Assistance League was the first nonprofit, nonpolitical, nonsectarian organization founded in the west to recognize the potential of volunteers in helping those less fortunate have a better, more meaningful life.

Today we have more than 120 chapters across the nation with 23,000 member volunteers who gave 3.2 million service hours, returned $38.8 million to local communities and assisted 1.5 million people in need. Assistance League chapters continue to fulfill Anne Banning’s philosophy of volunteer service: “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.”

Anne Banning

Anne  Banning was born Anne Ophelia Smith in 1871 in Los Angeles. Her mother, Susan Glassell Patton, came to Los Angeles in 1865 with her four children after her husband, Colonel George Patton was mortally wounded during the American Civil War.  Susan later married the prominent attorney George Hugh Smith, and they had two children: Eltinge Hugh and Anne. Anne was educated at home until age 12, when her mother died and she was sent to Virginia. At 18 she returned to Los Angeles, and in 1890, married Hancock Banning, son of Los Angeles pioneer Phineas Banning. Anne and Hancock became a powerful team, changing the philanthropic and entrepreneurial landscape of the region.

Ada Edwards Laughlin

Co-founder Ada Edwards Laughlin was born in 1875 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her family moved to northern California when she was 17. She graduated from Stanford University as a hygiene major and was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She taught school before her marriage to Homer Laughlin Jr. and was a pioneer with women’s college basketball. They lived in Los Angeles and met Anne and Hancock through the busy Los Angeles social scene.

In the mid 1890s, Anne Banning was a member of a small group of prominent Los Angeles women who did local charitable work. They called themselves “Assistance League.”  In 1906 their humanitarian efforts extended beyond local boundaries when they sewed clothes to aid the victims of the San Francisco earthquake. The next year, the newspaper reported the ladies “wished to be a permanent organization and be of assistance to everyone who needs it.”

As America entered World War 1, Anne Banning organized the Los Angeles Red Cross unit in 1917 and served as director. Its fundraising unit was the Red Cross Shop, which became the model for Red Cross shops across the country, using Anne Banning’s printed guidelines.

In 1919, Anne Banning and a group of 12 friends, including Ada Edwards Laughlin, formed Assistance League of Southern California, also known as Founder Chapter, to provide food and clothing for local families severely impacted by World War I. The first offices were in downtown Los Angeles and in 1923 a bungalow was purchased in the Hollywood neighborhood where Founder Chapter continues today.

As needs in adjoining communities were recognized, other organizations wished to follow this philanthropic philosophy. Anne Banning and Ada Laughlin organized National Assistance League in 1935 to promote the growth of effective volunteerism through leadership training and education.

An early strategy developed by Anne Banning that prevails today is the “pay to attend” fundraising model, where ticket sales for social events hosted by the organization generate revenue that is used to fulfill service program budgets.

By the time Anne and Ada retired in 1948, there were nine chartered chapters in San Pedro, Santa Ana, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Pasadena, Glendale, Pomona Valley, San Bernardino and Santa Barbara.

National Assistance League was incorporated in August 1949; the first meeting of the National Council was held the next month with representatives attending from ten chapters.

In 1998 a group of neighborhood women met to explore whether there was interest in starting an Assistance League chapter in Coppell.  The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and they became a guild in 1999.  As a guild of Assistance League, the only required program was Operation School Bell.  However, the Philanthropic Committee researched other needs in our community and decided to include scholarships for high school seniors, Helping Hearts to support senior citizens, Journey’s Mentoring and Youth Today.

During our first year, the chapter had a very small budget, but managed to clothe 40 students by providing $50 in gift cards to JCPenney and Payless.  The first holiday home tour was held in 2000, so going forward the budget was much larger.  Assistance League of Coppell chapter was chartered in 2001 and since then thousands of students and adults have been served in our community.

In 2019 an Assisteens auxiliary was established within the chapter, which provides students in grades 7 – 12 with the opportunity to volunteer.