Building Confidence
Financial hardship can touch any family, often creating barriers to a child’s success in school. We provide funds to students in need, supporting them to shop at their local Fred Meyer stores for essentials like clothing, shoes, books, school supplies, medications, and groceries. These students are carefully selected by school personnel from the Bellevue, Lake Washington, and Northshore School Districts, ensuring your support reaches those who need it most. But our impact goes far beyond material goods. Operation School Bell helps children feel confident, fit in with their peers, and have the tools they need to thrive academically. New clothes, a warm coat, or a book of their own — these simple items foster self-esteem and give students the foundation for a brighter future. For some children, this will be the first time they have had a new pair of shoes, a warm coat, or a book of their very own. Now, they truly feel like they fit in with the other kids.
Testimonial from a key community partner, Lake Washington School District
Assistance League
of the Eastside
is a force for good
in our community.
DANIEL’S INSPIRATIONAL STORY
Learn how Operation School Bell provides more than just new clothing.
2022-23 PROGRAM REVIEW
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
“I don’t get new clothes very often and when I do I feel awesome!”
– Operation School Bell Recipient
“I cannot tell you how proud our students are to come back to school after they get to go shopping. They are so excited to show us what they got and they wear it with such happiness and pride.”
-School guidance counselor
In 2021, Operation School Bell provided gift cards to Fred Meyer, rather than in-store shopping events. Volunteers provided safe drive-up service in 2020!
SNAPSHOTS OF CONFIDENCE
We appreciate our dedicated community volunteers that have knitted or crocheted hats and scarves. Students love choosing a handmade item made expressly for them. We are not currently soliciting donations of woven goods as we are fully stocked right now.
Your donation of money or talent helps put a smile on a child’s face. Please keep in mind that we accept gifts of appreciated stocks, Qualified Charitable Donations (QCDs) and from donor-advised funds (DAFs) – contact Treasurer@aleastside.org to use these options; otherwise … click here to DONATE
COMMUNITY PARTNERS MAKE A DIFFERENCE
School Districts
We appreciate the strong partnerships we have with school districts on the Eastside, whose personnel identify the most vulnerable children in our community:
Bellevue School District
Lake Washington School District
Northshore School District
Retailers
The extraordinary support from the local managers at the Bellevue, Bothell, Kirkland, Redmond and Sammamish Fred Meyer stores helps us achieve shopping for school clothes, shoes, books, school supplies, groceries and medications. Together, we are making a difference in the lives of thousands of children.
Grantors
Grants are an important source of funding for our programs. We appreciate the grants from the following organizations that have been specifically targeted to support Operation School Bell:
The Anderson Foundation
Bellevue City Grant
Eastside Community Aid Thrift Shop
Fred & Gretel Biel Charitable Foundation
Holy Family Parish
Kawabe Memorial Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee
Byron W. and Alice L. Lockwood Foundation
The Daniel V. and Ida J. McEachern
Charitable Trust
The Norcliffe Foundation
Redmond City Grant
Redmond Rotary Foundation
Rotary Club of Bellevue
Sammamish City Grant
Washington Federal Foundation
Wells Fargo
Catherine Holmes Wilkins Foundation
Windermere Foundation
Wockner Foundation