Altrusa International Service Projects
A database of Service projects from throughout our Altrusa organization
A clothes closet had been established to provide clothes for children removed from their home because of neglect or abuse. This closet had not been organized for years. The club came in to reorganize and revitalize the closet with new outfits for children from 0 to 18 years of age.
Children’s Square is a facility that houses children who cannot stay in their home or be in a Foster Home. Our club had them decorate treat bags, decorate a ball cap that they keep, played 2 Halloween games (Halloween bean toss and decorate the mummy) and fill their treat bags. Our club spends 3 hours with them with set up and tear down. They are always excited to have a party. This year we used stress balls and mittens as prizes. They love the Halloween stories that we read to them. The extra candy and toilet paper (for the mummy game) is left with the cottage counselors. Many have never been to a party. We had 17 children attend, 7 counselors, 12 of our members and 2 of the members daughters. We also partner with Children’s Square for their birthday closet. Members who were unable to attend sent candy and treats for their bags.
Seedlings is a program that converts books into Brail for adults and children. We participate with their annual silent auction with a donation to donate 25 books to be converted to Brail.
Small coloured paper bags are decorated with stickers and then filled with items which will keep children occupied as they wait in our local Hospital’s Emergency Dept. Items include a toy, colouring book, crayons, story book, puzzle. Funds are raised at a Market Day to purchase items and members donate.
More recently bags suitable for older children are filled and have found their way to the Children’s ward at the Hospital.
This was such a heartwarming project for us during 2022, knowing the need is for 3000 hearts annually in our wider region meaning 1000 of our little babies are vulnerable at birth and these hearts assist in bonding when real ‘cuddles’ are not possible.
Cuddle hearts strengthen the bond between mums and bubs while at the unit as many babies are unable to be cuddled. A set of 3 hearts are given to each newborn. The smells of both the baby and mother are absorbed into the heart and then swapped over.
It was by chance a member saw this need in our community so investigated further bringing an example of a cuddle heart to a meeting and so this project was born!
The hearts are made from 100% cotton fabric with no embellishments/filling and to a very specific size, the reason being is to prevent them being lost in bedding and hindering tubes etc attached to the baby.
Distraction Packs are donated to local emergency services. Police and Ambulance have the packs in their vehicles to give to children at the scene of an incident or accident to distract them while their parents are being interviewed or attended to. The feedback from the emergency services has been very positive.The packs contain coloring books coloured pencils, stickers and a book or toy. The items are put in a zip lock bag. We source coloring books with a story to help with literacy. We are using a sponsorship model for this project. Businesses and individuals have sponsored packs at a set value. We assemble as many packs as we have sponsorship for. This means we can use our fundraising for other projects.
Distraction Packs are donated to local emergency services. Police and Ambulance have the packs in their vehicles to give to children at the scene of an incident or accident to distract them while their parents are being interviewed or attended to. The feedback from the emergency services has been very positive.The packs contain coloring books coloured pencils, stickers and a book or toy. The items are put in a zip lock bag. We source coloring books with a story to help with literacy. We are using a sponsorship model for this project. Businesses and individuals have sponsored packs at a set value. We assemble as many packs as we have sponsorship for. This means we can use our fundraising for other projects.
After seeing seeing Laundromat Libraries on Altrusa club Facebook pages, we placed a bookshelf in our local 24 hour Laundromat. Each club member is on a roster to keep the shelf tidy and stocked with adult and children’s books and magazines . Books and magazines are donated. Book drops are publicized on Facebook. The community have embraced the book shelf and keep it well stocked and it turns over quickly. Apart from the initial outlay of paint for a donated bookshelf and member’s time this project has not cost anything. All books donated by club members are counted in the Million Books challenge. Because of the strong community uptake we are happily struggling to meet big numbers. We hope to build on this library idea but putting up a community free library near a local park.
In support of our virtual club project, we organized a district-wide collection of Christmas gifts for children rescued from human trafficking sheltered in Baja California, Mexico. The shelter is ran by International Network of Hearts (INH). We gathered a list of interests for each child and created an Amazon gift registry. The gifts were given to INH at our Christmas party.
Members helped label and package book donations for United Through Reading. The books were shipped to military families around the world to connect them through read-alouds while their parents are on leave.