There were angels on the square this past weekend, Altrusa International angels that is. “I call these ladies my ‘Altrusa Angels’, they are wonderful and do wonderful things for the community,” said charter member Marilou Schwan.
On Saturday, Altrusa held their annual rummage sale at the First United Methodist Church on the square. Proceeds from the rummage and bake sale go towards the group’s long-standing efforts of supporting literacy and education in the community. The sale offered items such as household goods and furniture, holiday decorations, clothing, fresh baked goodies and more. Items were donated by members of Altrusa and the community.
The non-profit service organization holds an array of fundraisers throughout the year as the focus of their mission is to better the lives of their community which includes projects that directly benefit women and children through leadership and volunteer work.
“We are a civic-minded group,” said Tammy Brader, president of the Mansfield club. Brader shared some examples of projects that have benefited from the efforts of their members. One such example is the ‘Tools for Schools’ project which has provided school supplies for children in every school district in Richland County for approximately 11 years.
Last year, the group disbursed over 86,000 items between 28 schools. The project continues throughout the school year as teachers send in requests for needed items and Altrusa is able to fill the need.
“We are not small potatoes,” said member, Linda Hatwell. She spoke of their most recent accomplishment this past Spring when the group was nominated and won the respected Letha Brown Literacy Award for their work in raising awareness in the area of literacy through projects such as the Tools for Schools. Hatwell and Altrusa member Norma Hiner traveled to New Zealand for the awards ceremony and accepted the honor on behalf of the members. Hatwell added,”We are so very excited about that.”
Upcoming projects the women are focusing on include a scholarship program for women that will aid in the advancement of their careers and education and a creative writing contest for school age children grades three and four, the goal to promote literacy.
