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25-573: Each chapter focuses on helping their community with philanthropic programs ranging from donating classroom supplies, clothing and books to supplying teddy bears to law enforcement in giving to traumatized children, and providing Assault Survival Kits of new clothing at hospitals for rape victims. The Assistance League consists of Chapter Members (who volunteer to staff Thrift Stores and other events), Assisteens (high school youth), and ALPHA or Assistance League Professional Humanitarian Auxiliary (working professionals or business women who wish to contribute to

50-449: A California state senator , he campaigned for greater transportation connections to the city of Los Angeles and the growing port, his personal project. Banning eventually pushed through a plan for a small railroad linking Wilmington/San Pedro with the main city of Los Angeles, effectively halving the time necessary for the trip, but the plan was short-lived. The Southern Pacific Railroad began building track to connect Southern California to

75-646: A stage coach line between San Pedro and Wilmington, and later between Banning, California , which was named in his honor, and Yuma, Arizona . During the Civil War , he ceded land to the Union Army to build a fort at Wilmington, the Drum Barracks . He was appointed a brigadier general of the First Brigade of the militia , and used the title of general for the rest of his life. Banning

100-562: A good cause or Shirley Temple Black , who was actively involved as a member, running the register at an Assistance League gift shop. The Assistance League and its chapters have won numerous awards including being nominated and winning the All-Star Award for Make a Difference Day in 2012 and 2013, an annual recognition to individuals and organizations making the biggest impact nationally through volunteerism. Phineas Banning Phineas Banning (August 19, 1830 – March 8, 1885)

125-413: A long land and sea journey that included crossing the isthmus of Panama before taking another ship to California . The 21-year-old was ambitious and worked in the fishing village of San Pedro, initially as a store clerk, and later as a stagecoach driver on the line that connected the hamlet with the pueblo of Los Angeles , a town of less than 2,000 people 20 miles (30 km) to the north. Banning

150-536: A military base. The outpost, named Drum Barracks , or Camp Drum (1861–1871), served as headquarters for the Union's Southwestern command for the state of California and territory of Arizona . The move brought Union troops to Wilmington , further enriching Banning. He was nearly killed, along with his first wife Rebecca, when the boiler exploded on one of his packet steamers, the SS ; Ada Hancock , in 1863. After

175-485: A national representation was beginning to organize under the guidelines of Ada Laughlin. In August 1949 National Assistance League was formed. Since its inception, the Assistance League has had the support of Hollywood celebrities participating in volunteerism and charitable events. It was not uncommon to see celebrities like Jean Harlow reading stories to children in need, Claudia Dell waiting tables for

200-509: Is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar , and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus, a narrow stretch of sea between two landmasses that connects two larger bodies of water. Isthmus and land bridge are related terms, with isthmus having a broader meaning. A land bridge is an isthmus connecting Earth's major land masses. The term land bridge is usually used in biogeology to describe land connections that used to exist between continents at various times and were important for

225-635: The Banning House , was constructed in Wilmington in 1864. It is open to the public as a museum devoted to the Victorian era in California. Isthmus An isthmus ( / ˈ ɪ s m ə s , ˈ ɪ s θ m ə s / ; pl. : isthmuses or isthmi ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo

250-609: The Southern California region. Banning was not content to consolidate business interests in staging. He also began expanding the harbor and docks at San Pedro from their beginnings as illegal exchange sites for mission contraband during the Spanish and Mexican eras, and made them efficient enterprises. In the late 1850s Banning and a group of Southern California investors purchased 640 acres (2.6 km2) of land adjacent to San Pedro for port expansion. The land purchase

275-557: The 1860s saw the beginning of small-scale maritime trade between San Pedro and ships anchored in the deeper parts of the harbor. After government-funded dredging made a deep water harbor and breakwater a reality, the port continued to grow. In 1856, Banning married Rebecca Sanford (1837–1868), the younger sister of his first California employer. Phineas and Rebecca had eight children, of which three survived into adulthood – William Banning (1857–1946), Joseph Brent Banning (1862–1920), and Hancock Banning (1866–1925). Family life

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300-481: The community). Assistance League was established in 1919 by the philanthropic efforts of Anne Banning (daughter-in-law of Phineas Banning ) and Ada Edwards Laughlin (daughter-in-law of Homer Laughlin ) to form Assistance League of Southern California. Anne Banning, was a leading philanthropist of her time, with a mission to aid families in distress as a result of World War I. Her vision to provide service to all in need, regardless of their race, religion or culture, laid

325-547: The decade for Banning. The first breakwater was built for the nascent port in 1873, and Banning began to work for the Southern Pacific as a railroad agent. By 1880, Banning had moved to Wilmington and managed several smaller business interests. He was in poor health for two years prior to his death, suffering from liver and kidney problems. His disease was aggravated by an accident in San Francisco, where he

