Every year at the end of February, the 120 chapters of the Assistance League organization participate in ACTION!Week, an initiative to celebrate the birthday of founder Anne Banning by helping children to grow and know that others care about them. Each chapter devises its own plan to help children in need. For many years, our chapter’s ACTION!Week efforts have focused on Literacy, and we have provided new books to many schools. Most recently, we have held ‘book fairs’ at selected schools, at which every student receives a brand new book. Our members would come to the school and help each student select a book to take home on a topic of particular interest to that student.
This year’s ACTION!Week initiative again supported literacy, with book donations at four of the Title 1 schools we support. Unfortunately, we could not hold our usual book fair because of Covid restrictions, so instead, we delivered 675 brand new books in 25 cartons to the librarian at one of the schools we serve. Members of our Literacy Committee worked with the librarian to identify the best books for the school’s student population. We also donated 100 new books to another one of the schools we support to help fill its Little Library, and included books suitable for young children in 58 quilt bundles that we delivered to two other schools. Because of the commitment and creativity of our members, our ACTION!Week program touched 833 young readers this year.
Still Caring, always helping…we are proud that since last spring, we have been able to deliver 400 $20 grocery gift cards each month to the neediest students and their families at the six elementary schools that previously received our Weekend Food for Kids deliveries. During February, we’ve also delivered more than 800 new books to 4 schools for our ACTION!Week efforts to promote Literacy, and provided hand-made hats and scarves, and toiletries.
