Altrusa International of District Two

Transcription

1 Service in Action Monthly Newsletter Altrusa International of District Two Leading to a Better Community In this Issue Feature Service Project Around Town Service Projects Service Program Tips Feature Story ASTRA-Service in Action Altrusa International of Richmond, Virginia Feature Story ASTRA Service In Action Altrusa International of Richmond, Virginia Our ASTRA group from Atlee High School having fun and working on various projects Hanover Adult Center and Housing Families First Altrusa International of District Two 1

2 District Two Service In In Motion Action October 2014 Service Project Ideas ASTRA Service In Action Refugee Resettlement Altrusa International Sponsor (Hands of Richmond, On) Tidewater, Virginia VA Members adopted a family of 7 arriving from Vietnam. They helped them establish themselves Our ASTRA in group an apartment, from Atlee provided High School food, clothing, having transportation, fun and working and an on introduction various to community services. This project was a Mamie L. Bass Award winner. projects Hanover Adult Center and Housing Families First Books for WIC (Literacy) - Centre County, PA Donated 230 new and used books to the Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC). The Club donated $400 to purchase new books as well. This was a Make A Difference Day Project. Halloween Bag of Books (Literacy) - New York, NY Members personally delivered Halloween bags of books and candy to a residence for unwed teenage mothers. Members read scary stories and poetry to a group of the girls. Moms then traded books and read to the volunteers. This was a Make A Difference Day Project.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shepherd's Cove Breakfast and Free Market (Hands On) - Montgomery County, MD Members of the Montgomery County Club collected clothing and accessories for women and children to be distributed at a Family (mothers and children) Shelter. Members also bought and prepared breakfast for approximately 70 residents and staff. The residents were very happy and grateful. This was a Make A Difference Day Project. **All students signed photo releases with their high school as well as with us. ASTRA has a form that they have to fill out and get parent signatures. 2

3 Undies 500+ for Shepherd s Table Altrusa International of Montgomery County, Maryland First Place The Mamie L. Bass Service Award District Two This was an initiative to provide a minimum of 500 pairs of underwear for men and women at Shepherd s Table located in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland by February 29, Shepherd s Table is a non-profit organization addressing the needs of the homeless population Montgomery County. Altrusa International of Montgomery County collected over 2,000 undergarments for homeless men and women in the county. The collection began in September 2015 and ended on January 31, According to Jeanette Wolfe, Chair of the Service Committee, We re just a small group making a difference in our community. To learn more, visit Altrusa International of Montgomery County s Facebook page for more information. 3

4 Undies 500+ for Shepherd s Table Altrusa International of Montgomery County, Maryland 4

5 May2016 Undies 500+ for Shepherd s Table Altrusa International of Montgomery County, Maryland 5

6 Bethany Buckets Altrusa International of Rochester, New York Third Place The Mamie L. Bass Service Award District Two Altrusa International of Rochester, New York, has always focused its service projects on women in transition. The Rochester area has several half-way houses where women coming from prison, county jail, or a drug-addiction treatment facility can make the transition to life in the real world. One group we have partnered with in the Rochester area is Bethany House. Bethany House is an emergency shelter for women with or without children. The house provides services for victims of domestic abuse, women facing mental and physical issues, homelessness, and poverty. This is accomplished on a totally volunteer, nongovernment funded basis. Bethany s primary focus is to serve the needs of women with or without children. Those served are not limited by race, religion or economic background. The door is always open to those in need. Every member of the club takes part in Bethany Buckets. Bethany House gave the club a list of household products needed by women who are leaving the House to start their new life. The service project also includes filling buckets with household items, filling Christmas wish lists of toys and games for children and household items for women, and an one-year museum membership for the family or bus passes. Bethany Buckets Mamie L. Bass Service Project 6

