Assistance League of Montgomery County
Transforming Lives - Strengthening Communities
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Assistance League of Montgomery County (one of 120 chapters in National Assistance League®) is a nonprofit organization [501(c)(3)] of volunteers dedicated to transforming the lives of children and adults through community programs. With the strength and enthusiasm of the Montgomery County chapter members, we strive to make a difference in our community. MISSION: Assistance League volunteers transforming the lives of children and adults through community programs. VISION: Essential needs are met in our community and families flourish. VALUES: Commitment Leadership Ethics Accountability Respect
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Operation School Bell
Imagine not having the clothes to dress appropriately for an ordinary school day—not a great picture. Now, imagine what a gift it would be to shop for and purchase your very own new school clothing. That is what happens for almost 5,000 Montgomery County students each year because of the Operation School Bell Program.
Operation School Bell® is the signature program of National Assistance League, as well as every chapter of Assistance League across the nation. Our chapter started this program in 1988 when 33 children were provided with new clothing for school. Today all six Montgomery County Independents School Districts are served and over 5,000 children receive new clothing each year.
Many families in Montgomery County schools are economically disadvantaged and have inadequate resources to meet the needs of their children. That’s when Operation School Bell takes over and holds shopping events at local stores for the students who have been referred by Montgomery County school counselors. This most rewarding experience brightens the day of not only the students receiving the clothes, but also the Assistance League members who assist with the shopping experience; and since the need for new clothes never goes away, school counselors may refer students for emergency assistance throughout the school year.
Besides providing new school clothes, books are donated to school libraries and classroom teachers’ libraries; and in-school reading opportunities and literacy events are held throughout the school year.
Over 60,000 students have received new school clothing in the 32 years Assistance League of Montgomery County has been involved in Operation School Bell.
Poison Information - Always Ask
The Poison Information – Always Ask Program is now a part of Operation School Bell. The program was developed to provide parents with information to prevent accidental poisoning of young children by educating the children and their parents about poisonous household products that can be found in most homes.
With the use of adorable puppets and stuffed dolls and animals, volunteers in this Program visit Montgomery County elementary schools and day care centers and entertain the children with an educational program about “Yucky” products and “Yummy” products.
They tell a story, play a game, and sing a song—all done in a fun way but with a serious message that can save lives. Children are taught to “Always Ask” before drinking or eating any unknown substances. Once a child learns to “Always Ask” and shares this message with his/her family, tragedies are prevented and lives can be saved.
Scholarship
Multiple-tiered scholarships:
1. High School Senior Scholarships: graduating Montgomery County high school seniors accepted to a Texas public two-year or four-year university/college.
2. Continuation Scholarships: High School Senior Scholarship recipients enrolled in sophomore, junior, or senior years in a Texas university/college.
3. Scholarships for Adults: students attending public colleges and universities to develop work skills in response to life- or work-altering events.
4. Workforce Scholarships: adults who want to become certified in workforce careers and high school students for supplies to complete courses.
5. Special Needs Scholarships: physically-challenged or special needs individuals who lack the financial resources to participate in therapeutic programs that can improve their well-being and functional skills.
6. Elizabeth M. McCreight Scholarships: female STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) students.
Mentors assigned for additional support.
Passports for Good Health
Provides an extremely useful service to both adults and the parents of children in Montgomery County. Health care booklets, which resemble passports, are provided to parents, local hospitals, doctors’ offices, social service organizations, community organizations, retirement facilities and health clinics for recording and reviewing immunization and health information.
Two editions of the passports are available: The Children’s Edition provides parents a way to record their children’s immunizations and health information. The Adult Edition allows adults to keep a record of their medical history, medications, vaccines, family contacts, and healthcare guidelines.
In addition, the Passport for Good Health Program members purchase delightful new clothing for newborns and assemble neatly-packaged layettes for an area hospital to give to economically-disadvantaged new parents so their newborn has something to wear home from the hospital.
Caring and Sharing
Works with many diverse agencies helping the disadvantaged residents of Montgomery County. Clients served range from abused and homeless children, families experiencing hardship, disabled adults, elderly nursing home residents to people working through difficult situations in their lives.
Clothing vouchers provide immediate clothing needs for children and adults; Welcome Home Baskets are truly “welcomed” when someone moves from homelessness to a home and they have much needed supplies; shower kits provide personal items to young adults transitioning from foster care to more independent living and everyday household items help out low income disabled adults.
On a monthly basis, healthy school snacks are provided to school children to help eliminate hunger and help them succeed.
One of the delightful functions of Caring and Sharing is providing some joy with new clothing items for abused girls, Christmas treats for disabled adults and individual gifts for nursing home residents.
Fans for Friends
With the extreme heat of the Texas summers and the cold winters, a great number of Montgomery County residents cannot afford to get relief from the weather conditions. The Fans for Friends Program provides disadvantaged seniors and individuals with large electric box fans for the summer heat and warm blankets for the winter cold. Often these individuals in need include families with small children. Where possible, volunteers creatively shop for the best value to serve as many individuals and families as possible.
