Assistance League of San Luis Obispo County

Assistance League® of San Luis Obispo County is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is transforming students’ lives and strengthening our communities through its philanthropic program, Operation School Bell®. Our chapter has an unyielding advocacy to make a difference in the educational experience of the students we serve. The most positive and productive thing that can be done for them and our community is to provide them with a quality educational experience which includes academic and social success. Assistance League of San Luis Obispo County was incorporated in 1991 and Operation School Bell was adopted in 1995 as it philanthropic program. Operation School Bell provides a most basic need – clothing. Since 1995 more than 36,000 students from low-income families have been provided with school-appropriate clothing throughout San Luis Obispo County. We are an all-volunteer organization with over 100 member volunteers and no paid staff. We have been able to successfully administer, staff and fund our program for 28 years. In 1995, our first year of Operation School Bell, we clothed 100 children. Each successive year, through budgeting and working with purpose and determination, we have clothed more and more students through our primary philanthropic program, Operation School Bell. In April 2015, the chapter opened its Thrift Store at 667 A Marsh Street in San Luis Obispo. It is staffed entirely by our member volunteers. The Thrift Store is a key source of funding to support our chapter and its philanthropic programs. The additional revenue has allowed us to continue to serve more students in need in our County and to increase the amount spent on each student.

Through our philanthropic program Operation School Bell (OSB) we provide new school clothes to students in need. For some students, this is the first time they have shopped retail for new school shoes, a warm jacket or favorite t-shirt of their very own. Now they truly feel they fit in with their peers. Each student also receives an age-appropriate book of their choice, a tote filled with grade-appropriate school supplies and a dental hygiene kit. This year we have clothed over 2,200 students in need. We work closely with each school district in the County to get students referred to Operation School Bell. The schools are the ones to best determine those most in need.