49th Annual National Conference September 2011

National President Claudia Langner (Long Beach)
welcomes members
 to San Francisco at the opening meeting of the
49th annual Assistance League
National Conference

Close to 1,000 members from 118 chapters convened at the Hilton Hotel San Francisco Union Square for the 49th annual Assistance League National Conference September 19-21. Meg Cooper and Marianne Cortopassi represented our Chicagoland West chapter. We connected with interesting women from all over the country and learned some valuable information in the different break out sessions we attended. We came back together at the end of the day energized and excited about all the new ideas we picked up. It was well worth the time away from home and an experience every member should have during her Assistance League years. 

Keynote Speaker Dr. Lois Frankel
spoke about leadership

Day One:  Dr. Lois Frankel, president of Corporate Coaching International and author of the Nice Girls book series, presented the dynamic opening address See Jane Lead, about how to unleash the hidden leader in all of us.  After the afternoon sessions, Meg met with the members from the Ohio, Michigan and Indiana Chapters, while I met with the Public Relations gals, including Charlene Liesveld (Omaha), our consultant from the National PR Committee and Sally Shobe (Tucson), NAL Director of Public Relations. We then out to dinner with our new friends from Indianapolis. 

Meg and Marianne with
Midwest chapter members 

Claudia Langner presides over the Annual Meeting
and introduction of the 2011-2012 board

Conference attendees donated books for the
Boys & Girls Club in the Tenderloin District

Day Two:  Following breakfast, we attended the Annual Meeting, which included the election and introduction of the 2011 - 2012 National Board, including the new NAL president Anne Neish (Saddleback Valley, CA)

Lunch included a presentation of the hundreds of books donated by the members in attendance to the Boys & Girls Club in San Franciso's Tenderloin District.

I did not understand the impact of conference until I gathered in a room with 1000 other women and realized that our chapter is part of a powerful nationwide network of volunteers who give their time and talents to help others. Just as Meg and I represented all of you, the 1000 members present represented a total of 26,000 women of different backgrounds, ages and hometowns. This is the big picture of Assistance League.  One by one the faces came into focus, as we met and found common ground with women from as near as Indianapolis and as far away as Fresno, CA. not to forget the gals from the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.  We emerged from our local cocoons into one massive interconnected web of caring and commitment in action.

Juliet Funt spoke about creating
"white space" in our lives

Ferry Building at the
Port of San Francisco 

Day Three: Our Keynote Speaker was Juliet Funt who began by showing a clip of her two-year-old self being interviewed by her father Allen on Candid Camera. Her lively presentation, Overcommitted, Overwhelmed and Over It! emphasized the importance of cultivating a demeanor that is Calm, Confident, Patient and Present. (I have Juliet's DVD for anyone who is interested!) She is extremely engaging, a comedian, actress and singer with sage advice for today's busy women. After the final session of the day, Meg and I walked through Union Square to Chinatown then down to Embarcadero Center for a view of the Bay Bridge.  Conference ended with a Celebration Dinner and dancing. 

Celebration Dinner 

Closing thoughts:  We are among the smallest, if not the smallest chapter of Assistance League in terms of membership. Although some chapters have hundreds of members, run thrift stores, own their own buildings and trucks; women stopped and listened when we talked about our signature Operation New Start program, our signature Books & Brunch fundraiser, our signature eBay program and even the way we run our Operation School Bell program.  What we do is a vibrant part of the overall organization, which is why we need to publicize the Assistance League name with our buttons and banners, in person and in print.



Let's all plan for 2013 when we can show off
who we are and why Chicago is one of the
greatest cities in the world.

National Assistance League Conference
          September 19-21, 2013
                Hilton Chicago

Goodbye to our new friends from the
Indianapolis Chapter

Members Volunteer in the Community

Heather Laughman and Mary Parsons 

Operation New Start co-chairs Heather Laughman and Mary Parsons assisted one of our collaborators by volunteering at the HCS Family Services Mobile Food Pantry in Willowbrook this September.

Mary reports:
The Mobile Food Pantry is a free distribution of approximately 10,000 pounds of fresh produce, meat, bread and non-perishable food items to low-income families. Some of these families may have been recipients of an Operation New Start kitchen as HCS Family Services is one of the agencies that we have a contract with. It was a very well organized operation with a lot of volunteers. Food was distributed to about 150 families. The mobile pantry visits Willowbrook every month, whatever the weather.

Thanks for Heather and Mary for being a visible ALCW presence in our community.

Sally Bacon At ALCW Chartering Ceremony

Long-time Sally Bacon has regretfully resigned from ALCW after many years of dedicated service. "Sally really has an indomitable spirit," Carla Feinkind said. Sally sends her expression of love and support for our organization and our work as well as her continued best  wishes.

 
Many members may not know that Sally was our president and the representative at the ALCW chartering ceremony that took place at the National Assistance League conference in 2003, making our chapter the 111th in the country. Today, there are 122 chapters nationwide.  Thanks Sally for your leadership, hard work and friendship.

Operation School Bell Packs it Up for Burr Ridge Middle School

Paula Whitelaw

Operation School Bell is officially open for business after the first packing party of the year on Thursday, September 8.  Marie Raffl, site coordiator for Burr Ridge Middle School, organized the event, which drew a mix of newer members and Assistance League veterans, all lending a hand for a great cause.

