Altrusa is Service

Altrusa is a local organization affiliated with Altrusa International.  Altrusans work hard for the identified needs of the children of our community; we have been called on to help with a full range of projects and programs that are identified by our Gig Harbor Club.  Altrusa Foundation has taken on some major projects, all of which benefit the local Gig Harbor community:

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• Over the past 10 years, Altrusa Foundation has raised $100,000 to complete our pledge to equip the commercial-level kitchen at the Boys and Girls Club for use by the club and the community.

• Altrusa Gig Harbor provides an annual donation of $2,000 in scholarship funding and equipment for the Peninsula Youth Orchestra.

• We have contributed thousands of dollars worth of school supplies and basic clothing to children in need in Peninsula schools.

• Since the first Empty Bowls event in 2016, Altrusa has raised over $139,000 in support of efforts to combat hunger in our community.  Those funds have been distributed by Altrusa of Gig Harbor Foundation to local programs working with children and families who are income-qualified for assistance.

Altrusa is for Friendship and Fun

Altrusa is not all work and no play! Club members are friends who enjoy organizing par­ties, tours, a night out at the movies, or a barbecue in the backyard. Our members attend community events as a group and enjoy everything from ball games with The Chamber of Commerce to the Garden Tour benefiting TCC's Adult Basic Education Program, interclub activities with our sister Puyallup or Olympia Altrusa clubs, and art shows in our neigh­boring City of Tacoma.  The club welcomes new members, as well as Friends of Altrusa who are willing to help out with our programs and projects.

Altrusa is for the World

Altrusa has chapters all over the world, including England, Ireland, India, and Russia. In February 2014, the Philippines suffered a devastating hurricane. The Gig Harbor Altrusa group sent many boxes of clothes, kitchenware and books to one of the smaller islands in the Philippines that was receiving very little aid. The Cabancalan Elementary School was thrilled with the books and encyclopedias in the shipment, as they had lost most of their books in the disaster.