Assistance League of the Eastside provides a flexible, rapid-response strategy to respond to specific needs in the local community – through Assistance League Outreach. This program was initiated to work in collaboration with other local agencies to fill specific unmet needs in our local community in a timely, responsive and flexible way.

It is through this program that the chapter recently donated seven new, much needed vacuum cleaners to Kirkland Interfaith Transitions in Housing (KITH). KITH’s vision is to assist individuals and families who are facing a crisis of homelessness by providing housing and services to help them become stable and self-sufficient. By working with KITH on this project, the chapter helped fulfill just one of the many practical needs of homeless families, supporting them as they aim to reach independence, step-by-step.

A team member at KITH had this to say about the collaboration with Assistance League of the Eastside: “… One of the women that works in the office here, at one time utilized KITH’s services and she was elated that we could give people vacuums! She stated that it really is a gift that people are thankful for. So thanks again for such useful items.”

Other recent Assistance League Outreach projects have included funding one week of healthy food for Pantry Packs, who supply take-home weekend food for school children who might otherwise go hungry; providing sleeper sacks for babies supported by Healthy Start; supplying socks for the homeless with the Together Center; providing laundry supplies to The Sophia Way and providing underwear for homeless teens in Redmond.

Future projects include laundry supplies for Eastside Winter Shelter, and a shopping event for homeless teen students in the Lake Washington School District.

To find out more about the organization’s programs and how they impact the lives of people living right here on the Eastside, visit www.eastside.assistanceleague.org