Assistance League is a national nonprofit organization in the United States with over 120 chapters dedicated to providing accessibility and fulfillment of community needs at the local level.
Anne Banning,[6] was a leading philanthropist of her time, with a mission to aid families in distress as a result of World War I.
[7] The first Assistance League thrift shop opened as a revenue source for the philanthropic programs: Day Nursery, Girl’s Club, and others.
[10] After 1935, neighboring communities sprouted affiliate chapters and a national representation was beginning to organize under the guidelines of Ada Laughlin.
It was not uncommon to see celebrities like Jean Harlow reading stories to children in need,[11] Claudia Dell waiting tables for a good cause[12] or Shirley Temple Black, who was actively involved as a member, running the register at an Assistance League gift shop.