Tidewater Altrusan Newsletter
🏀 ☘️ 🌎 🌸 March 2025 🌸 🌎 ☘️ 🏀 ☘️
Embedded Files
March Meeting Preview
Guest Speaker, Dr. Natalie, Tidewater Community College
Election of 2025-26 Board Members
GRES looking for book sale volunteers to help students shop for books
Deb D. is inviting volunteers to help with setup/breakdown at two craft sales.
Remember to bring your clean thin plastics for recycling
Our meeting location:
Jo-Kell
620 Innovation Drive
Chesapeake, VA. 23220
Our meeting Zoom information can be found here or in the menu on the left.
Click here to join our Zoom meetings. Remember, if a password is needed, it starts with a capital A.
President's Message
Greetings Fellow Altrusans,
February ended in Tidewater with a 12-inch snowfall. Due to road conditions, most of us stayed home for several days. The snow was beautiful, but most were glad when it melted, and life returned to normal.
Our guest speaker for this month’s meeting will be Dr. Jeanne Natali, Director of the Student Resource and Empowerment Center at Tidewater Community College. We have supported this center for at least 20 years, when it was once called the Women’s Center. We will have a $400 check to present to her for the center. Continuing with the education theme, the Scholarship Committee will meet this month to begin the selection process to award seven recipients with $500 scholarships. Recipients are or will be attending a vocational school, community college, or four-year college.
Last month, the Nominating Committee presented the Slate of Officers for 2025-2026. We will vote on our new slate this month, and installations will be held in May.
Please continue to bring plastic bags to the meeting as we are helping out with a recycling project.
In April, Altrusa will celebrate its 108th birthday. Let’s plan something special.
As we continue into 2025, we can look forward to the many services we provide, focusing on improving communities. Altrusa is an international service organization, and the Tidewater club has exceeded our borders. From Samal Island, Philippines, to Kenya, Africa, we are living up to our district’s challenge: “Bee” the Change You Want To See In The World. We are Altrusans, and this is what we do!
Warm regards,
Kathy
Board Actions - March 2025
The Board wishes to celebrate Altrusa International 108th birthday on April 11th . Also our club received our Charter as Altrusa International of Tidewater, Inc. 58 years ago in April. Joanne volunteered to organize a committee at the March meeting.
Accent
Greetings Altrusans,
As we move through another busy month, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for the incredible support and partnership we share. Your commitment to our community makes a significant difference in the lives of all you touch! Thank you!
Our thoughts are with families who are grieving. Please know that we are here to support one another during these challenging times. Together, we can overcome any obstacle. Our resilience as a club shines through, especially during difficult moments.
This week, we proudly celebrate International Women's Day on March 8th. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to learn about and honor the achievements of women throughout history. We are proud of the contributions made by women in our community and beyond, and we are encouraged to continue to strive for greatness, inspired by these role models. Please click here for more information about how we will celebrate this day in 2025:
As we continue this journey together, let us celebrate our successes, support one another, and look forward to the wonderful possibilities ahead. Thank you for all you do!
Please have a wonderful month of March!
All the Best,
Tracey
Committee Reports
Committee Reports
Service Committee: Joanne and Shari, Co-Chairs
Service Committee: Joanne and Shari, Co-Chairs
Here's how to add your hours:
⏫ Click the "Service Hours" image above this paragraph and answer a couple of quick questions.
If you'd like to check that you've submitted hours, click here. When you add your hours, you can add info as a reminder for yourself.
Hearts for Heroes
Club members gathered recently to support our military heroes, both here and abroad. Over 200 handmade cards were created with heartfelt messages of gratitude. Seventy cards were delivered to Jones and Cabacoy Veterans Care Center for Valentines Day. The remaining cards were sent to A Soldiers Hands to be distributed by that organization in their care packages.
Additionally 70 gift bags of personal care items and some fun activities were assembled for area veterans at the Jones and Cabacoy Veterans Care Center. The bags were delivered for Valentines Day to the center. Staff at the facility expressed much gratitude for the support from our club.
