By Hutton Marshall

Every year, thousands of elementary children pack into a Hillcrest thrift shop to receive what many of them never have before: new clothes.

The thrift shop is actually the headquarters of the Assistance League of Greater San Diego (ALGSD), and they do a lot more than sell ugly sweaters during the holiday season.

ALGSD has provided clothes, school supplies, shoes and countless other needed amenities to schoolchildren throughout the county since the organization began in 1965. One hundred days every year, this all-volunteer nonprofit executes the intensely charitable “Operation School Bell.”

ALGSD invites about 60 low-income, mostly immigrant students to their Hillcrest headquarters at a time. They come in through the back of the building during the thrift store’s off hours, unseen by the bargain hunters that fund most of the Assistance League’s activities. There, in the back of the store, these children are outfitted in sorely needed school clothes. They also get a personal hygiene kit, school supplies and a book of their choice.

Although the clothes are plain in appearance, they prove precious to many of their young recipients.

“Some of the children will tell us that this is the first new set of clothes they’ve ever owned,” one ALGSD volunteer said.

The chapter’s president, Maggie Brasch, said Operation School Bell puts the needs and wants of the schoolchildren above all else. In fact, much to the dismay of some parents, only children are allowed in the room where they get to pick out their new clothes.

“The kids like that — having the freedom to decide for themselves. It’s good for their self-esteem,” Brasch said.

County schools have also learned to integrate the continuous flow of resources from ALGSD and other donors to supplement funding for children in need of basic amenities like clothes and hygiene products. J.D. Dyas is a project resource teacher in the Department of Children and Youth in Transition at San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), one of seven school districts served by Operation School Bell. He said initiatives like Operation School Bell are “vital” to SDUSD.

“We usually do [Operation School Bell] about three times a year,” Dyas said, adding that ALGSD responds quickly to the district when students are in need of help on short notice.

“We were dealing with a case this morning … where a family lost their home to a fire, so now they’re doubling up [living] with another family, so we’re doing what we can to help them,” Dyas said.

This year, ALGSD volunteers expect Operation School Bell will serve as many as 3,200 students. But the program, started in 1980, is just one facet of the chapter’s operations. In addition to running its popular thrift store, ALGSD provides scholarships, leads educational advocacy efforts and provides assistance to victims of medical and physical emergencies.

The National Assistance League, founded by Anne Ophelia Smith in Los Angeles back in 1871, calls itself the “first nonprofit, nonpolitical, nonsectarian organization founded in the West.” Today, approximately 26,000 volunteers make up 120 chapters throughout the nation.

The San Diego chapter will soon hit its 50-year mark. To celebrate the occasion, they will hold an Anniversary Open House March 11, offering locals an opportunity to experience what these volunteers do, as a way to recognize their efforts.

Brasch said volunteers typically work one regularly scheduled day a month, and an additional day to help out with Operation School Bell.

“We have some flexibility with our wonderful volunteers, otherwise we would never be able to do this,” Brasch said of the nonprofit’s success. “The good news is that we have a record number of new members this year.”

Last year, ALGSD’s 216 members contributed more than 20,016 hours of volunteer time. The organization has zero paid employees.

During the open house, one fact will likely be apparent to outsiders: the ALGSD has outgrown its building. Its boardroom is now used as storage for high-value items. Between the children milling around for new clothes in the back and adults milling around for old clothes in the front, there isn’t a square foot left to spare in the building. Their parking lot — small even by Hillcrest’s standards — forces thrift store customers to comb the streets for a metered spot nearby.

Brasch hopes the organization can stay in Hillcrest, where it has thrived for decades, but local commercial property on the scale they seek is scarce, she said. They hope to keep their thrift store, Operation School Bell and office space all in the same building.

“If our budget allows it, our future space would be twice this size,” Brasch said.

The ALGSD’s 50th Anniversary Open House takes place from 5 – 7 p.m. on March 11 at their headquarters located at 108 University Ave. near First Avenue. For more information, find the chapter’s page on assistanceleague.org or visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/algsd1.

—Contact Hutton Marshall at [email protected].