, students who attend four different
public school districts – Clear Creek, Dickinson,
Friendswood, and La Porte – along with one charter school
system, Mosbacher Odyssey Academy with locations in
League City, Seabrook and on Galveston Island, received
items during a three week blitz, briefly interrupted by the
unexpected arrival of Hurricane Harvey.
In addition to chapter members and Assisteens®, business
partners, community volunteers, and district personnel
joined together to provide students in grades pre-k to 12,
the opportunity to select items that were most needed for a
successful start to the school year.
“Having the opportunity to volunteer in Assistance
League's operation School Bell is for me, a way to
spread happiness among the children,” says Diana
Maya, Technical Services & Development Engineer,
Kuraray America, Inc. “I just enjoy seeing them smiling
after having found the clothes that make them feel
prouder and self-confident.”
Diana Maya has volunteered for four years with this
philanthropic program and provides an invaluable
service, translation to those families especially
parents, who are not English-speakers. Her kindness
and patience sets those at ease who might otherwise
be anxious about the experience. She adds, “For me,
it is always a blessing supporting Assistance League’s
activities.” The organization recognizes that the
blessing is ours.
Operation School Bell funding is raised through the
chapter’s award-winning Resale Shop located at 100
E. NASA Parkway, Suite 80 in Webste r. the annual
fundraiser, a gala event scheduled for February 9 at
the Waters Edge Venue in Seabrook, and a solid
grants program. Other generous funding comes from
private and community donations.
Since 2001, Operation School Bell has clothed over
25,000 students in the Bay Area.
Interested individuals or civic groups may find more
information on the Assistance League website,
www.assistanceleague.org/bay-area or on Facebook,
@AssistanceLeagueBayArea.
MOMENTUM / November 2017
12