Members of Altrusa of Tidewater came together at a recent monthly meeting to support the Foodbank of SouthEastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore with donations of shelf stable pantry items. We collected a wide variety of nutritious food as well as cash donations. The total amount of goods was 97 pounds of food and $60.00 cash. The food will provide 81 meals and the monetary donations will provide 120 meals, bringing a total of 201 meals! Our donation will make a great impact on families in our community!
Look! We have a service opportunity helping one of our own! Deb D is looking for some helping hands...
Monies from the sale of items donated by club members will go toward textbooks for the Mirror of Hope Sewing School.
Below are some of the amazing students in the Sewing School.
They have few, if any, textbooks (and NO computers) as sources for learning. We asked which books would help them. They offered us this list, with a total of $300. Selling Altrusa handmade crafts at the upcoming crafts fairs will go toward the books.
Environmental Committee: June, Chair
Environmental Committee: June, Chair
June, Jennifer, and Barbara S. Took a field trip to Ledman Lagoons and Ponds for ideas for the sensory garden at Jones and Cabacoy Veterans Care Center.
Thank you for recycling plastic through the TREX Build a Bench project. With our help, the 1,000-pound goal will be reached long before the October deadline! Update next month. In the meantime, take the Plastic Planet Survey below. The list was created by “Lynnhaven River Now”. For more info about their activities and programs, go to https://www.lynnhavenrivernow.org/ .
Plastic Planet
Ask yourself whether each statement is TRUE or FALSE. (Hint: 6 are true and 5 are false)
1. 90% of bottled water is the bottle itself.
2. 19 million plastic bottles go to the landfill each year in America alone.
3. Our recycling programs are actively recycling most plastic bottles and food containers.
4. Reusable beverage containers do not decrease the number of single use plastic bottles.
5. The oceans are large enough to deal with the plastic that enters the oceans without harming sea life.
6. The United States is one of the world’s biggest contributors to plastic waste.
7. Localities in Virginia have the option of instituting a 5-cent fee on plastic bags at grocery stores.
8. American alone throw away 25 billion Styrofoam coffee cups every year.
9. If plastic pollution continues at the current rate, by 2050, it will outweigh fish in our oceans pound for pound.
10. The main ingredient in plastics is oil, a fossil fuel.
11. The actions I take as an individual are more important than government programs or controls.
Membership Committee: Marcy and June, Co-Chairs
Membership Committee: Marcy and June, Co-Chairs
February 2025 Guests
Guest Speaker
Last month, we were honored to welcome Dr. Jennifer Gott, the Director of REACH, Reading Enriches All Children. While many of us have worked with REACH before through this club, we were unaware of the amazing expansion and goals developed recently. Dr. Gott invited us to visit their store in Norfolk and highlighted several ways we might include REACH in this year's plans.
Guests of Members (Prospective members??)
We welcomed Susan, invited by Barbara D and Cathy M (Susan's sisters), Wanda and Merryl, guests of Lisa W-D, and Marianne , a guest of Lisa C's. Each said they enjoyed the information and social time at the meeting.
Scholarship Committee: Cathy M., Chair
Scholarship Committee: Cathy M., Chair
Meeting Reminder:
The committee meeting will be held Wednesday, March 19th, at 1:00 pm, at Chris S's house. If you would like to join the committee or have a question, please contact Cathy M.
Nominating Committee: Joanne B. and Colleen
Nominating Committee: Joanne B. and Colleen
The Nominating Committee presented the slate of officers and Directors for the 2025-2026 Board.
President - Shari
1st Vice President - Barbara S
2nd Vice President - Joanne
Recording Secretary - Barbara S
Corresponding Secretary - Colleen
Treasurer - Susan
Directors - Barbara D, Jennifer, and Ellen
Communications: Chair, Shari
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what's coming up?
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Thank you!