350-883: The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, several Southern states broke away to form the Confederate States of America , which marked the beginning of the American Civil War (1861–1865). The effects of the war were felt in California , and particularly in Los Angeles, which had many Southern sympathizers , an alarming development for the new territory. An astute businessman and a vocal patriot, Banning and fellow Californian politician Benjamin Wilson donated adjacent plots of land in Wilmington for

375-574: The end of the American Civil War in 1865, Drum Barracks was decommissioned, but the port and harbor continued to grow. Banning was an avowed Unionist and was friends with Winfield Scott Hancock when Hancock was stationed in Los Angeles. Phineas' son Hancock was named after the general. The American government presented Banning with an honorary title, that of Brigadier General of the California First Brigade. The title

400-504: The foundation for the future of the organization. The first Assistance League thrift shop opened as a revenue source for the philanthropic programs: Day Nursery, Girl’s Club, and others. In the 1930s, the Assistance League called on daughters and granddaughters of its members to assist in various philanthropic projects. This participation developed into Assisteens, a youth focused program of volunteerism for grades seven to 12. After 1935, neighboring communities sprouted affiliate chapters and

425-414: The greater national railroad lines, and demanded much of Los Angeles' prime real estate, an enormous sum of money, and Banning's small connector line railroad in exchange for adding Los Angeles as a terminus on the railroad. Realizing that Los Angeles would wither into nothingness if the company bypassed it, the city complied and Banning surrendered his hard-earned railroad. Several personal successes marked

450-796: The migration of people and various species of animals and plants, e.g. Beringia and Doggerland . An isthmus is a land connection between two bigger landmasses, while a peninsula is rather a land protrusion that is connected to a bigger landmass on one side only and surrounded by water on all other sides. Technically, an isthmus can have canals running from coast to coast (e.g. the Panama Canal ), and thus resemble two peninsulas; however, canals are artificial features distinguished from straits . The world's major isthmuses include: Of historic importance were: The cities of Auckland , Madison , Manila , and Seattle are located on isthmuses. Canals are often built across isthmuses, where they may be

475-531: Was an American businessman , financier and entrepreneur . Known as "The Father of the Port of Los Angeles ," he was one of the founders of the town of Wilmington , in Los Angeles County, California, which was named for his birthplace. His drive and ambition laid the foundations for what would become one of the busiest ports in the world. Besides operating a freighting business, Banning operated

500-524: Was born in Wilmington, Delaware , the seventh of 11 children to John Alford Banning (1790–1851) and Elizabeth Lowber (1792–1861). At age 13, he moved to Philadelphia to work in his oldest brother's law firm . By his late teens, Banning was working on the dockyards of Philadelphia. At the age of 20, he signed up to work a passage to a then-exotic destination – Southern California . Banning arrived in San Pedro, California , in 1851, after

525-619: Was elected to a one-year term on the Los Angeles Common Council , the governing body of that city, beginning May 10, 1858, and ending May 9, 1859. Banning began his own staging and shipping company. By the 1860s, Banning stagecoach wagons were traveling to Salt Lake City , the Kern River gold fields, the new military installation at Yuma, Arizona , the Mormon settlement at San Bernardino , and in an arc around

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550-476: Was incorporated as Wilmington , after Banning's Delaware birthplace, and his facility became known as Banning's Landing. Banning invested the profits from his trade networks into the development of a more sophisticated port complex and for the creation of roads, telegraphs, and other connections to Los Angeles. In 1859, the first ocean-going vessel anchored in Los Angeles-Wilmington harbor, and

575-658: Was knocked down and run over by an express wagon. Banning died at age 54 at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco . He is interred in the Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery , Los Angeles. Banning's legacies lived on, and his dreams were realized with the federal approval of the Port of Los Angeles in the early 20th century, and the completion of a full breakwater in 1914, creating one of the world's busiest harbors. Banning's chief residence,

600-540: Was purely honorary, with no basis in military service, yet Banning insisted on being referred to as "General Banning" for the remainder of his life. Between 1868 and 1869 he organized the construction of Southern California 's first railroad, the Los Angeles & San Pedro Railroad which he sold to the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1873. Banning spent the 1870s in a frenzy of activity. As

625-683: Was relatively stable in the Banning household, and Phineas was a doting, if distant father to his three boys, who grew up around the expanding docks in San Pedro. Rebecca Banning died in childbirth in 1868, and the infant, Vincent Banning, died as well. In 1870, Banning married Mary Hollister (1846–1919), a wealthy heiress whose family lent their name to the city of Hollister, California . Phineas and Mary had three children, two of which survived to adulthood – Mary Hollister Banning (1871–1953) and Lucy Tichenor Banning (1873–1929). Following

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