Assistance League
of Long Beach
is a nonprofit corporation
whose purpose is to create a community of volunteers to identify and deliver philanthropic services.

Caring, Sharing, Friendship

What's New?

Passionate and dedicated volunteers are the driving force behind Assistance League of Long Beach.  For nearly seven decades, through hands-on volunteer action, this thriving organization has fulfilled its mission "to create a community of volunteers to identify and deliver philanthropic services."  Its more than 900 members (the largest National Assistance League chapter) provide 57,000 volunteer hours that touch the lives of 17,000 Long Beach residents every year.

Assistance League of Long Beach members
attend Annual National Convention,
San Diego, California (11/2006)
Click photo to enlarge

National Assistance League is a nonprofit organization with over 24,000 volunteers working out of 117 chapters in 26 states. 

The United States Census Bureau, in the 2005 American Communities Survey, tells us that about 19.2% of all residents of Long Beach (88,686 individuals) live in poverty.  It also tells us that about 27.6% of children under 18 in Long Beach live in poverty.  Long Beach now ranks 26th in poverty of 70 cities in the United States with populations greater than 250,000 that were included in the 2004 United States Census. (Source: Press-Telegram 8/29/2006)

Our Philanthropic Programs are designed to help meet the needs of these people.  In the past year, we had 9 active projects serving Long Beach and surrounding areas.

Click photo to see
Philanthropic Center
Grand Opening photos

	ALa Carte, a creative art program at Miller Children’s Hospital, where our volunteers reached 1,600 children.
	Assault Survivor Kits®, assembled for survivors of violent crimes; our volunteers put together 125 sexual assault kits for Community Hospital.
	Kids on the Block™, an educational puppet program, performed before 5,000 kids and seniors.
	Operation School Bell®, giving free school uniforms to elementary, middle, and high school students in need, clothed 2,700 children.
	Our Orthodontic Center has braces on 400 children in need.
	Scholarships were given to 55 young adults attending Long Beach City College and California State University at Long Beach.  The Long Beach Unified School District received music awards.
	Our mentoring program guided 32 young “at risk” young adults.
	Assisteens, a 9th – 12th grade auxiliary helped 420 children and adults with their own philanthropic programs.
	The Howard Collection, a museum-quality collection of Asian artifacts is available to seventh grade students and community groups.

Our funding comes from our Thrift & Vintage Shop, fundraising efforts, grants, and donations.

Philanthropic Programs has replaced its former name, Philanthropic Projects, throughout the website.

Life Member description has been updated to correspond with updated Standing Rules.

Have fun exploring our website!  Lots of new photos added throughout the website, including Philanthropic Center Grand Opening photos and Destinations photos.

Read all about Assistance League of Long Beach and its Philanthropic Center Grand Opening in the news (Press-Telegram, 2/14/2007, Seen at the Scene; Press-Telegram, 2/12/2007; Press-Telegram, 2/10/2007, Page A3); and Downtown Gazette, 2/12/2007, Page 11.

President's Message

The City of Long Beach, like so many metropolitan communities, faces the challenging needs of a large multi-cultural population. 

Assistance League of Long Beach, a non-profit corporation, is a diverse group of women who have invested in the future of our community over the past 66 years.  Nine hundred forty-eight dedicated, “hands-on” volunteers touch the lives of over 10,332 men, women and children in greater Long Beach every year.  Our philanthropic programs could not exist without these dynamic women supporting all of the projects offered to the city. 

As the only group that provides Orthodontic care for economically-disadvantaged children, Assistance League of Long Beach makes a difference every day.  Within the next five years, we hope to increase our capacity from 400 to 700 patients.

Working with the Long Beach Unified School District, we provide school uniforms for students in grades K-12.  The organization's goal is to clothe 10,000 students a year so no student will miss school due to a lack of proper clothing.

Our volunteers put a smile on the faces of patients, at Miller Children’s Hospital, by spending time with them on a one-to-one ratio.

Many students attending the Long Beach Unified School District have never had the opportunity to visit a museum.  As custodians of the Howard Collection, we bring students to view the wonderful Asian and Oriental Art Collection in our care. 

Explaining social issues in a unique way is the job of the puppeteers from Kids on the Block™.  Providing clothing for assault survivors is another avenue of volunteerism for our members.  Helping students stay on the right path to a college education is accomplished by providing mentoring to “at risk” high school students and granting academic scholarships to students in need at Long Beach City College and California State University at Long Beach.  Music awards are granted each year to the Long Beach Unified School District. 

As you can see, the volunteers of Assistance League of  Long Beach are investing in the future of our community and making a difference every day.

Shelly Sandler
President