Who We Are

  • 100% volunteer-based with no paid staff
  • Impacted more than 36,000 St. Louis children and adults in 2021-2022
  • Our 494 volunteers gave 61,200 hours which is equal to 29 full-time employees and is worth nearly $1.4 million
  • 100% St. Louis-based
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  • 3 12 19 STEPS Larimore School Hazelwood 800x781

What We Do

Make a difference

Our member volunteers manage a variety of programs to benefit underserved populations in the St. Louis metropolitan region.  Each program has a unique delivery model and focus. We provide everything a child needs to wear to do well in school, athletic shoes and socks, personal care items for women and children in shelters, books for aspiring readers, and items to help families through tough times when they can't find help elsewhere.

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Assistance League of St. Louis--Putting Care Into Action for 35 Years

The January 30 Everyday section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch featured an article, "Care closet equips students with necessities," in the KidNews section. The story featured a Chicago public school program providing students in need with clothing and personal items. Julie Hundmann of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) in St. Louis responded on February 4 to the story in the From Our Readers Opinion section about the NCJW Kids Community Closet Program.

Monroe School Kids in ALs Closet Nov 2022 scaledMonroe Elementary School children in AL's closet

Assistance League of St. Louis Operation School Bell (OSB) program developed AL's closets five years ago, and this year, we have given 22,000 new items of clothing, including pants, shirts, underwear, socks, fleece jackets, hats, gloves, belts and over 1000 coats. Operation School Bell volunteer liaisons stock AL's closets in 24 elementary and middle schools in St. Louis Public Schools, several county school districts, and five district closets for students in transition. We work cooperatively with the NCJW to stock several of these closets. Additionally, we provide school nurses with hygiene and personal care items. Our unique STEPS program provides athletic shoes to the OSB schools plus schools in the Pattonville, Ritenour, and Ferguson/Florissant school districts.

The schoolchildren in this community have ongoing needs. Assistance League of St. Louis has 99 attentive volunteer liaisons who respond quickly and keep AL's Closets ready to answer those needs. We are very proud of the significant contribution we make to our St. Louis community. For 35 years, Assistance League of St. Louis has put CARE into ACTION.

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18th Annual Authors Brunch - You Don't Want to Miss it!

AB invite jpeg 600

To register for the event, complete and mail this form. To become a sponsor, complete and mail this form. Thank you!

The Assistance League of St. Louis is excited to announce the authors for the 18th annual Authors Brunch.

LauraBradford cropLaura Bradford
Laura is the USA Today Bestselling author of over 35 books. In the area of women’s fiction, her novels have garnered book club picks from Delilah of Delilah radio and Southern Lady Magazine. In mystery, her most prolific of areas, Laura has penned many series including: A Friend for Hire Mysteries, An Amish Mystery series, the Emergency Dessert Squad Mysteries, and the Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries (written as Elizabeth Lynn Casey). She is a former Agatha Award nominee, and the recipient of an RT Reviewer’s Choice Award in romance. Learn more at: www.laurabradford.com. View a short video clip recorded by Laura for Assistance League.

JeannetteCooperman cropJeannette Cooperman
Jeannette has written seven books—six nonfiction (biography or cultural history) and a murder mystery. A member of the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame, Jeannette was the staff writer at St. Louis Magazine for twelve years. Her work was cited as Notable in Best American Essays 2021; she received the Writer of the Year award at the 2019 City & Regional Magazine Awards; and she was named to the 2017 FOLIO: 100 list of “the best and brightest” in the magazine industry nationwide. Jeannette spent a decade doing investigative reporting for Riverfront Times, where her work was recognized by the National Education Writers Association, the National Mental Health Association, the National Black Journalists Association, the National Gay and Lesbian Journalism Association, and the Society of Environmental Journalists.

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