7 Bethany Buckets Altrusa International of Rochester, New York Bethany Buckets Mamie L. Bass Service Project 7

8 2016 The Mamie L. Bass Service Award Club Entries District Two People First Project PJ s and Books Altrusa International Reading-Berks, PA Altrusa International of Reading Berks, PA participated in the People First Project held on Tuesday, November 10, The People First Project is an event held each year before Thanksgiving at a local restaurant. The restaurant closes to the public on this day, and opens its doors to homeless and underprivileged community residents and provides them with a Holiday Dinner. The purpose of the program is three fold. First and foremost, the purpose is to promote literacy and a love of reading. The project also provided the club with an opportunity for all members to participate and volunteer their time and talents, and lastly the project provided an opportunity to partner with other charitable organizations for the betterment of our community and raise awareness of Altrusa International. The club coordinated this event, whereby 200 gift bags filled with a set of children s pajamas, a children s book, and a handmade embroidered bookmark were provided to underprivileged or homeless families. Altrusa partnered with the national Pajama Program and Berks County Chapter of Embroidery Guild of America to gather the gift items. Mentoring Youth for the Future Altrusa International of Centre County, PA During the June program and service-planning meeting, club members voted to implement a new service strategy designed to better connect club members to service in literacy and environment, with a focus on children, youth and young adults. The program s goals included building resiliency, healthy decisionmaking and reducing risky behaviors among youth enrolled in the Centre County Big Brother/Big Sister program. The strategy involved the club s sponsoring Bigs and Littles from the Centre County Big Brother/Big Sister program to attend three of our program meetings. These programs being specifically designed to foster mentoring, multi-cultural understanding, and awareness of Altrusa. The Big and Little pairs were asked to join the club in at least one hands-on service project scheduled during the year. It is the hope that the participants will find the opportunity valuable and consider joining the club as a member. 8

9 District Two Service In Action December 2015 A Celebration of Volunteerism Altrusa International of South Central, PA BRENDA GABEL HONORED A Celebration of Volunteerism Each year, during April (National Volunteer Month), the Whitaker Volunteer Center recognizes outstanding volunteers from area agencies at the Volunteer of the Highmark Blue Shield and The Volunteer Center of United Way of the Capital Region Year Awards reception. The awards are presented to individuals, youth and groups for their dedicated service to the community. Katie Hicks, who is the Whitaker Center s Volunteer Coordinator, nominated Brenda Gabel for Whitaker Center & Altrusa International for an award in the Adult category. The ceremony took place on April 21 at Beth El Temple, North Front Street in Harrisburg. Altrusans attending the event were Mary Lou, Diane, Deb, Anneke, Donna, Ann T., Nancy W. and Bobbi. Also attending were Brenda s son Jay and daughter Stephanie with husband Forrest. Brenda Gable with Katie Hicks. 9

10 District Two Service In Motion A Celebration of Volunteerism Altrusa International of South Central, PA United Way presenting award to Brenda. Brenda with sister Altrusans 10

11 District Two Service In Motion Service Program Tip Plan Your Project(s) In the months ahead, many clubs will be conducting planning meetings. Here are some tips to consider when planning for service projects. Service Plans Developing a Service Plan is essential for your club. The Service Committee should develop the plan with input from the members. Develop a mission statement for your Service Plan; what do you plan to accomplish through Service? The plan allows you to plan a variety of projects: Hands-on/Personal Service Monetary Donations Fundraisers to support your service projects Fundraiser Assistance for your charities Having a plan in place will determine how much needs to be raised by your fundraisers to cover your service commitments. It also allows the entire club to make decisions on what service projects your club will conduct or assist with. Contingency planning also allows extra in your budget for those last minute projects that invariably come up. Having a service plan in place also allows you to have committee chairs assigned for each of your projects from the beginning of the year so you don t scramble at the last minute to find someone to chair a project. Taken from Altrusa International Service Manual at the following link: 11

12 In writing Aspirations of an Altrusan, our founder Mamie L. Bass writes, Let me be patient in defeat and humble in success. Let me seek not for rewards, for appreciation, or even for understanding, but let me seek rather to do the work that lies before me, and find in the right doing of this work the joy and satisfaction that passes understanding. ** **Taken from the of the 60 th Annual District Two Conference Program 12