Altrusa of Greater Lansing, Michigan records

Collection

Identifier: MS-1042

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

Dating from 1943–2003, the contents of the 8.83 cubic foot collection primarily consist of meeting minutes, correspondence, committee reports, financial reports, scrapbooks, news clippings, and photographs.

Dates

Creation: 1943-2003

Extent

8.83 Cubic Feet (13 archival boxes and 9 scrapbooks)

Creator

Altrusa Club of Greater Lansing (Michigan) (Organization)

Scope and Contents

The items contained within the Altrusa International of Greater Lansing collection provide a fairly accurate history of the organization. Though there are gaps here and there in the materials, those that are available provide adequate representations of the decades that the club had been in operation. The meeting minutes, of which there are only a few substantial gaps in years, present a record of the club’s activities and inner workings. In some cases, these minutes also include the monthly and annual treasurer’s reports attached, as well as the reports of committees in the earlier decades.

Perhaps the most interesting and important aspect of the collection is the large amount of scrapbooks within, only lacking coverage from the early 1980s. When possible, these were kept intact and not altered. Each volume is set up in a similar way, featuring a variety of materials that help describe club life and events for each given club year. Many of the later decade scrapbooks also include copies of the chapter newsletter and copies of the annual program booklets.

The collection is especially useful to those studying women’s organizations on the local level, or to those who have a specific interest in this chapter. However, the collection can also appeal to a much broader audience. The material contained in this collection follows professional, working women from the late 1940s through the 2000s. They represent a much different demographic than many of their contemporaries, and this is often reflected within the collection. The inner workings of the club, the activities they took part in, and the events that they promoted throughout the years can speak towards the social history of a certain region of Michigan.

Biographical / Historical

Altrusa International is an international association of professional women who volunteer their energies and expertise in projects dedicated to community betterment. Altrusa is also a community service organization that espouses volunteerism, service and fights for literacy and against AIDS. It is comprised of over 400 clubs located throughout the United States and in ten countries around the world. First organized in 1917 as a women’s service organization, over the years it has supported vocational training for women and graduate research for women in developing countries in addition to its long standing commitment to literacy.

The Greater Lansing, Michigan chapter of the organization was established in 1943 after 16 women met and organized on February 12 at the Hotel Olds; its charter dinner was held two years later on Feb. 10, 1945. By 1946 the membership had increased to 31 and later that year they published their first newsletter. It was associated with District 5 of Altrusa, including clubs in Michigan and Ohio.

Early projects for the club included home-making instruction for patients recently released from the local tuberculosis hospital to aid in their convalescence, vocational, and home-management training. Another later long-term project of the Lansing chapter was support for Glass House, a residential halfway house for women recovering from substance abuse. Programming to raise funds for this project included an annual spring fashion show and Club members interacted with the residents with such activities as a Christmas party. This ongoing project was submitted for the Altrusa Mamie Bass Award in several years.

Due to a decline in membership chapter appears to have officially dissolved in 2005 and is no longer listed among active Michigan clubs on the District 5 website.

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The archives of Altrusa International of the Greater Lansing, Michigan chapter were donated to the Center for Archival Collections on June 15, 2006, by Laura Gilles on behalf of the organization.