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Assistance League of St. Louis Volunteers Give 308 Deserving Children New Shoes, Socks On First Day!
Assistance League Member Diana Tate (left), of Ballwin, and Arlene Holley, (below) of Creve Coeur, joined 22 other Assistance League of St. Louis volunteers on Tuesday, Sept. 10, to fit deserving Hamilton Elementary School kindergarten through fourth graders with new athletic shoes and three pair of socks. Fittings happen annually in the fall and spring—bringing children who are wearing incorrect shoe sizes or shoes that allow their feet to get wet and cold greater comfort and improved self-esteem.
During the 2018-2019 season, Assistance League volunteers visited two agencies and 36 schools in 8 school districts—providing 4,011 St. Louis area school children with new athletic shoes and socks.
Each fitting day, 20 to 30 Assistance League volunteers travel to three elementary schools to fit school children with a pair of the latest styles and colors in athletic shoes. Assistance League’s philanthropic partner, Shoe Carnival, provides two or three employees who work alongside Assistance League volunteers each fitting day.
Assistance League of St. Louis President Jane Harbron today announced recently elected members of the nonprofit organization’s first Advisory Council. “These talented business and community leaders, who are representative of the thousands of St. Louisans Assistance League serves, will offer needed advice and support to our board,” said Harbron. “They will be involved in a range of areas from program development to fundraising, finances and governance.”
Pictured above, (L-R) standing: John Beuerlein, Judy Murphy, Ann Bauer, and Stacy Clay; seated Claire Hundelt, Frankie Eichenberger
The new members are:
• Ann Bauer, Attorney, The Center for Family Law
• John Beuerlein, General Partner, Retired, Edward Jones
• Stacy Clay, Senior Vice President, Director of Community Affairs, First Bank,
• Frankie Eichenberger, Executive Business Leader and Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach -- retired Senior Vice President, U.S. Bank
• Claire Vatterott Hundelt, Executive Director, Marillac Mission Fund (formerly Daughters of Charity)
• Judy Murphy, CPA and Partner, RubinBrown LLP
See below for short bios on each member.
EDWARD JONES VOLUNTEERS AND ALSL MEMBERS LABEL AND SORT HUNDREDS OF BOOKS FOR ASPIRING READERS
Assistance League President Jane Harbron (left), and leader of Edward Jones book drive Margie Bittner were among the many Edward Jones’ Region 71 employees and Assistance League members to label, count and sort books at Assistance League of St. Louis’ Ellisville headquarters on August 3. From July 1-31, West County area Edward Jones employees collected 18 boxes of books donated by community members and clients at 70 Edward Jones branches. These Edward Jones employees delivered the books to Assistance League’s Books from Friends program. Assistance League has provided 15,000 books to aspiring readers and has established Little Community Libraries in Ritenour School District’s six elementary schools.
St. Louis Magazine has announced its annual A-List. This is the magazine’s tribute to the region’s finest as determined by readers who weigh in by nominating their favorites and then voting on the nominees. The magazine tallied the votes, and ALSL’s lovely, upscale resale shop Fantastic Finds has been awarded the St. Louis Magazine Reader's Choice Finalist for the A-List for furniture/home accessories resale store! Thanks to all the hard work of members who support the shop and the nine philanthropic programs the shop’s revenues help fund.
Assistance League of St. Louis has named Jane Harbron its president for the 2019-2020 term. In 2009, after a 35-year career at IBM as Consulting Partner and Sales Executive, Jane joined Assistance League of St. Louis—an organization that for more than 30 years has responded to the unmet needs of tens of thousands of St. Louisans.
In the past decade, Jane has assumed several leadership positions, including Vice Chair and Chair of one of two major fundraisers for the organization, Vice President Fund Development (and Grant Writer), Chairman of Information Technology, President-elect and President in 2015-2016. As president then, she championed the organization’s first Discovery Day at the Saint Louis Zoo—now an annual tradition when 60 Assistance League volunteers bring more than 120 deserving children to a local venue for new athletic shoes and socks, new books, activities and healthy lunches.
Art McCoy, Ph.D., Superintendent of Schools, and Gwendolyn Diggs, Assistant Superintendent, Jennings School District, joined students at Northview Elementary School for a recent Assistance League of St. Louis book fair.
Assistance League volunteers, including President-Elect Jane Harbron, pictured below, read to students and helped them select books to take home. They also staged a puppet show for preschoolers.
Assistant League volunteers have conducted school book fairs across St. Louis, providing free books, reading sessions and literacy activities to hundreds of students. Assistance League is on its way to meeting its goal of providing 12,000 books to aspiring readers as part of its Books from Friends program.
Assistance League of St. Louis Steps to Success recently wrapped up their spring session at Marvin Elementary in the Ritenour School District, where volunteers provided new athletic shoes and three pair of socks to deserving children. Fittings happen annually in the fall and spring. During the 2018-2019 season, Assistance League volunteers visited 37 schools in 8 school districts—providing approximately 3,700 St. Louis area school children with new athletic shoes and socks.
In the photo above, Assistance League volunteers Chris Zang and Dawn Thomas help fit children with new shoes at Larimore Elementary School in Hazelwood.
On March 1, Ritenour School District’s Iveland Elementary School conducted a ribbon-cutting for one of six new Little Libraries being installed by Assistance League of St. Louis in the district. Sue Long (top left), Chairman of Assistance League’s program Books from Friends, and Eagle Scout Elijah Edwards, the Parkway South High School senior who had the idea to build the first little library as part of his Eagle Scout requirements, were there to celebrate with students and other Assistance League leaders.
Following the ribbon-cutting, KSDK Anchorwoman Kay Quinn (far left) conducted a studio interview about the project with Assistance League leaders and Elijah. Next to Kay Quinn (from left) are Assistance League President Roxie Randolph, Elijah, and Chair and Vice Chair of the Assistance League’s Books from Friends program, Sue Long and Ruth Ellen Barr.
Assistance League of St. Louis on January 29 brought new school uniforms and personal care items to 45 Gateway Michael School kindergarten through 8th grade students. This Saint Louis Public School serves students with serious health problems and multiple disabilities. Here (left) Instructional Care Assistant Rosalind Farrell and Assistance League volunteer Bette Goette check out sizing of a pair of uniform pants---part of the package of 22 clothing, books and personal items the children took home. See the photo and caption on page A11 in the March 7 edition of the St. Louis American.
Assistance League of St. Louis President Roxie Randolph, surrounded by Woerner Elementary School children getting new school uniforms, starred in a feature story and video filmed by the St. Louis Business Journal. Both appeared on the Business Journal’s website on January 24, with the print edition on newsstands January 25. St. Louis Business Journal subscribers can find the video and feature article on their website.
