Assistance League of Sacramento

Who we are: 

Our dynamic organization of 300 member-volunteers works tirelessly to meet unmet needs of underserved members of our community. Operating for 55 years in the Greater Sacramento area, we touched the lives of over 25,000 individuals last year.

Our work in the Community: New clothes and literacy support for area school children through our Operation School Bell® program. Scholarships for community college students who have faced difficult life circumstances. First apartment starter kits for foster youth, women escaping sexual exploitation, and former homeless individuals through community needs programs. These are the three areas funded by our resale shop, Fabulous Finds on Fulton, grants, and direct monetary donations.

Our stories:  

One of the staff at Elder Creek Elementary School called to say that three  students had just arrived from Afghanistan on one of the last airplanes out of the country, with merely the clothes on their backs. They asked if there was anything we could do to help this family. The stars were all aligned. The teacher gave us their sizes. Our Operation School Bell chair ran, not walked, to Walmart to purchase clothing, shirts, pants, shoes, and underwear for these children. We were able to deliver them almost immediately.  It was a happy day for all when we gave the clothing to the very grateful mother. As our member relays, "Although we didn’t speak the same language, we were able to communicate with kindness."

More and more victims of homelessness are women over age 50. Assistance League was able to provide Mary* with a move-in ready apartment starter kit when she moved to her new Senior Affordable Apartment.

Janet* had been a victim of sex trafficking. When she escaped that environment, she left with no clothing and no place to live. We immediately provided transitional clothing of sweats, hygiene products, and new underwear. When she found permanent housing, we helped with apartment starter essentials.

A first home, your own place, can be a big moment in the life of a foster youth who has been in County care for many years. On move-in day, Ken* was so thrilled with his apartment starter essentials that he walked into his new apartment and lay down on the freshly vacuumed carpet and made a "carpet angel".

*The names of our recipients were changed, but the stories are real.