Nearly 400 women turned out for Tuesday’s “Step into Style” fashion show and luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue, raising more than $80,000 for the Assistance League of the Eastside’s philanthropic programs.

Hosted by KING 5 news anchor Lori Matsukawa, the event featured head-turning fashions from Newport House in Bellevue, dazzling ballroom dance demonstrations from Dance Voyage Studios and even some hot Bellevue firefighters. But beyond the dining and dishing, the event was all about programs that restore dignity and hope to women and children in crisis.

The Assistance League of the Eastside, which draws members from Redmond, Bellevue, Kirkland, Woodinville and elsewhere, sponsors three powerful programs that support school children, survivors of sexual assault and survivors of domestic violence:

• The Assistance League’s Operation School Bell program buys Fred Meyer gift cards for kids who’ve been confidentially selected by school counselors, so they can buy new clothes or shoes for school. At the heart of the program is the belief that success in school begins with healthy self-esteem. Going to school with a new outfit, personally selected by the child in need, helps the child feel a sense of fitting in with peers.

Since the Assistance League of the Eastside was founded, more than 20,000 children in the Lake Washington, Bellevue and Northshore School Districts have been clothed through Operation School Bell. More than 2,600 kids on the Eastside received the gift cards in the past year — and school counselors tell Assistance League members that the need keeps growing in this troubled economy.

• The Assistance League’s Assault Survivor Kits are provided to victims of sexual assault in hospital emergency rooms throughout Washington state. When police take their clothing to be used as evidence in criminal prosecutions, the Assistance League gives them a change of clothing and a message of encouragement. More than 1,300 survivors at 26 hospitals received these kits in 2008-09. And more than 9,200 assault survivors have been served by this program since 1992.

• Since 2007, Eastside Domestic Violence Program has also benefited from funds raised for Assistance League Outreach. Women transitioning from unsafe situations into new surroundings receive a welcome basket containing basic household items. The Assistance League also hosts a holiday party for women and children who’ve been displaced by domestic violence.

At the “Step Into Style” event, Redmond resident Carolyn Vache, chair of the Operation School Bell program, presented an award to The Windermere Foundation which has donated more than $230,000 to the program since 1998.

Guest speaker Kerri Berlin, a single mom, expressed gratitude for the Operation School Bell gift cards that meant her kids could start school as “an equal to, rather than a less than.”

Although she felt embarrassed when her children were first identified as needing new clothes or shoes, Berlin said she found that the “dignity, kindness and caring shown by (Assistance League) volunteers … was like being welcomed by an auntie or neighbor.”

Dr. Chip Kimball, superintendent of the Lake Washington School District, also praised Operation School Bell and recalled a dark time in his own life, when he was 18 years old and living alone in a dreary apartment in Los Angeles. He said an unexpected act of kindness — a food basket from a local church — lifted him out of deep despair.

“Crisis does dramatic things to a person’s soul,” Kimball stated. “In many instances, people in crisis lose hope.”

He said he’s seen firsthand what Operation School Bell does to make children feel more accepted during difficult times.

“A warm coat becomes a child’s prized possession,” said Kimball, urging luncheon guests to double whatever amount of money they had planned to donate to the Assistance League.

If you missed the “Step Into Style” event, you can still contribute to the Assistance League of the Eastside’s programs. For more information or to make a donation, visit eastside.assistanceleague.org, e-mail eastsideinfo@assistanceleague.org or call (425) 556-5106.