Communiqu ALTRUSA INTERNATIONAL OF DALLAS, TEXAS, INC.

DISTRICT NINE May 2015

How is it possible a year has passed? I really cannot

believe how quickly this year has gone by. I hope most

of you will be at our last meeting of the year on May 19th

but in case you have to miss it, I thought I would share

with you a brief recap of all the things we accomplished

in the 2014-2015 Club year.

This year I asked for our service projects to be more

hands on and not simple dona-

tions. I had also asked for each

project to offer the opportunity

for 100% participation. Our 96%

participation rate demonstrates

how well this goal was met. The

projects we worked on for ser-

vice were varied and extensive.

At Mosaic Family Services we

served dinner on their moving

day, crafted the goodnight sleep tight bags, created the

spice pantry, threw a baby shower for an expectant cli-

ent, won a grant and used it to build the Altrusa Re-

source Room, and finally made ESL BINGO and played it

at the shelter one evening.

We honored Make a Difference Day by making Hallow-

een Safety bags for the children at DCAC. We are also

buying and donating coloring books and crayons for their

waiting room this month.

We were able to work with Our Friends Place this year and filled bath caddies with requested items for new res-

idents. We purchased the items individually and filled

the caddies at a meeting. We also taught a life skills

class there teaching a simple to make meal and jewelry

making.

Last Club year we applied for and won a grant for the

Early Readers Club at Dr. Martin Luther King Learning Center. This literacy focused project brought us to the

school to bring books for each child as well as a tee-

shirt. We had a party celebrating reading and the chil-

dren were very excited.

For the tenth year we participated the Christmas tree

decorating at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.

We also donated to the dyslexia unit again this year and

had an opportunity to work with the Smart Board we

helped them purchase.

This year there were seven schol-

arship participants receive schol-

arships memorializing Dr. Nina

Fay Calhoun, Leita Marsh, and

Edith DeBusk. We also continued

to collect pop-tops tabs to do-

nate to the Ronald McDonald

House of Dallas.

This is a truly amazing assort-

ment of work. I encourage you all

to take a moment and think of the impact we have made

on our community this year. Our small Club has touched

many lives in a positive way and each and every one of

you should feel proud of what we have accomplished.

You have given of your hearts and worked with your

hands. You have touched lives not just economically, but

personally as well. You have shown those with less that

you care. You have not only been good, you have been

good for something. Thank you for the pride of accom-

plishment you have brought to our Club this year!

Presidents Message

Deborah Hecht

2014-2015 President

Altrusa International

of Dallas, Texas, INC.

deborahahecht@gmail.com

You have not only been good,

you have been good for

something.

THIS MONTH May 5 Club Meeting at Whole Foods

Altrusa You: Hosted by Finances Committee

May 19 Club Meeting at Whole Foods

Installation of Officers for Club Year 2015-

2016

Hosted by Planning Nominating Committee.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO

Phyllis Meyerson.............4

United Nations Observances

International Day of Families

May 15

The International Day of Families is ob-

served on the 15th of May every year. The

Day was proclaimed by the UN General

Assembly in 1993 and reflects the im-

portance the international community at-

taches to families. The International Day

provides an opportunity to promote aware-

ness of issues relating to families and to

increase knowledge of the social, economic

and demographic processes affecting fami-

lies.

International Day of UN Peacekeepers

May 29

The International Day of United Nations

Peacekeepers, which is commemorated

each year on the 29th of May, is an occa-

sion to salute the more than 111,000

peacekeepers serving in 16 missions in

some of the worlds most volatile and dan-gerous environments. This Day is also a

time to mourn fallen peacekeepers. During

its history, more than 3,200 Blue Helmets have died devoting their lives to peace, in-

cluding 106 men and women in 2013.

In the words of the Secretary-General: Let us all commit to following the selfless exam-

ple of our fallen heroes, as we work togeth-

er to help our blue helmets be a force for

peace, a force for change, and a force for

the future.

Conference Report

By Dee Parmer

Attendance

Altrusa Dallas Attendees included:

Sabra Klein, Karen Wise, Sue Powell, Frances Maloney,

Anne Reed, Sharron Vance, Dee Parmer, Jackie Robertson,

Guadalupe Carvajal, Ellen Heffner, Phyllis Meyerson, Jan Howell,

Susie Stephenson, Carolyn Rash, Beth Blair, Valeta Gentzler, and

Betty Lawson (17)

54 Certified Delegates; 36 Certified Alternates

8 District Officers

10 Past District Governors

Conference Attendees a grand total of 291

Conference Fundraiser

Money Raised for Altrusa International Foundation - $26,303

Awards Won by Dallas:

