By Khalida Sarwari
Since its founding 10 years ago, the Assistance League of Los Gatos-Saratoga has donated $575,000 to philanthropic programs for children, families and seniors and served 40,000 hot lunches to seniors. On Sept. 26, the league will commemorate those accomplishments at an open house.
The open house is free and will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Saratoga Prospect Center, 19848 Prospect Road in Saratoga. Champagne and other refreshments will be served.
The celebration honors not only league members but also the clients the organization serves through the school districts and the public health nurses programs, as well as donors who support financially.
“The celebration on Sept. 26 is all about the fact that we became a Chapter 10 years ago,” said Paula Ball, spokeswoman for the league. “The amount of accomplishments we’ve made since then are unbelievable for a relatively small group of women.”
The Los Gatos-Saratoga league is one of 122 individually linked chapters of a national volunteer-run nonprofit that exists to identify and address the needs of people within local communities. whose Founded by Chrystie DeSoto, co-owner of the Olive Bar in Campbell, the organization focuses on providing services, education and financial assistance to at-risk populations including children, families and seniors.
Since 2003, the league has been heavily involved in local schools, having donated 6,000 dictionaries to third-graders in the Campbell Union School District and read stories to nearly 8,000 children in their classrooms.
Ball said the reading program is among her favorite league activities. “I go into a classroom with another member, Jan Ehrhardt, and we each read a book to the class and then leave the book for their library,” she said. “I love it if I’m able to make them laugh.”
In the span of 10 years, the league has also presented 600 partial scholarships to fifth-graders to attend curriculum-required science camp. This year, the Assistance League began offering tutoring to 20 first- and second-graders through its Literacy Plus program.
In its 10-year history, the organization has also donated 3,500 jackets and gift cards for shoes to students of all ages, as well as thousands of quilt bundles with layettes, toys and diapers for newborns and their mothers.
At the senior centers in Saratoga and Los Gatos, volunteers prepare meals for the elderly at least three days a week. According to Ball, the women are involved in every step of the preparing and feeding process, from planning the meals, to buying the ingredients, cooking the meals, serving them, and finally, clean-up duties.
Additionally, the league has shared hundreds of craft projects with the seniors.
The Assistance League receives most of its funds for these programs through donations, special fundraising events and grants. The organization’s largest expense allocation goes to school programs, followed by family programs and then senior programs.
Visit allgs.org for more information about the league and its programs and activities.
Assistance League to celebrate its 10 years with an open house
