The letters arrive all year long from teachers asking for clothes for their students. The ladies who do the shopping and packing never meet the children they are helping to clothe. They get thank you letters, though, and those they treasure.

Each year, the Assistance League of Hawaii sends out letters to schools in communities that are struggling to ask what their students need. The teachers fill out order forms with kids' sizes so the League members can shop for the clothes. Typically, it's about 50 children in each school, but the ladies of the Assistance League have bought clothes for the entire student body of three elementary schools.

"Operation School Bell" was founded in 1956 when California teacher Ruth Ann Montgomery asked for donations to what she called the "clothes closet." Montgomery had noticed there was one family with three children who attended school on alternate days. The parents could only afford one school outfit and the siblings had to take turns wearing it.

In 1958, Montgomery's clothes closet project merged with the National Assistance League and the name was soon changed to Operation School Bell. Anne Salenger, historian for the National Assistance League, said each of the 122 chapters across the country does the project a little differently.

"Operation School Bell allows women in the community to decide how best to do the program," Salenger said.

"Our usual package consists of a pair of jeans, a pair of shorts, underwear, two T-shirts and rubber slippers," said Assistance League member Dot Mason. "Doesn't sound like much, but it really can make the difference for a child who hates to go to school because she or he has only old clothes to wear."

"We shop the sales," says Elaine Stroka, committee chair. They keep an eye on Sears, Wal-Mart and Kmart, and when jeans that are normally $30 are on sale for $6.90, they pounce. They get the slippers from Longs "because we want good quality," Stroka said.

Operation School Bell in Hawai'i has a budget of $45,000 and serves more than 1,500 Hawai'i schoolchildren. Says Assistance League Hawaii president Margie Van Swearingen: "If we had twice as much, we'd serve twice as many kids. There is always a need."

The effort is funded completely through profits from the Assistance League's thrift shop at 1505 Young St. None of the clothing for the schoolchildren comes from the thrift shop, though. Everything is purchased new.

The ladies often tear up talking about the thank you notes. One little boy wrote: "I never had shoes that came in a box before. I'm going to take good care of my new shoes and my new box."

Reach the Assistance League of Hawaii at 946-1505, or visit www.hawaii.assistanceleague.org.