Putting Smiles On Children’s Faces
Operation School Bell is our main philanthropic program. The program provides brand new clothing to identified low-income students in the school districts we serve. Since the program was adopted in 1989, over 35,000 children have been clothed. The purpose of the program is to enhance self-esteem, promote learning, and encourage regular school attendance.
We partner with the Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Lake Elsinore and Romoland school districts. Families can sign up online; sites will be offered by each school district.
We have agreements with Kohl’s in Murrieta and Menifee and Target in Lake Elsinore to have children come to the stores during their appointment time and select the school appropriate items they need with their parents free of charge. Each student is allotted $125 tax free during this ‘shopping event.’
Many children have never had new clothing for their very own. Our rewards are the smiles on the children’s faces when they leave the store with their new clothes.
In addition, Operation School Bell ,through its Save Our Schools (SOS) program, provides duffle bags filled with items for immediate hygiene needs and a change of clothing that are distributed to all the preschool programs in Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Lake Elsinore & Romoland school districts. They include Head Start, State Preschool, and Special Education Preschool.
SAYING THANK YOU TO CAMP PENDLETON MARINES
Each summer, seven local Southern California Assistance League chapters combine financial resources and the time and energy of chapter volunteers to create a “Thank You” weekend for Marine families. “Chapters for Children” provides new school clothing to low income military families with dependent schoolchildren stationed at Camp Pendleton. Assistance League of Temecula Valley provides boys’ jeans.
