Assistance League outlines clothing, activity-fee and scholarship support for Seaside students

Judith Huck, public relations chair of the Assistance League of the Columbia Pacific, told the Seaside School District board that the nonprofit has provided hands-on student supports across the area for about 18 years and asked the district to identify unmet needs it could help fill. "Our mission transform lives and strengthen communities through philanthropic programs that directly benefit children and families," Huck said.

Huck described specific programs and recent service counts: Operation School Bell provided shopping allocations (the presenter said 59 Seaside high school students and 56 middle school students received $250 shopping budgets in the 2023–24 school year), small wardrobes for elementary students, $800 emergency-clothing-closet allocations per school, a duffel-bag program for children entering foster care, activity-fee support for sports and extracurricular trips, Cinderella's Closet for formal-wear borrowing, and two $1,500 scholarships for graduating seniors to attend community or trade college. She said the chapter's annual budget is about $200,000, raised largely by its Home & Chef tour and donations, and asked the board to tell the Assistance League where the district has the greatest unmet needs.

Board members and staff thanked the volunteers and asked process questions about how counselors request help; Huck and Teresa Turner explained counselors submit requests to the Assistance League and staff coordinate distribution. Several board members praised counselors' role in identifying students who qualify for support and encouraged continued communication about unused funds and remaining balances at individual schools.