Operation School Bell’s Common Threads Shops Old Navy, Concord

Concord, California – Since 1994, Operation School Bell, Assistance League’s nationally acclaimed philanthropic program, has provided clothing to local schoolchildren to improve attendance, campus citizenship and academic performance.

On November 9, member volunteers reported to the Old Navy Store, in Concord, to serve as “personal shoppers” in Operation School Bell’s Common Threads bagging event, a program expansion to benefit the vulnerable, specifically homeless students identified by school counselors in the Mount Diablo and Pittsburg Unified School Districts. Some of these students live in garages, while others double up with other families.

The volunteer “personal shoppers” consulted an individualized shopping list based on each student’s age, gender, height and weight, as well as clothing and color preference. Old Navy’s shopper friendly prices proved quite timely for this occasion. Twenty-two students, with $80 spent on elementary school students and $100 spent on high school students, now have clothes suitable for lower temperatures.

The Assistance League of Diablo Valley Thrift Shop at the Way Side Inn, located at 3521 Golden Gate Way in Lafayette, funded this and previous Common Threads events.

Heartfelt thanks for all of the generous donations received and wise purchases made at the thrift shop. To learn about Assistance League of Diablo Valley’s other philanthropic programs, please visit this website: assistanceleague.org/diablo-valley.