We are a nonprofit all-volunteer organization dedicated to providing programs and services to enrich and improve the quality of life in our community.
Assistance League Southwest Washington’s 55+ volunteers are what make our organization so remarkable. All members are highly motivated to effect change in our community because they have a personal stake in the outcome. Each one has the spirit to get the job done, whatever it is and whatever it takes.
Our focus is on local community needs and helping our volunteers realize their vision for the community. In fact, all funds we raise stay in our community.
We conduct extensive community needs assessments, develop programs to fit those needs, then fund and volunteer in each program.
MISSION STATEMENT
Assistance League volunteers transforming lives through community programs.
VISION STATEMENT
Essential needs are met in our community and families flourish.
NATIONAL ASSISTANCE LEAGUE
Our founder Anne Smith Banning, was part of a small group of prominent Los Angeles women who did charitable work in the mid-1890s, calling themselves Assistance League. In 1906, they responded to the San Francisco earthquake and fire by collecting money and sewing clothes. The next year, they formed a permanent organization to meet local needs.
In 1919, Anne and twelve friends formed Assistance League of Southern California to provide food and clothing for local families severely impacted by World War I. Groups in adjoining communities wanted to organize the same way, and in response Anne Banning and Ada Laughlin organized National Assistance League in 1935 to foster effective volunteerism through leadership training and education.
ASSISTANCE LEAGUE SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON
In 2003 a handful of dedicated volunteers met in one another’s homes to find ways to make a difference in their community. Their efforts resulted in the formation of Assistance League of Southwest Washington.
The organization was first recognized as a guild of Assistance League and in 2008 became a full-fledged chapter. Members have collectively been a positive force in the lives of thousands of children and families throughout Clark County and some adjacent areas.
