A Salina service organization is celebrating its 75th anniversary.

Altrusa International of Salina is a club which has done various charitable and service events over the last 12 months, including the culmination this month of the Days for Girls international project.

According to Altrusa,  last year in April members kicked off celebrations with a 75th anniversary brunch, welcoming Altrusa District Eight Governor-Elect Penny Daughtery from Mexico, Missouri, Kansas Senator Randall Hardy and other dignitaries, plus Altrusa representatives from five cities. A state proclamation by Hardy and other commendations were among the anniversary-event highlights.

The Club’s primary annual fundraiser, its fall Pumpkin Sale, helps finance Altrusa Salina’s many service projects. Members purchased, hand-painted and sold 175 pumpkins in September and October 2019, to generate money that is invested back into the community.

From April 2019 to April 2020, the Club welcomed seven new members.

For the holiday season, Altrusa Salina partnered with Books A Million in the Central Mall to obtain nearly 900 new books donated by BAM shoppers during the joint Holiday Book Drive. Club members sorted, labeled and donated the books to local families through 15 area nonprofits, to provide kids books to read for Christmas.

The club’s second holiday-season project, “Kids On The Move,” involved customizing 20 duffel bags ordered from national foster-care Together We Rise. The duffels were hand-decorated, then donated to Saint Francis Community Services foster youth, who sometimes have to move on short notice. The project was funded by the club and a matching grant from the Greater Salina Community Foundation.

To wind up its 75th year, Altrusa Salina is completing 75 custom hygiene kits for preteen and teenage Third World young women, as part of Altrusa International’s global Days for Girls project. The Salina club worked with local quilters to cut, sew and assemble cotton drawstring bags containing washable panties and liners, so that young women in economically disadvantaged countries will not have to miss school or community activities because of their monthly cycles.

Altrusa International of Salina, KS Inc. was chartered in June 1944 and continues to provide community services and funding to the Salina and Saline County area. Its members range in age from 25 to 85. Those interested to volunteer, donate or join the club should contact President Kristina Litchman at  [email protected] or Communications Co-Chair Kay Quinn at [email protected].