Remember: For the privacy and security of all members, last names should not be included on any names that will be posted online.
Reminder! Club 21 dues must to be paid online. Use this link to update your personal Club 21 dues to support International Foundation.
Want to order items from Amazon for Hope Village and other service projects? Check out this wish list created by Joanne (with a little help from her sister, Karen)!
Program/Business Minutes: March 2025
Program/Business Minutes: March 2025
Business Meeting Feb. 17, 2025.pdfTreasurer's Report - March 2025
Treasurer's Report - March 2025
TIDBITS - Our celebrations and stories...
TIDBITS - Our celebrations and stories...
Some fun news from Blanch....
I celebrated my 70th Birthday in February. My brothers Buster and Dudley came to town to celebrate with me. We were joined by a sampling of friends. This is a peak at my backyard pond renovation. My Birthday present to myself. I am looking forward to its completion.
District Two News
District Two News
District Two Board and Committee Chairs
This document lists the board and committee chairs.
DSB Winter 2025
DSB Winter 2025 District Two Call to Conference_v1-31registration.pdfGovernor's Message
February 2025
Governor_s Message February 2505 _9_-compressed_1.pdf
District Two Service Newsletter:
Click here to view the March 2025 District Two Service Newsletter.
International News
International News
International is interested in gauging member interest in attending the next Convention in Quebec. Click here to complete the survey.
Convention Reminder!
Altrusans!
For our 2025 Altrusa International Convention in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, many of our attendees will need a passport to attend.
United States members can now renew their passport online through the U.S. Department of State website. To renew online, you will need a digital passport photo, which Walgreens offers for free with the purchase of a physical passport photo.
It is highly recommended to apply for a new passport/renew your current passport ASAP to ensure it will arrive before Convention. Follow the links below to renew your passport online and/or learn more about Walgreens passport photos.
US Department of State Passport Renewal Walgreens Passport Photos
Altrusa International Service Committee Newsletter - scroll to view all five pages!
English_International Service Committee Newsletter_Winter 2025.pdfAltrusa International Literacy Challenge One Book at a Time, Part II
Altrusa International Literacy Challenge One Book at a Time, Part II
President Linda is continuing Immediate Past President Kathy book challenge and we want you to be a part of it. President Linda firmly believe that literacy is the number one focus for Altrusa and we want to continue to enhance that commitment. Our ultimate goal is to enhance the lives of others ONE BOOK AT A TIME! The challenge is for Altrusans to distribute one million books and/or devote 500,000 literacy service hours to our communities during the 2023-2025 biennium. So how can you participate?
Develop a signature literacy project (or expand on an existing one) that will continue to grow and develop into the future. Large and small clubs alike can participate in this challenge.
2. Assign a record keeper to keep track of the number of books you distribute AND/OR the number of service hours you spend (for example reading to children, the elderly, participating in a book exchange … something that works for you, your club and your community).
3. Carry the project over through the next club year.
4. Send your numbers (for both years) to the International Service Committee before
June 1, 2025. The easiest way to record this is to record each time you club donates books so you don’t forget any!
5. Sit back and relish in the fact that you are making a difference …. ONE BOOK AT A TIME.
Remember the end goal is to enhance the lives of others. And the simple gift of a book to a child who has never had one can help eradicate illiteracy and give these children a chance to succeed in life. Will you accept the challenge and join our movement? We all know that Altrusans R.O.C.K. and what better want to REALIZE OPPORTUNITY, CREATE KINDNESS than to create intentional acts of kindess by donating books. As Altrusans we can make a difference! We can change lives – sometimes the book you donate is the only one a child can call their own! Let’s help others develop a passion for reading that will last a lifetime!
Click the image to view the January 2025 issue of The Altrusa Compass.
District Two is showcased in this issue! Take a look!! 👀
Foundation News
Foundation News
Click here to view the March 2025 edition, Volume 17, of the Altrusa International Foundation, Inc The Impact.
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