Pass It On
Nothing goes to waste at Assistance League! Damaged items are recycled. When donations from the Thrift Shop cannot be sold within a reasonable amount of time, the team members in the Pass It On Program get to work. The items are separated, bagged, and identified for pickup by community service agencies in Montgomery County.
The receiving agencies agree to distribute all the items to their clients. That way, the Pass It On Program allows Assistance League of Montgomery County to increase its “reach” and further meet the needs of the community.
Assault Survivor Kits
Assisting assault and trauma survivors is the goal of the Assault Survivor Kits® Program. Because the survivors’ clothing is often kept as evidence or has been destroyed in an accident or soiled due to illness, having a change of clothes and a few hygiene items becomes a critical necessity during this vulnerable time of their lives.
The survivors are provided “kits” containing new clothing, toiletries, and comfort items while they are receiving care in hospitals and local support agencies, giving them a chance to feel more comfortable in such a horrible situation.
Tender Loving Care Dolls
Tender Loving Care Dolls Program members sew, stuff, dress, and distribute special handcrafted dolls for agencies in Montgomery County to use as an aid for comforting children, senior adults and those working with Alzheimer’s support groups. The dolls are creatively dressed in handmade clothes, with the dolls’ hair carefully woven in a variety of colors. The dolls are crafted in such a way that one side has a smiling face, and the other side has a sad face, and are designed in three ethnicities with appropriate colored hair. This provides the counselors with a tool to encourage the children and adults to express their feelings.
Tender Loving Care Dolls Program members also make and provide personal protective equipment (e.g. face masks) and other comfort items to various agencies within Montgomery County, including Conroe Independent School District.
Where we work
Awards
Making A Difference Award 2006
Entergy Texas
Patrons Influencing Education Award 2006
Conroe Independent School District
Best Thrift Shop in Conroe 2015
Conroe Courier
Patrons Influencing Education Award 2018
Conroe Independent School District
Affiliations & memberships
National Assistance League 1985
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients participating in educational programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Families, Parents, Students
Related Program
Poison Information - Always Ask
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Poison Information-Always Ask strives to prevent accidental poisoning of pre-K and kindergarten children through presentations in preschools, elementary schools, and day care centers.
Estimated dollar value of clothing and household goods donations
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Homeless people
Related Program
Pass It On
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Pass It On provides unsold thrift shop items to clients of Montgomery County charitable organizations.
Total dollars received in contributions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Assistance League receives both grants and direct contributions in addition to revenue received from Thrift Shop sales and especial fund raising events. Total excludes thrift shop sales.
Total dollar amount of scholarship awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Scholarship
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Types of scholarships awarded: High School Scholarships, Continuing Scholarships, Scholarships for Adults, Scholarships for Special needs, Workforce Scholarships, Elizabeth McCreight (STEM, females)
Number of students who receive scholarship funds and/or tuition assistance
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Adults
Related Program
Scholarship
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Includes all 6 types of scholarships provided.
Number of children who receive new clothing
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Operation School Bell
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
.Operation School Bell provides new school clothing and shoes for economically disadvantaged students in Montgomery County. Results for 2022-23 includes 94 emergency vouchers.
Hours of volunteer service
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
For 2022-2023, community volunteers recorded an additional 815 recorded hours.
Number of participants engaged in programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Operation School Bell
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
For 2022-2023, these numbers include number of students served through Literacy and the number of students clothed in elementary, middle, junior high and high school; and number of emergency vouchers.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The goal of Assistance League of Montgomery County is to transform the lives of children and adults through community programs.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The strategies used in achieving our goal of improving the lives of residents in our county are: relieving some of the obstacles involved with attendance and performance at school for economically-disadvantaged students, educating children about hazardous substances in and around the home, providing health care information to families of newborns and senior citizens, relieving some of the conditions seniors face in extreme weather conditions, providing educational tools to agencies whose clients have experienced abuse, awarding scholarships to those in need.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Assistance League of Montgomery County has nearly volunteers who give over 50,000 hours each year to help the county's residents. Our Thrift Shop depends on tax-deductible donations that are then sold in our Thrift Shop and thus provide 80% of the funding of our community programs. We also rely on grants, donations, and bequests to boost our ability to serve the community.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The specific areas of our Strategic Plan are currently being met. We are challenged with the rapid growth of Montgomery County with not having enough funds to meet the growing needs. Some of our programs are undergoing slight changes to address those issues. Our member are dedicated to serving the community. We are always open to new members and are looking for new ways to increase our membership.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Assistance League of Montgomery County
Board of directorsas of 08/23/2023
Mrs. Phyllis Weisbrook
None
Term: 2023 - 2024
Patrice Edwards
Patrice Ledden
Stephanie Atkins
Phyllis Weisbrook
Donna Gement
Joanne Heitmiller
Carolyn Jones
Vicki Migues
Janice Robinson
Jane Atwell
Cheryl Ryon
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No