The intersection at State and Third streets isn’t the only thing that’s undergone a makeover in Los Altos.
A closer look at 169 State St. – home to the Assistance League Costume Bank – reveals that it now sports a blue awning and is without the building columns and two trees that once graced the planter boxers outside its main entrance.
Those are just a few of the changes the non-profit organization has experienced during its 50-year history – both internal and cosmetic – since its inception as Assistance League of Santa Clara County, chartered under the National Assistance League in 1961.
From its early days and humble beginnings in a small office on Second Street, the League’s commitment to caring for people in need is manifested in the many projects it has undertaken through the years and the ingenious fundraisers employed to finance them. The Costume Bank, which the league established in 1964 after purchasing the inventory of local theater group Peninsula Frolics, continues to be its largest fundraiser.
The Costume Bank’s grand opening later that year at 394 State St. – site of the old post office – prefigured its burgeoning success in establishing projects to fill a need in the community. A new addition in 1966 established Assisteens Auxiliary, an organization overseen by the Assistance League that gives teens an opportunity to volunteer.
The league prides itself on supporting projects that aren’t duplicated elsewhere – such as funding independent-living skills, classes for visually impaired youth in 1971, knitting hats for premature infants at El Camino Hospital in 1972 and many others.
One of the League’s ongoing successes, H.O.M.E. (Housing of Medical Emergencies), grew from two units in 1978 to five furnished apartments and then to its own complex of 42 furnished apartments when The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation granted the Assistance League an endowment in 1984. The Flora Lamson Hewlett Apartments provide low-rent housing for outpatients at Stanford Hospital.
And then there’s Operation School Bell and Step ‘n’ Go, established in 1988, to provide backpacks filled with school supplies, shoe vouchers and prescription glasses for children – and Hug-a-Bear, a project that gifts teddy bears to trauma patient at area hospitals.
Even the Costume Bank’s building has undergone major modifications. Where now more than 3,000 costumes are on display in the main showroom, once were parked fire engines in three large bays. Once upon a time, the Costume Bank was home for the Los Altos Fire Department’s Sequoia Station. Hence, the history of the Assistance League’s representative fire truck that appears each year carrying organization members in the Festival of Lights Parade.
To celebrate the league’s 50th anniversary this year, former Assistant Fire Chief Stuart Farwell visited the Costume Bank and gave Assistance League members a tour, explaining each room’s purpose back in the building’s fire-engine days.
Filled long ago was a 6-foot-deep pit in one of the bays to position mechanics under the vehicles for maintenance and pump testing, according to Lou Antonioli, president of the league’s board of directors.
“Where the firemen once consulted a huge map of the area before answering a call is today filled with costume accessories for sale,” she said. “And the Costume Bank’s men’s dressing room was originally the communication room, having one of the first cordless switchboards equipped to receive four calls at a time.”
In 1968, the Assistance League purchased the old firehouse for $75,000.
“The site of camaraderie and bravery demonstrated by the original Los Altos firemen today is a center of happy, busy women helping others,” Antonioli said.
However, competition and the economy have taken their toll on the Assistance League in recent years. The League suspended Operation School Bell last August due to insufficient funds, Antonioli said.
But if history has a say, it’s never too late for a makeover. With the Easter holiday around the corner, Antonioli said real rabbits and chicks for gifts are overrated. Why not be the bunny instead of investing in rabbit feed and caging?
The Assistance League helps approximately 2,550 people in need each year, contributing 13,775 volunteer-service hours.
“And 96 percent of our revenues are returned to the community,” Antonioli said.
School plays, costume parties, Mardi Gras, Halloween, visits from Santa Claus and his elves, Rio Carnival – all warrant a reason to visit the Costume Bank. And of course, costume and other donations are always welcome, as are new members.
Now celebrating a half-century of service, Antonioli said there are many different opportunities where volunteers with Assistance League can find a niche, including flower arranging for H.O.M.E., grant writing, office and computer skills, artwork and costume design, sewing, advertising, retail sales, social events and fundraising.
There are 122 Assistance League chapters operating across the nation.
The Costume Bank is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.
For more information, call 941-4625 or visit www.costumebank.com.
