Saratoga News
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Photograph by George Sakkestad
Assistance League volunteer Linda Krain (center) serves a hot lunch to Dorothy Brooks at the Saratoga Adult Day Care Center. The league concentrates its volunteer efforts on helping infants, schoolchildren and seniors.
Assistance League comes to aid of those in need
By Michele Tjin
Debi Snyder had a problem. The food her seniors were served was indistinct in flavor and color.
Snyder is the program manager at the Saratoga Adult Day Care Center, but she noticed that a lot of the participants who came to the center were not eating.
"The lunches came in trays with foil, and a lot of times it was turkey and gravy with cauliflower and potatoes. It was so bland," Snyder said.
That was five years ago. Today, Snyder is singing the praises of the local chapter of the Assistance League, an organization dedicated to meeting community needs. Four days a week, Assistance League members prepare fresh and nutritious lunches for the seniors of the adult day care center, and Snyder couldn't be more pleased. The volunteers take into account dietary needs, and on special occasions, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, they prepare a feast.
"They get standing ovations when they're leaving," Snyder said. "They cook with low amounts of sodium, but they put the flavor of fresh herbs so you don't notice. They make special desserts for diabetics. I don't know what we would do without them."
The members of the Assistance League are happy to lend a hand. The local chapter brings together residents primarily from Los Gatos and Saratoga, and their philanthropic projects benefit infants, schoolchildren and seniors.
"It's humbling in that we realize that there are so many needs that we can't fill but we're gratified that we can do a tiny bit," said Terri Spice, president of the local group.
Assistance League members get the most out of their volunteering efforts by making sure they do something that no other service organization is doing. When the group first formed six years ago, members were outfitting needy children with backpacks. However, they stopped doing so when they saw they were duplicating other groups' efforts.
They now operate with a four-pronged approach to help schools in Los Gatos, Campbell and West San Jose. Operation School Bell keeps students warm, literate and fit.
Volunteers provide scholarships for fifth- and sixth-graders so they can attend science camp. They also purchase a new jacket and give a shoe voucher for a student whenever they get a call from school officials saying a child could use some warm clothing. In Campbell, members read books in classrooms, and for fourth-graders they lead a weekly walking program and reward them with nutritious snacks.
"We gave some of them fresh figs, and some didn't even know what a fig was," Spice said.
Besides the Saratoga Adult Day Care Center, Assistance League members plan craft projects at the Live Oak Nutrition Center in Los Gatos. They also collect infant formula and diapers for Santa Clara County public health nurses to give to needy mothers.
Members say volunteering lets them contribute to their communities.
"It makes us feel fantastic when we hear from students, 'I get my own book?' " Chrystie DeSoto said. "The thing I like most is working with kids. I get to know the kids."
DeSoto founded the Los Gatos-Saratoga chapter in 2001 after visiting her sister in Southern California and seeing what the group there could do. DeSoto, who was collecting money when she was 10 years old to combat polio, always had a spirit of volunteerism, she said, and she didn't have to look far for people with whom to start a new chapter here. Many of her friends were already volunteering at the Village House, a onetime tea house in Los Gatos that benefited EMQ. EMQ provides mental health services for children and their families.
"I have a lot of friends who are interested in doing something," DeSoto said.
The group is now 100 members strong and meets monthly. Leaders say they have put 14,000 volunteer hours back into the community. Volunteers purchase groceries, craft items and jackets and need to raise funds to continue their projects. To that end, they are holding their biggest fundraiser, the Antique Show and Tell, on March 10, 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., at Hotel Los Gatos, 210 E. Main St. Those who attend will receive two informal antique appraisals. There will also be a silent auction, with items such as an autographed San Francisco 49er football and a vacation house in Maui up for bid.
"We need the money," said Norma Steward, one of the vice presidents overseeing philanthropic projects. "Whatever we make, 83 percent of it goes back."
Members hope the community will support their efforts in meeting local needs. From infants to seniors, there are many residents who are on the receiving end of the Assistance League's good will.
For tickets, at $55, to the Antique Show and Tell, contact Jan Ehrhardt at 408.867.4274. For questions about membership, contact Linda Krain at 408.867.3374.
