ECA Partner Spotlight: Assistance League of the Eastside (ALE)
Assistance League of the Eastside (ALE) is one of ECA’s oldest friends. Their mission is to serve the immediate, unmet needs of children and adults challenged by hardship or violence, strengthening our community while fostering dignity, confidence, and hope.
During the COVID pandemic, ECA lost some volunteers which limited our ability to reopen. In response, ALE volunteers began to train as ECA cashiers, an essential store position. For every hour worked by an ALE volunteer cashier, ECA donates funds to ALE. Five of our current friendly cashiers are actually ALE volunteers sharing their time with both organizations.
In December, ECA awarded two grants to ALE. The first is for Operation School Bell, a program that helps local students by offering shopping vouchers at Fred Meyer stores. Students are pre-selected from the Bellevue, Lake Washington, and Northshore School Districts. Recipients shop for new clothes/shoes, books, school supplies, medications and groceries. ECA’s grant funds specifically go towards groceries as part of our mission to address hunger.
The second grant supports ALE members in their Community Outreach & Volunteer Engagement (COVE) program—an umbrella term for the support provided by ALE to families and individuals experiencing homelessness and seeking help from six local shelters. ALE members provide homemade meals, daily living supplies, and even host social events to create a sense of community to develop optimism and hope in hearts of people working to rebuild their lives.
The ALE/ECA collaboration brings longstanding success to both organizations and we continue to explore new ideas. For example, ECA offered a private shopping party for ALE—Shampayne and Shopping—last November. The fundraising was so successful that ECA/ALE will again host a holiday shopping party this November. After all, that’s what friends are for.
