Operation School Bell®

Serving Children in Need
Throughout North Orange County Public Schools

Operation School Bell Continues to Expand Its Services!!!

Children who go to school without adequate clothing often suffer low self-esteem. Students are identified by North Orange County public school personnel. In 2020 our Operation School Bell program was expanded to include clothing, books, food, health items and school supplies for children in the cities of Fullerton, Brea, Buena Park, La Habra, Placentia, and Yorba Linda. In 2022 hygiene products were supplied to all high schools who requested them and our Operation School Bell house started to stock these supplies so we have the capability to quickly respond to these requests. A new program called Ready, Set, Checkout at Target was instituted in 2023 for children in non-uniform schools when Target could no longer accommodate our events by supplying a cashier. Our members stepped up to the challenge by setting up appointments and personally doing the self-checkout with our clients.

During the 2023-2024 school year, we served over 1,700 school students at 40 schools for a cost of more than $179,000. The children all left with a huge backpack or bag of new clothes, wide grins and a renewed sense of confidence. Thanks to the community’s generosity during our annual Sock It To ‘Em campaign, we plan to continue increasing our Operation School Bell outreach each year.

Students from uniform schools receive backpacks of brand NEW clothing and are outfitted from head to toe with the assistance of one of our caring member volunteers. Over 40 Non-uniform schools from elementary to high school will go shopping at Target this school year.

Thanks to the support of our Thrift Shop, the community’s generosity, and our grantors, we were able to expand our Operation School Bell program to junior high children and 4 new schools in 2017. In 2019-2020 this program was extended to high school students. We continue to coordinate with our area schools as we look for new opportunities to transform the lives of the children and adults in our community.

The slides include thank you notes from children showing the impact on the children and their families.