Linda Nichols Foundation Contribution Award -

Fourth Place in Total Club Contributions - $1,165.00

Fourth Place Average Contribution Per Member $47.57

Yearbook Award First Place

Keynote Address Dr. Patricia Sulak, M.D., Author and Altrusan

from Temple, TX

2015 2017 District Nine Board of Directors

Sylvia Zamora (San Antonio) Governor

Linda Moore (Temple) Governor-Elect

Antonio Buban (Downtown Dallas) First Vice Governor

Trina Taylor (Southwest Dallas County) Second Vice Governor

Laure Bruner (Anderson County) Treasurer

Mary Black Pearson (Temple) Director

Shirley Raymer (Garland) Director

COMMITTEE

NEWS Communications

The events of Sabra's year as Club President

have been added to the Club History on our

website, so check it out.

Please send your service hours for the year to

Carolyn no later than May 5 to be included in

Deborah's report.

Please visit our website at

www.altrusadallas.org for all up to date infor-

mation. And follow us on Twitter

@altrusadallas.

Service

Members visited Mosaic for ESL Bingo. See

page 4 of the newsletter for more information.

We will be buying books, coloring books, and

crayons with the remaining budget to bring to

the DCAC waiting room for the children.

Finances

Club dues for 2015-2016 are due. Please see

your emails for your invoice and remit your

dues to Phyllis before June 1st or to Jackie af-

ter June 1st.

Membership Development

Fun of the month event for April was the Dis-

trict Nine Conference held in San Antonio. Fun

was had by all District Nine Altrusans and

guests. Viva Altrusa! Viva Dallas!

District Nine Conference

Viva Altrusa!

35 Clubs Strong!

Friday Fun Night!

Awards Luncheon

Susie presents Governor

Beth with a Lamplighter

from The Dallas Club

1000 Strong!

Beth turns the gavel over

to Governor Sylvia! See you next year!

May Principle and Responsibility

Principle: Altrusa believes it is not enough to be good; Al-

trusans must be good for something. Each member must be

doing the piece of work that is hers in a way that puts her in

the front ranks of accomplishment.

Responsibility: Enjoy being a member and dont hesitate to

share a sense of humor. It makes membership a relaxing,

enjoyable activity.

Mosaic Bingo

Shuana Gantt our newest member organized a

very enjoyable Bingo event at Mosaic. On Thurs-

day April 16, four of us went to Mosaic, two Altrusa

members and two friends of Shaunas. This is a direct quote from

Shuana It was a real-ly fun evening! The

women really seemed

to enjoy having com-

pany and doing some-

thing different and

fun. The bingo game

was a little challeng-

ing as we had 'wh'

questions. So the la-

dies had to find which

remainder of the sen-

tence went with the

bingo caller's

word. So Phyllis

called, "when is..." And they had to find which

square would be the answer to that question.

Some of the kids even joined in, so that was great

for them to help their moms. My 2 friends from

work, Iffat and Joanne loved helping and look for-

ward to going to Mosaic again! We hope to go

back again some time with some other types of

bingo cards!

The Woodlands Club

May 9th is the first initiation for the Woodlands

Club in formation. All are invited!

July 17-21

Altrusa Accent

Make It Happen: Resolving Conflict

By Anne Reed

March 8th was International Womens Day and the 2015 theme was Make it Happen. I encourage each of you to make it happen for yourselves and other women by sup-porting and empowering each other as only you can do.

You have a chance every day to make a difference in peo-

ples lives just by resolving your personal conflict with one woman at a time, because her very being influences many

other people around her each day.

I am sharing with you the five pointers my sweet husband

wrote down for me one time when I was seriously ponder-

ing how to resolve a conflict with another person. I keep

Davids pointers on a small handwritten note in my purse

and this is what they say:

1) Define the conflict and clarify any misconceptions with

each other.

2) Face the problem, not each other. Take the stance

Its you and me against the problem. 3) Dont ask What happened? because each person

has their own frame of reference. Ask for facts like

What did you see? or What did you do? 4) List shared concerns as well as shared issues of the

conflict.

5) Work at whats do-able!

None of us has exactly the same background, professional

experiences, personal situations, or beliefs. We may differ

in many things but we are all grown women interested in

service to our local communities. We are all Altrusans!

Altrusa proves the very nature of the power of womanhood

as we work together to make it happen for ourselves and other women, and the many other beneficiaries of our

efforts in our nation and all over the world.

So lets all go for it and make it happen in your life and in another womans life by continued lifting up of each oth-er, and make every day International Womens Day! And should you find yourself some day in some random con-

flict, pull out your pointers!