Assistance League Of Santa Ana

The Assistance League of Santa Anna serves impoverished youth of Santa Ana. I became a volunteer several years ago because my life has been richly blessed and I felt I needed to give back to "the greater good" for all of my blessings. Our thrift store is beautiful, organized and the cleanest thrift shop in all of Orange County. Our customers enjoy shopping in the store and we know that this allows them to stretch their tight budgets. Young people thrive on gently used clothes and hence we have a lot of young customers that come in to shop with us!

I have been a member of our local Assistance League of Santa Ana for over 10 years and have throughly enjoyed the different philanthropies we are involved in. I served as chairman for Operation School Bell for 2 years and it was so very rewarding to see the faces of our young students when they would come in to receive 2 complete uniforms for school. They would throughly beam from ear to ear with pride of having new clothes provided to them. I also volunteer in our beautiful Thrift Store which I feel is the very best within the County, great selection of items and well displayed, not to mention the great buys that are had to be. We are helping so many within our local community that don't have access to so many stores for shopping.

Although I live in a neighboring town, I chose to volunteer with the Assistance League of Santa Ana 15 years ago because the work they do in Santa Ana is life changing. Even today over 90% of Santa Ana school children receive free lunches and approximately 60% speak a language besides English in their home. Poorer neighborhoods, like those in Santa Ana, rely on volunteer organizations to fill in the gaps, which Assistance League does well, including providing school clothes for over 2000 SAUSD students each year as well as offering youth dental and vision assistance. For over 75 years Assistance League Santa Ana has developed an excellent relationship with their community, allowing them to better help exactly where needed and even "join forces" with other local nonprofits when needed. Just this past year over 200 blankets and/or sleeping bags were donated to an organization that specifically works with homeless residents. Both of my children were active Assisteens in Santa Ana which helped mold them into better adult volunteers with servant hearts. Volunteers with the Assistance League of Santa Ana truly put caring and commitment into action and continue to enrich the lives of those of all ages living in Santa Ana.

Assistance League of Santa Ana has excellent philanthropies that primarily help children in Santa Ana schools. Here are just a few: Operation School Bell® clothes over 2,000 students in grades K-8 per year, the Dental Center offers very low cost dental care to students in K-12 without dental insurance, PROP Scholarships gives approximately 22 $1,000 scholarships to students in SAUSD ROP programs each year.

I've been a member for over ten years, and love this organization. All of our endeavors help the community of Santa Ana, including our great Thrift Shop which serves the community, and sends all profits back to the children of Santa Ana through its great programs.

In addition to the wonderful programs, Assistance League has a fun, energetic, and dedicated group of people to work with year round.

Our newest fundraiser, The Best Taste of Santa Ana, is a restaurant tasting event that promises to become a treasured tradition in downtown Santa Ana.

I have been a volunteer member of Assistance League of Santa Ana since 1995. Assistance League continues to identify and serve the needs of the children and community of Santa Ana. ALSA has several hands on philanthropic projects such as our dental clinic, Operation School Bell (provide new school uniforms to K-5), several outreach programs, scholarship program, Eyeglass program and our Gift of Giving Christmas party for migrant families. We also have a thriving thrift shop that is completely staffed by ALL volunteers which generates funds to support our philanthropies. Not only do we focus on the Santa Ana Community but we focus on member satisfaction with social events, enlightening speakers at our meetings, working in teams, mini fundraisers, all of which has created life long friendships through the years. Our member volunteers are a committed group of women of all ages and backgrounds who have chosen to make an investment of their time in the community of Santa Ana.

I have been a member since 1977. Assistance League of Santa Ana truly lives it's mission statement...dedicated to assisting the community...Santa Ana is the fifth most densely populated city in the US - there are many needs. Assistance League of SA yearly provides much to the students of SA - over 2000 school uniforms, jackets, shoes, school supplies; low-cost dental care in our own facility; over 100 eye exams and glasses; 30 - 1000 college scholarships; food banks and more. Visit our Thrift Store on 1037 West First Street - park on Second Street. The thrift Store is our major fundraiser. Volunteer to staff the Thrift Store and our philanthropies. Call our offices at - 714-664-0547. We need more volunteers to do more work! Donate at www.assistkids.org - we have Paypal.

I joined the Assistance League of Santa Ana as a volunteer almost 2 years ago. The organization contributes in so many ways to the community. As a teacher at Santa Ana High school I became familiar with this group as they have given scholarships to many of our students through the PROP program. Now I volunteer at the Thrift store as often as I can because the atmosphere is fun and the shoppers are wonderful people. They have a School Bell Program that provides uniforms and personal needs to so many elementary children and a new back pack with school supplies. The funds are raised in many ways and everyone works so hard. Joining has changed my life and so many peoples lives. Please visit our website or the store it just might change your life like it changed mine. Santa Duran