With COVID-19, schools and other establishments are finding ways to transition to being online. Many programs or clubs that help out in the community, whether it be volunteering or simply attending an event, have had to pause their club or do virtual things among the club. The Assisteens League is an organization that funds ongoing philanthropic programs that benefit the community. There are multiple locations throughout the U.S., and luckily, we have one at our school. 

The Arcadia Assisteens League has been involved in countless volunteer opportunities over the years, but they have all been in person. Due to this, they have had to come up with new ways of supporting our community through this trying time. 

The transition to a completely virtual organization was “a lot of work and imagination from our officers and myself as coordinator,” said Arcadia Assisteens League Coordinator Leigh Chavez. 

They have found ways to do meetings and collaborate with other members. They made virtual cards and gifts for the birthday bag philanthropy. They also have the Bargain Box, which is essentially a thrift store run by Assisteens. Currently, they are doing a trial run; the store is only open on Wednesdays with adults working it.

The Arcadia Public Library and Assisteens have worked together since 1998. Members would volunteer to go to the library and bond with the kids through books and out loud reading. The officers made decisions on what they should focus on and what they should put on hold given the circumstances of current times. 

“I’ve always enjoyed the in-person Book Buddies programs because of the bond you create with your buddy for the short time you’re with them,” said Book Buddies chairman junior Ava Woo. 

Ava explained the importance of the bonds and meaningful experiences for not only the kids but for the volunteers too. It gives children an experience that promotes literacy and keeping the program alive. Ava believes that this is very beneficial for the reader and kids. It gives the kids much-needed interaction in a controlled environment and she describes the kids as “super interactive and quite adorable.” For the volunteers, it is an amazing way to practice their public speaking skills and just get the feeling of making someone smile. 

That being said, the road they have laid out is bound to have bumps in it. They anticipated it being hard to keep the kids engaged and entertained during the computer meets. Junior Emme Chen found it surprising when the kids were attentive during the zooms. Another problem they feared was showing the books would be difficult.

Fortunately, “Book Buddies over Zoom have been successful and I expect it to run smoothly with hopefully over 15 kids attending each time,” Emme said. 

There is a Book Buddies session at least once a month where kids will be able to listen and interact with volunteers along with many other amazing opportunities to support and help through this pandemic. 

If I had a younger sibling I would have loved for them to be a part of this. Assisteens has adapted amazingly under the circumstances that were given to them. They continued to grow by doing Thanksgiving gift cards for families in need during the holidays.

They are currently only accepting Arcadia elementary school students and more info can be found at the Arcadia Public Library website. You can learn more about Arcadia Assisteens on their official website here.

Graphic courtesy of ASSISTANCELEAGUE.ORG