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Pieter Pasi, 9, and his friends from the Lied Boys & Girls
Club in Salt Lake City’s Poplar Grove area, play in their
new coats provided through Operation School Bell. A Dream Fulfilled: Warm coats and warm hearts combine to nurture at-risk children’s hope and potential through Operation School Bell. |
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Investing in the Community
Grant-Making Goals
One of the goals of the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation is to help those in need. "Long term, we must do more than provide meals and clothing, or even a safe haven from danger," says Foundation Chairman & CEO Spencer F. Eccles. "We must also create opportunities for those in need to move from poverty to self-sufficiency, and develop pathways to a better future."
With this in mind, the Foundation not only assists community organization in providing tangible help such as food, clothing, and shelter, but also supports their vital programs providing those in need with important intangible assistance such as developing the skills to become more self-sufficient to improve their own and their families’ lives.
For more than two decades, the Foundation has supported community programs providing a variety of services from legal assistance and daycare for low-income families to drug and alcohol abuse prevent programs. It will continue to make grants assisting individuals from many walks of life, including the elderly and the young, those with physical and mental challenges, the homeless and hungry, and those who have been abused and neglected.
Throughout Utah, the Foundation is pleased to help community organizations and their cadre of dedicated volunteers who offer the helping hands, listening ears, warm shelters, and words of encouragement that inspire hope for a better tomorrow.
Grant-Making Guidelines
Foundation gifts in this area are directed to qualified charitable organizations and their projects that provide social services and humanitarian aid to help people in need, including low-income populations, the homeless and hungry, the physically or mentally challenged, and the young and the elderly who may require special assistance, as well as those offering community enrichment for all citizens.
Grant Highlight
Operation School Bell, Salt Lake City, Utah
"I knew his coat would keep him warm ... but it couldn’t compare to the warmth I felt in my heart from the smile on his face." Those heartfelt words from an Assistance League of Salt Lake City volunteer tell the story of Operation School Bell, which provides new school clothing for children from financially disadvantaged families.
Partnering with schools, the all-volunteer program started in 1974 as a small, grassroots effort and now outfits nearly 4,000 elementary students annually. The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation has made numerous grants to assist in purchasing and distributing the clothing. "It’s wonderful to see how much a new parka, slacks, stockings, and shoes can do to build a child’s self-esteem and confidence," says a school principal whose students benefit from the program. "And it shows in their improved school work and attitude."