Membership Committee Hosts a Mardi Gras Social

On Tuesday, March 5th, the Membership Committee of Altrusa of Carroll County hosted a Mardi Gras social for the newest members, sponsors and interested members at the Applebee's in North Conway.  President Diane Robinson, committee members Nancy Spaulding, Peggy Poirier, Marsha Brown, newest member Janel Maxwell and potential members Shawn Rogers and Cheryl Lang gathered for appetizers and drinks in a fun way of sharing Altrusa information.

Nancy passed out Mardi Gras beads for all to wear as we had a great discussion and wonderful questions were asked in this intimate social setting.  Nancy had printed out a copy of the District Service Bulletin (DSB) to pass around which helped to answer a lot of our questions about projects, Club 21, Spring Conference, committees and other clubs in our District.

Some members were unable attend so the Membership Committee will keep you posted on a second question and answer social gathering for interested members and sponsors.  Let's keep the fun discussions going about our amazing club!

Laundromat Little Libraries

One of our very successful service projects is the Laundromat Little Libraries we provide at our local laundromats.  We provide crates filled with children's books for children to read and hopefully take home to enjoy.  We are always in need of additional books, so if you or a friend are cleaning out children's books we are happy to take them to share.

Valentines and Cookies

Our February meeting brought in a small but enthusiastic group with cookies and creative ideas for Valentine Cards.  With warm hearts and bright smiles, our Altrusa members crafted cards for residents of the local nursing homes and assembled trays of cookies for those residents and their caregivers.

Helping the Laura Foundation - Pond Hockey

On January 26 and 27, members of our Club assisted the Laura Foundation for Autism and Epilepsy by working at the food tent during the Pond Hockey Tournament in Madison at the King Pine Ski Area.  The weather was cold but sunny and was a sold-out event with many happy but hungry children buying burgers, hot-dogs and soup.  On Sunday the worker bees were: Cathy B., Cathy S., Cindy H., Pat K., Pat M., Nancy S., Kathy S. and Katie.  If any of the Saturday workers took a photo to share, let me know so I can post it too.

Donation to the Humane Society

On December 20th, Altrusa of Carroll County presented the Conway Area Humane Society with our donations of $200, bags of pet food, dog treats, toys and more.  Nancy Spaulding and Kathy Somerville made the presentation to Katy Bailey,  volunteer manager at the Humane Society.  A bonus - Nancy found a dog to adopt!

Club Christmas Party

We all enjoyed our annual Christmas celebration at Lorraine's lovely home with lots of good food, too much dessert and much laughter.  Instead of a Yankee Swap, we each brought donations for Starting Point and the Conway Humane Society.  It is more fun to give than to receive!

DCYF Foster Family Party a Success!

All the kids, big and little, enjoyed themselves at the DCYF Christmas Party on Saturday, December 8th at the Madison Elementary School.  Co-hosted by the social workers from DCYF and the members of Altrusa of Carroll County, we provided crafts, activities, face-painting, snacks, dessert and lots of hot chocolate to the foster children and their families in Carroll County.  Santa (Rob Owens) came to visit and handed out candy canes and listened to Christmas wishes.  Santa also shared a story from one of the head elves about the magic in the bells from Santa's workshop.  Children of all ages enjoyed the afternoon and many parents commented that this event has become an important tradition in their family.  Thank you to all who contributed their time, goodies and holiday spirit!