Exciting things are happening in Pekin. Can you sense the energy around you? Pekin Altrusa’s tutoring program is off to a great start. Parents and tutors have completed the necessary paperwork, books and materials have been delivered; snacks are in place, students have arrived, so off we go. If you haven’t heard, Altrusa of Pekin, received a grant award from Pekin Rotary in support of our After School Reading and Tutoring program. Our secretary Melinda Figge received the award on behalf of Pekin Altrusa at a Pekin Rotary meeting in January. You can find out more on Pekin Rotary’s Facebook page and foundation.altrusa.org. We appreciate the support from Pekin Rotary and Altrusa International Foundation as we look to collaborate more in the future. 

Speaking of the future, we plan to play an influential role in helping children in the Pekin community. There are lots of ways we can help, but we are limited by the number of members we have in our local organization. If you are interested in joining us in our journey to improve the quality of life of children in our community, please email [email protected]. We have many ideas we’d like to implement, but we’re in a position where we cannot do certain events or programs due to a lack of available resources and volunteers. There are many opportunities to volunteer your time and resources for the betterment of our community. There are opportunities to travel abroad and across the country as well as Pekin Altrusa is a part of the international organization Altrusa International. Altrusa is a network of clubs that serve their community in which they are established. Much like Altrusa International of Pekin, member clubs are free to choose their own projects and fundraising events. So please join us.

Our next international convention will take place in Quebec City, Canada. A list of UN International Days we plan to observe are the following:

February 20 World Day of Social Justice

March 8 International Women’s Day

April 7 World Health Day

May 15 International Day of Families

June 6 World Environmental Day

August 12 International Youth Day

September 21 International Literacy Day

October 16 World Food Day

October 24 UN Day

November 25 International Day for the Elimination of   Violence against Women

December 10 Human Rights Day

To help fund Pekin Altrusa’s After School Reading and Tutoring Program or other programs, send checks to: Pekin Altrusa, PO Box 3, Pekin, IL 61554