​Pregnant?  Teenaged?  Homeless?  Assistance League of Los Gatos-Saratoga volunteers opened their hearts again this year to help very young new mothers who are part of the Nurse Family Partnership with East Valley Medical Clinic in San Jose.  Assistance League provided gifts for each child whose mother participates in a program of education and wellness for their babies sponsored by the Public Health Nurses.  The colorful packages made a special backdrop for the holiday event on December 9, 2015,  at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Saratoga.  Nurse managers spoke about the challenges that face the young families they see and expressed appreciation, not only for the holiday gifts, but for the support that Assistance League provides their program all year round.  A dozen nurses and staff from the clinic attended and loaded their cars with 101 gift bags, valued at more than $4,000, to distribute to their clients.  Members and guests were entertained by Magic Makers, a special-needs choral group that definitely brightened up the room.  

“We do, we do!” say the third graders in the Campbell Union School District.  “We found out how to spell words and learned their definitions.  We even found out that some words have more than one meaning—who knew?”  

On Tuesday, December 1, 2015, 44 volunteers from the Assistance League of Los Gatos-Saratoga and the community presented each of the 872 third graders in the district with a dictionary to take home.  The volunteers also taught a fun lesson about how to use the dictionary, and talked to the students about the importance of literacy in their future lives at school and work.  These small dictionaries also contain information about states, nations, solar systems, languages, calendars and other almanac subjects. 

Assistance League coordinates with The Dictionary Project, a national organization that seeks to present every third grader in the country with a free dictionary. Dictionaries continue to be a valuable learning tool, even in this age of technology.

Assistance League of Los Gatos-Saratoga is featured in an article in the Mercury News. Read how we are meeting the needs of many in our community

LINK TO NEWS ARTICLE>>.

“The gaily wrapped baby gifts just kept arriving --- porta cribs, umbrella strollers, cute outfits, board books, diapers, little sleepers, and more,” observed Assistance League of Los Gatos-Saratoga President Kristine Burke at the 8th annual Baby Shower held last week to support young pregnant mothers and their new babies.

The nearly 100 baby gifts will be delivered to the Nurse Family Partnership clients from the East Valley Public Health Clinic of Santa Clara County.  Public Health Nurses will distribute these gifts to first time pregnant mothers and their babies.  These young women are low income or are at risk because of their living situation. 

Assistance League of Los Gatos-Saratoga is a partner for the Santa Clara County Nurse Family Partnership and the baby shower was just one way the non-profit volunteer organization supports this endeavor.  New baby bundles with hand-made quilts, diapers, baby wipes, books, and soft toys are delivered to each new mother when her baby is born, and at the holiday season Assistance League provides the children of each family with gifts to help bring joy to the time.  

Thirteen of the nurses in the Family Nurse Partnership attended the shower to receive the baby gifts which they will give to their clients. The nurses provide tools to help these mothers raise a healthy new baby and follow clients through their pregnancy until the child reaches age 2.

In mid-June, approximately 32 local families (clients of the Nurse Family Partnership) shopped for baby clothes, strollers, portable cribs, toys, diapers, blankets and books for their babies at “The Store”.

As part of our Philanthropic Programs/Family Programs, ALLGS volunteers staffed “The Store” where baby and toddler items were available for young moms to “buy” for their babies.  These young women participated in a 2-year program through the Public Health Department and the Nurse Family Partnership.  The new moms are paired with the same Public Health nurse throughout their pregnancy and the following 2 years with their babies.  Home visits with the new moms include child care and development information for which the new moms earn points for meeting a series of goals set by the NFP.  These points are then used at “The Store” to select much needed items which were donated, collected and sorted by ALLGS volunteers throughout the year. 

This annual event provides an opportunity for our volunteers to meet these dedicated moms and adorable babies (sometimes even a cuddle or two) as they get a solid start in life together. 

A special thanks to all the volunteers who participated in this event to continue our mission of caring and commitment in action.  

At a luncheon meeting at the Saratoga Country Club, the following officers were installed to carry on the business of the Assistance League of Los Gatos-Saratoga for the coming fiscal year.  President:  Kristine Burke; President-Elect:  Susan Scharlach; Vice President Membership:  Karen Maxwell and Gladie Rabitz; Vice President Philanthropy:  Barbara Alioto and Barbara Weber;  Vice President Resource Development:  Dru Barth and Barbara Dariano; Secretary:  Janet Jacobson;  Treasurer:  Lynn Sprague; Education:  Sue Whelton; Public Relations:  Nancy McDonnel; Strategic Planning:  Kathy Kelley; Parliamentarian:  Susan Buxton. 