"We were very efficient and finished in just one hour!" Marie said. "We were happy to have three newer members who had never packed for OSB before."

The ladies worked so well together that they completed the packing in one-third of the designated time.  Barb Keller and Trish Reider arrived just as they were fnishing up.

"We packed for Burr Ridge Middle School," Marie said.  "Since it is a fitting format, we packed up 120 coats, hats and gloves in boxes of general size categories."

Heather Laughman 

Geri Dworak

Marty Vexter 

Madelon Pearlman, Marie Raffl, Maria Kim,
Marty Vexter, Geri Dworak, Paula Whitelaw
and Heather Laughman with
Trish Reider in the mirror taking the photo

ALCW In the News

The following article ran on the Trib Local Hindsale website, Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills 

Patch website and National Assistance League website under Chapter News.

   

 

COMMUNITY SERVICE ›

From the community

Assistance League delivers kitchens year round

By Marianne Cortopassi Sep. 1 at 2:12 p.m.

Operation New Start co-chair Heather Laughman (left) prepares for a kitchen delivery with former co-chair Phyllis Young

Assistance League of Chicagoland West collaborates with local social service agencies year round to give new kitchen equipment to families in need. The Hinsdale based organization has distributed 14 sets of kitchenware since June 1 through its Operation New Start program and expects to reach 100 for the 2011-2012 year.

Operation New Start distributed 73 kitchens last year to families transitioning from homelessness or shelter living to transitional housing through Bridge Communities, Inc., CHAD (Community Housing Association of DuPage), Family Shelter Service, Catholic Charities, HCS Family Services and DuPage PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter).

Recipients receive over $400 worth of new kitchen essentials, including dinnerware and flatware, cooking and baking equipment, cleaning supplies and the choice of two small appliances.

Collaborators report that their clients are surprised by the completeness of the kitchen donations and in their words, “feel valued and happy that others think they are worth a new beginning. The kitchenware does more than provide nourishment, it helps rebuild lives.”

“One mother who was homeless for two years wished we could have seen her children’s faces when they opened the boxes. It was like an early Christmas gift,” said Heather Laughman, ONS co-chair along with Mary Parsons, both of Hinsdale.

“One goal this year is to help our clients eat healthier food,” Laughman said “We hope to work with one of collaborators in their nutrition program and have started including the cook book The Best 1001 Short, Easy Recipes with our kitchens.”

ALCW, a 501(c)(3) organization generates funds for Operation New Start and other programs through Books & Brunch, scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 8 at The Abbington in Glen Ellyn. For information, go to alcw.org.

Knee Deep in Coats

The driver was kind enough
to cart the pallet to the front door
saving a ton of work

Jeff Cortopassi cuts the shrink wrap

Diane Kurtz and Jeff

Best laid plans...an Operation School Bell delivery with 94 boxes of coats, 12 to a box, was expected to arrive late morning/early afternoon on Wednesday, August 24 to coincide with the first chapter meeting of the year. Linda Gonnella and Linda Legner rushed over to the OSB storage site after the meeting along with several members who volunteered to help.

Seven hours later, they were still waiting when the call finally came for a 6 p.m. delivery.  The crew arrived to unload - Diane Kurtz, Sally Rozak, Diane Mrozek and Marianne Cortopassi who brought the muscle - husband Jeff and brother-in-laws Dennis and Kirk, visitors from Northern California.

Any men - husbands, sons, brothers etc. - who want to help with heavy lifting, are more than welcome.
Thanks to everyone's assistance, the whole truckload was down the stairs, rough sorted and counted in an hour.

Diane and Jeff made an efficient pair

Dennis Cortopassi 

Kirk Cortopassi

Thanks Boys

Linda Gonnella and Linda Legner after a long day

Linda checks the shipment

First Meeting of the 2011-12 Year

Linda Gonnella
Diane Mrozek and Usha Swamy

Linda Legner hands out ALCW buttons to Carol Yee
and Pat Mrozek

There was a lot of catching up at the first ALCW of the 2011-12 year, both social and business. Here are some candid shots of members in action.

Ricki Lessig, Heather Laughman and Usha Swamy 

Diane Kurtz

Marianne Cortopassi, Carla Feinkind, Nancy Newell
and Ricki Lessig with new member Mary Kay Shukis
in the foreground

Operation Early Reading - Ready for Delivery

Sally Rozak, Karen Michalczyk,
Maria Kim and Carol Yee 

Co-Chairs Carol Yee and Phyllis Young led a fun work session on Wednesday, August 17 as members filled the newly-cleaned Operation Early Reading backpacks with books and crayons for the new school year. OER is serving 756 preschool and early elementary school children this year. 

Betty Cronin pitching in to help

Karen, who transferred over the the St. Louis
Assistance League chapter, has been
actively involved in programs since
moving here earlier in the summer

Carol and Sally

Maria turned over her co-chair duties to Phyllis
this year 

Operation Early Reading Backpack Cleaning

Linda Gonnella, Karen Michalczyk, Ricki Lessig and
Heather Laughman enjoy lunch

Many members assembled at the office on Monday, June 6 in morning and afternoon shifts with lunch in between to clean out the Operation Early Reading backpacks after a year of use by Head Start classrooms.

Meg Cooper and Carla Feinkind having fun

Diane Kurtz and Maria Kim working hard

Dee Dugo all smiles

Ricki Lessig looking busy 

Heather Laughman and Mary Parsons