Assistance League of Diablo Valley’s Operation School Bell Thanks Wells Fargo During Recent Bagging Event

In photo above, Assistance League of Diablo Valley Corporate Partners Chairman Linda Mercer (row 1, far r) thanks employee volunteers from Wells Fargo, Business Banking Division, Concord, Carolina Alas-Hemphill, Valerie Schlothauer, Jan Price, Eden Lucena, Roger Tran, Stephanie Jones; (row 2, l to r) Angel Herrera, Justin Santiago, Patrick Tze, J. J. Sansamo, Glen Baxter, and Eddy Pak for their “hands-on” support during a recent Operation School Bell bagging event.

Assistance League^® of Diablo Valley’s Operation School Bell^® is a nationally acclaimed, hands-on philanthropic program that has served the local community since 1994. Last year alone, 4,249 elementary schoolchildren received new clothes and a pair of shoes, all of which contributed to improved school attendance, campus citizenship and academic performance.

Since 2006, Assistance League of Diablo Valley has cultivated a Corporate Partners component, resulting in employee volunteers from local businesses and corporations becoming hands-on involved and contributing financially to several of its philanthropic programs. Over the years, employee volunteers from various corporations, as well as community figures and elected officials, have amassed over 1,680 service hours.

On November 10, employee volunteers from Wells Fargo, Business Banking Division, Concord, coordinated by team leader Carolina Alas-Hemphill, arrived at the Community Resource Center in Walnut Creek for a rigorous Operation School Bell bagging event. [Ms. Alas-Hemphill also serves on Assistance League of Diablo Valley’s Chapter Advisory Council.]

After a brief presentation from Corporate Partners Committee Chairman Linda Mercer, the energetic employee volunteers reported to the chapter’s Annex, where they placed six pairs of socks, six pairs of underwear, a shoe gift card, one sweatshirt, two pairs of pants for boys or one pair of pants and one skort (upon request) for the girls, and three white, collared shirts into 199 reusable bags in a mere 2.5 hours! By day’s end, these bags arrived at Ygnacio Valley School in Concord for distribution to eager and appreciative schoolchildren. GO EAGLES!!!

When thanking Wells Fargo employee volunteers for investing well over thirty volunteer hours to further student success in the classroom, Corporate Partners Committee Chairman Linda Mercer said, “Together, let’s make a change!” Wells Fargo’s response—“We’d love to come back.” When two community-minded organizations pool their resources to support our most treasured asset, our youth, everyone in the community wins!

To learn more about Assistance League of Diablo Valley’s ten philanthropic programs, all primarily funded by Assistance League Way Side Inn Thrift Shop located in Lafayette, please visit this website: diablovalley.assistanceleague.org. You may also access information regarding Corporate Partners by clicking on the button located on the upper left corner of the screen.