Central Breeze August 2020 1

Central Breeze Altrusa International of Central CT, Inc.

Volume 20, Issue 8 August 2020

Presidential Prose

Dear Altrusa Sisters,

I hope you are enjoying the hot summer days and

warm summer nights.

I am so proud of the creativity of our club. We have

not slowed down with the pandemic and have

found new ways to service our community.

Our first virtual poetry reading was quite a success! Our seniors really

appreciated the opportunity to share their poems.

This month we will be participating in our joint service project...pack the

pickup with proteins for the pantry. We had some obstacles this

year...but we will actually be expanding the project to include “personal

products.”

Although we don’t know yet how this pandemic will continue to affect us,

I know one thing for sure....Altrusans will rise to the occasion.

Our next business meeting is August 12th, 2020.

Stay well.

Jamie

Altrusa International of

Central CT, Inc.

P.O. Box 2532

Middletown, CT 06457

Altrusa.CentralCT@gmail.com

President

Jamie Santaniello 860--986-4911

Vice-President

Lynne Havlicek 860-306-5110

Secretary (Interim)

Kathleen Didato 860-836-7611

Treasurers

Edna Liberty (General) 860-614-3817

Cathy Boone (Foundation)

860-754-6972

Directors

Bonnie Laput 860-894-2122

Tiffany Shaffer 860-817-4899

Elsie Mathews 860-841-9375

Past President

Hilda Schmidt 203-592-4819

Newsletter Editor

Elsie Mathews 860-841-9375

Meetings

2nd and 4th Wed.

Wadsworth Glen

starting at 6:30 pm.

Central Breeze August 2020 2

.

;

Altrusa Reminders

Aug 12: Business Meeting at 6:30 pm

Virtual Meeting

Aug 22: Pack the Pick-up with Proteins

8am -12pm

St. Pius X Church

310 Westfield Street

Lower Parking Lot

Middletown, CT

Save the date!

District One Workshop

Virtual Meeting via Zoom

November 7, 2020

International Convention

Quebec, Canada

July 21-24, 2021

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

MEMBER BREAKFAST MEETINGS

7:00 a.m. Networking 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Breakfast Program at Sheraton Hartford

South Hotel on 100 Capital Blvd in Rocky Hill,

CT

August– None scheduled

EVENTS

Aug 19—“Own the room with Zoom” presented

by Women’s Leadership Collaborative Network

Business After Work postponed for August

.

www.middlesexchamber.com

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Happy Birthday Wishes

No member’s birthday in August

.

Altrusa Accent at Upcoming Meetings

(Will be resuming in September)

September 9 Bobbie Tundermann

October 14 Michelle Fine

November 11 Lynne Havlicek

December 9 No Accent /Holiday Party

January 13 Ellen Paris

February 10 Pat Jackowski

March 10 Kathy Burns

April 14 Hilda Schmidt

May 12 Patti Deegan

June 9 Bonnie LaPut

NOTE: If the scheduled member is unable to

present, please create your accent and ask

someone else to read it at the meeting.

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Altrusa Club News

Taking our Poetry Reading LIVE on the Internet

We proposed a plan to take our poetry reception to a new level. We thought that the poets

would like to present their work in some way… and we watched the Russell Library take many of their

projects on-line. We presented it, the Library got on board, the poets enthusiastically responded, and

we were off!

The third and final step was the "GO-LIVE event.” Everyone was prepared, dressed for the

occasion, and excited for their internet DEBUT! I am happy to report that all went well. The poets were

pleased with the outcome. The Library staff said they had lots of fun working with our team, and were

very impressed with our poets’ work. And several Altrusans were online to talk about our club, the

project, and even present some poems!

If you missed the live event, it was recorded, and is available on our Facebook page… go to

https://www.facebook.com/Altrusa.CentralCT/videos/419374388961635/

At the end of the program, we thanked the Poets for sharing their work, the Russell Library Gals for

helping us with technology, and the Altrusans who started this event 27 years ago, and kept it going

strong! We truly hope to have our face-to-face event next April, but if our Covid situation does not

improve, we now have a very viable alternative!!!

