Since 1937, the Assistance League of Santa Monica has run its operations through the work of community volunteers, and nearly nine decades later its thrift shop at 1453 15th Street remains one of the most visible parts of that mission, open to the Santa Monica Bay Area for both shopping and donations. The shop carries a mix of upscale merchandise and everyday bargain finds, spanning clothing and accessories, furniture, home decor, and books, with an additional rotating selection sold through the organization’s own eBay shop for buyers outside the immediate area. Every dollar spent in the store supports the League’s broader charitable programs rather than a private owner’s bottom line, which sets it apart from a typical resale business even as it competes for the same secondhand shoppers.
Chief among those programs is Operation School Bell, the League’s signature initiative that provides new clothing to local children in need, alongside scholarships and camperships that send Santa Monica area youth to summer camp and educational programs they might not otherwise afford. Thrift shop revenue, combined with other fundraising the League runs throughout the year, funds these efforts directly, meaning every purchase at 1453 15th Street has a traceable line back to a child receiving a new school wardrobe or a scholarship covering camp tuition. The organization is a registered nonprofit, and its community standing has been recognized locally nine years running: Buy Local Santa Monica named the Assistance League Thrift Shop its Most Loved honoree every year from 2017 through 2025, a rare streak for any small business, let alone a volunteer-run charity shop.
The shop keeps a compact three-day schedule, open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon, a window that reflects its volunteer staffing model rather than the extended hours a paid-staff retailer might keep. Visitors can call ahead at 310-395-2338 with questions about donations or current stock, and the League maintains active Facebook and Instagram accounts under the ALSantaMonica handle for shoppers who want to see new arrivals between visits. The shop’s limited hours make advance planning worthwhile for anyone hoping to catch specific furniture or clothing before it sells, since a three-day-a-week schedule naturally means faster turnover relative to open hours than a seven-day retailer would see.
For donors, the shop offers a straightforward way to give household items, clothing, and furniture a second life while directly funding local youth programs, and for shoppers, it offers the particular satisfaction of a bargain that comes with a documented community benefit attached. Few thrift operations in the area can point to a nine-year run of local recognition alongside an 89-year-old parent organization still actively running the same core children’s programs it started decades ago.
The Assistance League of Santa Monica Thrift Shop has funded Operation School Bell clothing assistance and youth scholarships since 1937, earning nine consecutive Most Loved honors from Buy Local Santa Monica while selling upscale and everyday secondhand goods three days a week to support its community mission.
