Plant Sale Success

Today the sun was bright and hot and people hovered around the tables set up on the street outside the Cook Memorial Library.  "Are these bearded iris?" "Do these need full sun?" "Look at all the hosta!" These questions and comments were heard all morning.  Today we held our Annual Plant Sale fundraiser and Raffle, teaming with the Cook Memorial Library to raise funds for our Altrusa service projects and for the Friends of the Cook Library.  Diane Robinson did a wonderful job organizing the day, gathering donated perennials, setting up tents, and putting out signs with the help of many of our club members.  Many thanks to those club members who donated the beautiful items for the calendar raffle.  Business was brisk and many calendar raffle tickets were sold so the day was a great success.  Now I just have to get my new plants in the ground!

Lorraine, Pat, Marsha, Lisa and Judy

Finally gathering the rest of the team, Lorraine, Pat, Kathy, Marsha, Diane, Lisa and Judy.

Habitat for Humanity Women's Build May 9th

On Saturday, May 9th we had two teams of members assisting the MWV Habitat for Humanity by providing breakfast and lunch to the 50 volunteers building the newest home in Madison.  Our breakfast crew was there by 7:15 am to set up and provide coffee and breakfast items, provided by The Community Market in Madison.  35 women arrived to work on the home and by 9:00 am everyone was at work cutting studs, nailing headers, cutting holes for wiring and framing the first walls.  All was accomplished under the able direction of 11 Habitat builders.  One of our members stayed for the day, using the chop saw and framing;  maybe next year we can get more members to bring their hammers!  At the lunch time break, our Club provided delicious pizzas, sandwiches and salads, all from The Community Market, to rave reviews from the workers.  We had an opportunity to tell all about our Altrusa Club and Kathy Miller left with the names of several women interested in learning more.  She's a great saleslady!

Serving Volunteers at the Gibson Senior Center

On Tuesday May 5th 4 members of Carroll County Altrusa helped to thank all the Meals on Wheels and other Gibson Senior Center volunteers by serving at the annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon.  The team of Dorothy, Kathy, Lisa and Cheryl served 87 meals to all the volunteers who give hundreds of hours of service to our senior citizen residents.  George Cleveland and Attorney Deborah Fauver were the speakers and they thanked Altrusa for all our help.  We were able to share information about our Club and hopefully have piqued the interest of several women attending.  It was also an opportunity for our Club to help other service organizations.

A Wonderful Conference in Quebec City

The 8 members of Altrusa of Carroll County enjoyed a wonderful Spring Conference in Quebec City.  Our hostesses attended to every detail - the hotel was elegant, the food was fabulous, the camaraderie was great and we were re-energized as we discussed favorite and new service projects.  We learned about Maison Zoe Blais, a woman's shelter in Quebec which provides a safe haven as well as education for women in need and their children.  The Quebec Club has donated much time and many resources to supporting this shelter.  Ideas, club projects and problems were discussed and we all left looking forward to new projects at home.  We shared a lot of fun - dancing, touring Old Quebec, exploring the Farmer's Market, the Chateau Frontinac and admiring the old architecture.

A little wine, a little music...

Friday night dinner

Saturday night Banquet

Creme Brulee dessert on Saturday night

Awards received in Quebec City!

Eight members of Carroll County Altrusa made the trip to Quebec City, Canada for the District One Spring Conference.  We had a wonderful time!  The Hotel Chateau Laurier was elegant, the food was fabulous, the meetings were productive and the camaraderie was great.  We received a number of awards:

• 1st Place Award for our Newsletter
• 3rd Place Award for our Publicity submissions
• 2nd most members attending from a club with 8 attending  (Bermuda came in 1st with 9 members attending)
• 1st Place for new memberships with 4 new members this year
• 3rd Place for membership "net gain"

Thank you to all our members who helped us earn these awards and recognition!

Celebrating our 5-year Members

At Monday evening's meeting we had an opportunity to recognize three members who have belonged to Carroll County Altrusa for five years.  Judy, Barb and Thelma received their pins to a round of applause.

End 68 Hours of Hunger

At our meeting on Monday night we learned a lot about the program End 68 Hours of Hunger organized by 3 local teachers.   This organization strives to meet the needs of those local school children who confront approximately 68 hours of hunger between the free lunch they receive in school on Friday afternoon, and the free breakfast they receive in school on Monday morning.  There are many ways to help, including:

1. Contribute directly to the organization with 100% of the funds going to meet the children's needs.
2. Host fund raisers or collect food items.
3. Donate non-perishable food items
4. Sponsor a child with a donation of $40 per month

Several of our Altrusa members have already signed up to help pack the bags of food and our club made a donation of $100 to purchase food items.