Assistance League Of Fullerton

Operation School Bell

Operation School Bell provides new clothing for children in elementary schools (K-5), middle schools (grades 6-8), and junior highs (grades 7-8) located in our service area in North Orange County (Fullerton, Brea, Buena Park, La Habra, Placentia, & Yorba Linda, CA). We also provide school clothing and hygiene products for homeless students in Fullerton high schools. Schools refer students living below the poverty level. Operation School Bell is the largest philanthropic program we support. Research shows that living in poverty has a wide range of negative effects on the physical and mental health of children. Assistance League of Fullerton seeks to help children living in poverty by providing them with new school clothing, thereby bettering their lives and school experience. In 2024-2025 fiscal year, the budget will be increased from $160,000 to $175,000 to cover increasing costs and to serve additional children.

Healthy Neighborhoods Tutoring and Art Enrichment

In 2018 Assistance League of Fullerton became a community partner with the Center for Healthy Neighborhoods, which serves disadvantaged families in Fullerton. The Center offers free bilingual services "that promote health and resilience, including counseling, social services, health promotion and treatment, children and family programs, college readiness activities, job training, and programs that help families achieve economic self-sufficiency." Assistance League provides requested supplies for the program’s children (art materials and educational materials like flash cards, counters, calculators) at a yearly cost to us of about $2,000. In 2024-2025 it will be increased to $5,000

Operation New Start

Operation New Start serves community organizations with whom Assistance League of Fullerton has agreed to partner. They are Pathways of Hope (serving the homeless), Women's Transitional Living Center (serving victims of domestic abuse), Fullerton College Foster Youth Success Initiative and Fullerton College CalWORKS (serving college-age former foster children and needy students who have young children). The organizations provide their clients with vouchers which can then be exchanged for merchandise from our thrift shop. In addition, for clients of the Transitional Living Center, we provide new socks, underwear, jackets, leggings and jeans for children living there; when the families are ready to move into their own apartments, we provide bags of new household items. In 2024-2025 the budget increased from $10,000 to $18,000.

La Vista High School Support

During the year, we host receptions at the school upon request. This is a continuation high school that has no organized PTA. In 2024-2025 we increased the La Vista budget from $500 to $800. In addition, we added $1000 for the teen parenting program at this high school with which we will furnish diapers, wipes, and diaper cream for the infants who attend the program at the high school with their parents.