Assistance League of St. Louis has named Yolanda Perez-Cunningham president for 2021-2022. Yolanda retired from her position as a Staff Manager-Business Analyst for Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages in June 1994. She spent 10 years volunteering at her children’s schools in Southern California and four years as a member of Assistance League of Huntington Beach. After moving back to St. Louis in 2007, she continued to volunteer at her children’s schools and joined Assistance League of St. Louis in 2008.
Yolanda has assumed several Assistance League leadership positions in recent years, including Chair of Operation School Bell, a program that provides school clothing and other basic items to deserving students throughout the St. Louis community. She also served as Vice President of Operations, Chair of Property Management, and as President-Elect.
In the past year, Yolanda played a key role in supporting then-President Dawn Thomas during an unprecedented year. She assisted the Philanthropic and Fund Development programs in navigating the ever-changing pandemic landscape so that the organization could continue their efforts to assist children and adults in the St. Louis community.
Dawn worked with Yolanda and the Assistance League board to establish a new program in 2020—Books from Friends, which provides books to thousands of students in the region through interactive book fairs and other activities. The program’s goal is to distribute 12,000 books to area students in the coming fiscal year. In collaboration with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Books from Friends will distribute over 3,000 books this summer at a back-to-school expo. As a champion of this and other Assistance League initiatives, Perez-Cunningham, in 2020, recorded over 1,000 hours of volunteer service.
“Yolanda’s commitment and hard work led to her election as president,” said outgoing President Dawn Thomas. “Her strategic planning abilities, focused energy and excellent people skills will help our organization continue to move forward in these unusual times to serve the many needs of the people of the St. Louis region.” Yolanda is a resident of Ladue, Missouri.
