Altrusa International of Lawrence, Kansas, Inc.

Home
United States
Lawrence, KS
Altrusa International of Lawrence, Kansas, Inc.

Altrusa is a non-profit, community volunteer organization with a service focus of Literacy. Contact A

A small group of Lawrence business women formed the nucleus of the Altrusa Club of Lawrence. The organizer, Faye Brown was intent upon forming a local Altrusa Club, and set about encouraging women from various businesses and professions to become charter members of the local organization. The Altrusa Club of Lawrence was chartered, with a membership of 18, on January 14, 1953. Soon after being cha

rtered, Altrusa members installed and operated a snack bar at Lawrence Memorial Hospital – no such facility having been available to hospital visitors or staff before that time. Altrusa members were responsible for the entire operation and tended this operation for many years, until the hospital installed its own cafeteria. The money earned from the snack bar eventually provided the means to help start the local Hospice organization in the early 1980s. Hospice Care of Douglas County has been, since its inception, a principal recipient of our annual fund-raising efforts. In support of Altrusa’s international goal of helping to alleviate the problem of illiteracy, the club has undertaken a variety of projects. The Club’s longest standing literacy service is providing a new book to each newborn baby at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. More than 10,000 books have been given out in the more than five years this project has been operating. In recent years, we formed a partnership with New York Elementary School to provide items for students, support for various projects, conducting a Book Club for 5th & 6th graders, and members read to first graders one day a week. The River City Reading Festival was born out of one woman’s desire to bring to the Lawrence community an event which celebrates reading at all ages. The enthusiasm for the project was contagious and energized Club members to take on the challenge of creating the event from the ground up. The mission of the River City Reading Festival was to celebrate literacy through an annual free festival for children, teens and adults. The Festival debuted in 2007, with author presentations, readings and workshops available, including keynote speaker and author Jim Lehrer, a Kansas native. In 2008, the River City Reading Festival was relocated to the Lawrence Public Library and the focus remained on all age groups – adults, youth and kids – and the day’s activities included activities for all. The last River City Reading Festival was held in 2010 with the focus on literacy programming for children. Although none of our original charter members are still living, Altrusa of Lawrence, Kansas continues to benefit from the standards they set and the beginnings they made for us to contribute needed and valued services to the community. We need look only as far as our past District Eight Governor, Patie Fielding, to appreciate the groundwork they laid for us to train leaders among our own members. We look forward to continuing for many years the traditions established by our charter members.

04/01/2026

This spring we have initiated three new members into the club. We are excited to have them join us! Welcome!

03/29/2026

02/26/2026

One of our new members, Nicolette Fernandez, taught our club a couple of fun line dances.She started the evening with the “Cupid Shuffle” (Cupid Shuffle-Cupid) and then did “Rockin’ The Wagon Wheel” (Wagon Wheel- Darius Rucker). It was a fun evening and she was a great instructor! We hope she will do it again!

01/06/2026

Dr. Tom Deskin stepped away from a career in emergency medicine after 30 years, but he wasn’t ready to stop caring for patients. He just wanted to do it differently.

As the face of LMH Health’s Workplace Medicine program, he’s found a role that combines his clinical expertise with his passion for building relationships and providing a positive impact on the community.

Learn how Dr. Deskin and his team are building health and business together at https://bit.ly/4pZ65N7.

10/29/2025

On Friday, October 24th, many of our members volunteered to read to students at Sunset HIll Elementary, which is our LEAP (Lawrence Education Achievement Partners) school this year. It was a fun way to support our community partner for International Literacy Day.

09/03/2025

Our annual fundraiser, Authors and Appetizers, is just around the corner. Hope to see you there!

04/18/2025

The local nonprofit Honor Moon presented to our club. This organization provides period products to both high schools and the library, and they hope to expand their giving to the middle schools. If you would like to learn more about them and support their cause, you can visit their site at https://www.honormoonlfk.org/about

03/21/2025

We have rescheduled our Altrusa and Friends Event. I hope you can join us for an informative evening!

02/19/2025

Due to inclement weather, we are cancelling our event. We will reschedule. Stay tuned!

02/12/2025

Our event to learn about Altrusa International of Lawrence is only a week away. We would love to meet you!

We would love to have you visit with us about becoming a member of our club. If you are interested, please RSVP at altru...

02/05/2025

We would love to have you visit with us about becoming a member of our club. If you are interested, please RSVP at [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you!

Address

Lawrence, KS
66044

Website

http://lawrence.altrusa.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Altrusa International of Lawrence, Kansas, Inc. posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Altrusa International of Lawrence, Kansas, Inc.:

Shortcuts

Want your organization to be the top-listed Non Profit Organization in Lawrence?