The Ada Laughlin Award recognizes a member who is an unsung heroine.  Named for the co-founder of Assistance League who preferred to work behind the scenes, the 2015 award was given to Kitty Horowitz in recognition of her many years of service.  An RN by profession, Kitty is the program chair of our Family Program which works with public health nurses in the Nurse Family Partnership that supports very young mothers in Santa Clara County.  Kitty has also been a faithful member of the team that cooks lunches for the Adult Day Care Center in Saratoga.  Congratulations, Kitty!

"You're never too old, too wacky, too wild to pick up a book and read with a child!"    Dr. Seuss

Our 50 Literacy Program readers really stepped up to the plate this year. They tried out new ways of adding value to our time reading to students in 50 classrooms.   They explained vocabulary and difficult concepts, brought photos to illustrate what the book was about, worked to add more nonfiction books to their reading lists, and tried some poetry.  If you were lucky you might even have found a couple of readers “in costume,” and the initial evaluations from the readers indicate that their students loved it all.

These dedicated readers read 800 books in classrooms and left them with the teachers to share again and again; 2,500 books were given to students to take home and read with their families; and our readers logged 200 hours in classrooms as well as countless hours preparing to share quality literature with children.

It is known that a child from a low income home is seven times more likely to drop out of school than his more affluent peers.  Most of the children we reach in our Literacy Program are from low income homes and are receiving free and reduced lunches. There are often no books in their homes, and we know that we are helping in a small way to help break the cycle of poverty by encouraging them to read and enjoy reading.

To our readers we say a BIG thank you for all you have done this year!  Thank you again for what you do for the children we serve. 

 Terri Spice & Lynette Key, Literacy Co-Chairs 

On December 2, 2014, Assistance League of Los Gatos-Saratoga weathered a rain storm to brighten the day for Campbell Union School District’s third graders. In its eighth year, Dictionary Day is a long-stand­ing and well-loved program. Each year, volunteers from the community and ALLGS distribute almost 1,000 brand new dictionaries, present a lesson and games on dictionary use, and send the students home with their very own dictionary. We also provide Spanish/English dictionaries to support students who speak a second language—a total of 8,000 English dictionaries and 1,000 Spanish/English diction­aries during the life of this program. Feedback from students, teachers, parents and volunteers is over­whelmingly positive! This is just one facet of the Literacy Program that ALLGS holds dear and we are happy to be able to sponsor it each year.

Priscilla Spencer-Matusewicz, principal of Marshall Lane School, sent the following message after Dictionary Day.

“I want to thank you for your support of Dictionary Day. Although our children have access to online information, I still believe that it is important for our students to have access to real books. On the eve of Dictionary Day, we had a PTA Board meeting. One of the members had to bring her 3 chil­dren with her. When I looked over, one of them was reading her new dictionary! Adorable!”

Many thanks to all who helped make Dictionary Day a success this year—the baggers and labelers, the classroom presenters, and the Campbell Union School District staff who facilitated the process. We hope to see you again next year!

Watch for our annual Dictionary Day, which will occur on December 2, 2014. Assistance League of Los Gatos-Saratoga will give a new dictionary to each third grade student in the Campbell Union School District.  Volunteers distribute almost 1,000 dictionaries in 40 classrooms.

This is one of our longest-running programs in Assistance League, this being the eighth year that we have given a dictionary to each of the third grade students in the Campbell Union School District.  This is the way it works—volunteers from Assistance League and the community go to each of the 40 third grade classrooms in the district to present a short lesson and distribute dictionaries.  That’s 1,000 English dictionaries meant for the students to take home as their very own.  We also give 250 Spanish/English dictionaries to students whose home language is Spanish in order for their parents to assist them with homework and with their own language development. 

The good news is that we are able to distribute the dictionaries early in the school year, so the students can use them all year.  Other good news is that we will now be part of the Campbell Union School District’s College and Career Curriculum Strand and the emphasis on literacy and the future will be important.  Presenters will be encouraged to wear their college sweatshirts or career uniforms and to discuss how literacy will affect the students’ lives and their future education. The wonderful smiles of the children who get to take their very own dictionary home to use is our reward!

The bad news is that Dictionary Day is sneaking up on us this year and more help is needed!  We have an easily implemented script for the classroom presentation and will provide training. 

If you haven’t already volunteered and would like to, or would like more information, please contact us to sign up for Dictionary Day on December 2.  It will be a lot of fun!