Assistance League of Diablo Valley, an all-volunteer organization based in Walnut Creek, is thrilled to be celebrating 55 years of service to Contra Costa County.
With its myriad ways to help the community, Assistance League has been improving lives and demonstrating its motto of “Caring and Commitment” since 1967. We have 16 philanthropic programs that concentrate on two areas: student support and community needs.
Student support programs
Our 12 student support programs provide material and practical support in several districts in Contra Costa County. Each month, we provide 500 boxes of weekend food aid to foster youth, homeless and low-income students in Pittsburg. We donate new uniforms and school-appropriate clothing for students. Last year, we provided 215 homeless youth with new clothes and 89 students with emergency clothing. We also offer two reading programs, an art program and puppet shows on safety topics. Our READ program purchased 2,088 books for 1,039 second graders in 44 classrooms at 13 schools.
Scholarships
Another significant way we support students is with a variety of college and vocational scholarships and teacher support grants. In 2020-21, we awarded $181,300 in scholarships to 52 young adults and $6,500 in grants to 15 teachers for student enrichment programs. According to former Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, “Assistance League of Diablo Valley is the most effective philanthropic organization working in schools in Contra Costa County.”
Community needs programs
Our community needs programs provide bundles of love and material support for a variety of vulnerable populations. For example, we help at-risk babies and sexual assault survivors when leaving the hospital as well as foster youth who are removed from their homes or are transitioning to living on their own. Last year, we provided backpacks with emergency supplies to 170 children in crisis, supported 539 babies at risk of developmental delay with infant care supplies, and made over 5,028 reassurance calls to homebound senior citizens. We supported 180 CalWorks families with food boxes, provided supplies to 34 foster youth transitioning from foster care and gave emergency clothing for 165 survivors of assault. We also awarded $5,520 to 13 foster youth in their last year of high school to pay for such items as a computer, yearbook or class ring.
Assistance League of Diablo Valley owns and operates its own thrift store in Lafayette; we run this store with an all-volunteer workforce. Ours is a highly organized, member-driven organization, and our philanthropic work is supported by generous donations. We invite you to join us or learn more about us at assistanceleague.org/diablo-valley.
