Donate Local: Assistance League Thrift Boutique

Personally, I was never a fan of yard sales. I don’t have time to go through things, and driving from place to place just to get a deal is not a way I like to spend my Saturday mornings. (Although, I do love a good deal.) However, having a yard sale is a whole different story. If I can get people to come to me, give me money, and take away my stuff-#winning! Sadly, this doesn’t happen very often. I live in an apartment, so I can’t just have a yard sale, since I don’t really have a yard. Thankfully, I have a friend who just bought a house. She’s been great at offering up her home for fun events. I asked her if I could borrow her lawn for a yard sale, and said yes! So, one sunny Saturday last month we had a yard sale.

During the yard sale a neighbor came over. She said hi to my friend, bought a couple of things, and asked us what we were going to do with what we didn’t sell. She recommended the Assistance League. Neither my friend nor myself had heard of the Assistance League. The neighbor began to share with us about the boutique that is next to the thrift store. The shop next to the thrift store is called Dream Dress, which is a program aimed at helping foster girls, homeless girls, and all other girls in need who are unable to buy dresses for prom, graduation, and school events that require students to dress up. The boutique has a Paris theme to it. The girls have a great time choosing from an array of formal dresses, shoes, jewelry, and purses. (So, if you have any formal dresses, shoes, jewelry, or purses that you are no longer using, please donate them to the Assistance League.) I love the idea of this program. Since it’s inception, they have served over 320 girls throughout Fresno County. Keep in mind, not just anyone can go in, these girls needs to be referred by Fresno County Department of Social Services, foster care agencies, and/or their school counselor. If you know of a girl in need, ask the school counselor how to get a referral. You can also call Jenny Mann at 559-289-2758 for more information.

After hearing about this, I did a little more research on the Assistance League. The Assistance League is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to changing lives in the community. They assist all over Fresno County, with various programs such as Operation School Bell, Operation Bear Hug, Operation Gift Box , Dream Dress, Busy Hands, and Operation Caring. Each program reaches out to those in need. The Assistance League has a thrift boutique on Blackstone, in between Gettysburg and Shaw. (4771 N. Blackstone) When you shop there, all your money goes back into the programs supported by the Assistance League.

  

Check out the above links for more details, but allow me to give you a brief summary of what each program does.

Operation School Bell– Helps children in need with clothes for school.

Operation Bear Hug– Provides teddy bears to emergency agencies to give to children, young adults, and women who have experienced a trauma.

Operation Gift Box– Gift boxes filled with necessities are given to home bound seniors.

Dream Dress– Assists girls in acquiring a formal dress for school occasions.

Busy Hands– Seniors knit, crochet, create handmade items for the Marjaree Mason Center.

Operation Caring– Provides items to victims of sexual assault, child abuse, or family violence.

Based on this information alone, I knew right away that I wanted to donate the rest of my items to the Assistance League Thrift Boutique, and I did. When I went to the thrift shop, they were extremely kind and helpful. I had a whole car full of stuff, and one of the volunteers and myself unloaded everything. I had to help do the heavy lifting, and I didn’t mind. I loved the idea of supporting this organization. The thrift store is small, but filled with lots of goodies. Books, clothes, kitchen items, jewelry, and lots of other fun stuff.

I love giving back to our community, and this is one way I can. Actually, this is one way we all can give back. We can donate items to the thrift store, and the proceeds go right back into these very important community programs. We can donate money. We can donate dresses. We can even donate our time. There is so much we can do to help this organization, and it stays right here in our community. I had no idea that this place even existed. Now that I do, I will make sure to always donate my unwanted items there. I’ve had organizations and many people help me in various ways over the years. In my way of giving back, I’d like to help this organization reach out to others. I would encourage you to do the same.

The purpose of the Assistance League is to “act as a friend at any and all times to men, women and children in need of care, guidance and assistance spiritually, materially and physically.” Let’s help them to accomplish this.