WHAT WE DO:
Enhance Literacy. Provide STEM. Enrich Education.
Support and serve our communities in need.
Flexibility and responsiveness are critical elements for Assistance League of Los Gatos-Saratoga to continue to move nimbly to meet the ever-changing needs in education and to help families cope with increasing challenges throughout the community.
With 21% of residents in Santa Clara County living at or below the poverty line, there is so much that we need to do with our programs to support education, families and seniors.
With 21% of residents in Santa Clara County living at or below the poverty line, there is so much that we need to do with our programs to support education, families and seniors.
Enhancing Literacy for Children
LiteracyVolunteers are currently reading in 32 classrooms in 7 schools in 3 school districts. More than 250 grade-level appropriate books are read and donated to the classroom library each year. Students are also given books to take home in December and June. These books are often the first of their own they can keep.
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Providing STEM Education
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math)Students today must understand scientific thinking and engineering design to have the best options for success in today’s technological world. The current school lesson is “Journey with Bee Bots” focusing on the engineering process. Students are given simple commands and asked to program the Bee Bot to follow those commands. Once completed, students engage in an assessment of the success or failure of the plan.
INQUIRY AND INNOVATION MONTHAll 3rd graders in the Campbell Union School District and 4th graders at Luther Burbank are treated to a science lesson and experiments based on the easy-reader book Ada Lace on the Case to encourage a love of science and engineering.
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SCIENCE CAMP SCHOLARSHIPSPartial scholarships are offered to 5th and 6th grade students to help them attend local week-long Science Camps with their peers. These students have the opportunity, many for the first time, to explore the world of nature around them.
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Enriching Education
Clothes for KidsA warm jacket or new shoes can make a difference for students who are struggling. Items provided included jackets, shoes, socks, sweatshirts and school uniforms at the request of school staff. Hygiene kits are also distributed to middle school students in need. Volunteers shop and assemble individual packages to meet these requests.
WEST VALLEY COLLEGE OFFICE OF STUDENT NEEDSVolunteers are participating in the Student Parenting Symposium, including greeting the 150+ participants, serving breakfast and lunch and a variety of other tasks throughout the day. Volunteers will continue to support initiatives and special events throughout the year by helping in the Career Closet, stocking the shelves and refrigerators in the Food Pantry, bagging groceries for distribution, staffing the photo booth at graduation ceremonies and assisting with their holiday gift drive for students and their families.
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SERVING OUR COMMUNITY
Supporting New Moms and their BabiesIn cooperation with the Nurse Family Partnership in Santa Clara County, moms in-need and their new babies are provided with a bundle of baby items wrapped in a hand-made, colorful baby quilt. In the spring, Assistance League of Los Gatos-Saratoga hosts a Baby Shower for the Nurses providing diapers, layette items, clothing, toys and infant needs to the nurses for distribution to their clients. In 2023, more than $4,000 worth of items were distributed by AL members and their guests.
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Cooking for SeniorsAfter a pandemic hiatus, Assistance League of Los-Gatos-Saratoga is back at the Saratoga Adult Day Care Center, providing hot lunches for the frail elderly of our community. Volunteers plan, shop, cook and serve warm and nutritious meals each week to seniors at the adult day care center.
West Valley Community Services Care PackagesVolunteers purchase, pack and distribute a variety of household and hygiene products to add to the WVCS Park-It Market food distribution, meeting essential needs for local families.
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