Assistance League of Phoenix recently received a generous grant from the Diane & Bruce Halle Foundation to support Operation School Bell wardrobes for children in poverty.

The organization’s flagship program, Operation School Bell, provides brand new clothing, shoes and other essentials to children in need, according to a press release. The program has three Delivering Dreams Buses, which makes the program more accessible to underserved students by coming directly to schools.

Assistance League of Phoenix aims to provide wardrobe packages for over 13,000 students in need next school year.

“We’re so grateful for their ongoing support,” Assistance League CEO Aimee Runyon said in the release. “In 2022–23, we served 12,007 students through Operation School Bell. The need is great in our community, and we couldn’t do the work we do without supporters like The Diane & Bruce Halle Foundation.”

Assistance League of Phoenix partners with more than 130 Title I schools throughout the year, the release stated. Each school can select up to 100 children who qualify for the program (students on the free or reduced lunch program).

Operation School Bell’s 40-foot Delivering Dreams Buses have been retrofitted into mobile dressing centers that bring the program directly to schools. The buses are filled with racks of clothing and shoes, along with private dressing rooms. Volunteers help each child select clothing and ensure that clothes and shoes fit properly.

Each student receives a bundle of items valued at approximately $300 and includes two bottoms, three tops, seven pair of socks, seven underwear, a sweatshirt, belt, pair of shoes, new book and a personalized health kit full of hygiene items.