We needed 3 ZOOM sessions to make this a reality. First step was a “Tech Check” with all our

poets. We needed to make sure each had adequate computer resources (camera, microphone and

bandwidth) to participate. We talked about Good Videoconference Etiquette, such as centering

yourself in the space, removing distracting things behind you, removing background noises, how to turn

on/off your video and microphone. The second call was our “Dress Rehearsal”, where we ran through

our script, smoothed over some bumps in the road, and got everyone comfortable with the process.

Linda Ring

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Altrusa Club News

Kathleen Didato

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Altrusa Club News

Altrusa Raffle 2020 – Support Local Business I hope everyone is enjoying their summer within the limitations placed on us all by COVID-19.

Update on the 2020 Raffle.

Ellen Paris has donated a $25.00 gift card to 99 Restaurant and sent me a check for $25.00 which I will

use to purchase another gift card. In addition to her most generous grand prize donation – Getaway to

Newport – Linda Ring has another donation. She has obtained a beautiful, hand made patchwork quilt.

Kudos to you Linda for thinking outside the “Covid” box! I purchased a $50.00 Amazon gift card while I

was checking out at the grocery store. It was easy and convenient. If anyone would like to contribute but

is unsure of venturing out to a store or restaurant, you can mail me a check and I will shop for you.

I know these are tough times and there is much financial uncertainty. I’m asking again for all members

that are able to purchase a gift card from a local business or restaurant that has supported the Raffle

with donations in previous years.

I am happy to pick up donations at any time or……when you come to Proteins and Products for the

Pantry at St Pius Church on August 22nd, you can drop off your Raffle donation at the same time.

It is already August, summer goes by to fast under any circumstances and we will making preparations

for the next leg of the Raffle journey right after Labor Day. Thank you all in advance for your continued

support of the Raffle Fundraiser. Lynne Havlicek

Lynne Havlicek Time to Think

Eyes open wide, out the window I stare,

wondering how long this Covid-19 will fare.

Calling friends up to hear their fears,

remembering gatherings in past years.

Holding travel plans in the shredder,

asking myself “When will times be better”.

Praying for medical staff every day, and

front line workers in the month of May.

For families working at home with

stress, teaching their children in chaos and

mess.

People with parents in convalescent

places, not able to hug or kiss their faces.

This is a time of great regression, when

the value of life is our deepest possession.

We are facing change far beyond

measure, when a simple touch is a past

pleasure.

Graduates unable to mark completion,

frozen in time for a future season.

Looking at family through the glass,

memorizing faces to make memory last.

Working from home, or not at all,

watching our economy take a steep fall.

When will the window scene change

outside to bring a halt to this surreal ride.

Ellen Paris

What’s in your Altrusa Resume? (Primarily for the club president but interesting to all club

members)

How well do you know your members?

What are their likes/dislikes?

Favorite projects?

Aspirations?

It’s important to have a reference for a couple of

reasons…

1. When your nominating committee starts their

work, it would be a great reference for that

team.

2. If you were ever nominated for our Gabrielle

Crepeau

Leadership Award, it is nice to have all your

Altrusa Service documented in one place. She

attached an Altrusa Resume Template to the

mailing in hopes that each President will

complete it for the Governor, and consider

asking their club members to do the same for

them!

Good News from the Governor

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Altrusa Club News

7thAnnual

Pack the Pick-up with Proteins for the Pantry

Promoted with an Enhanced Program

As Altrusans, we are known to go up the mountain, around the mountain and through the mountain

to attain our goal of service. No obstacle can get in our way. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic,

Proteins was in jeopardy as food drives cannot be held at this time at our local grocers. I contacted

Father John, pastor at St Pius X Church, to inquire if we could use the lower parking lot to provide a

venue for Proteins. Donations could be dropped off with social distancing. Fr. John asked if we

might expand the event to include personal products. Catholic Charities had sent out a request for

personal products and school supplies to assist in the needs of families. A quick contact to Altrusa

President Jamie, Gerry Bennett from Soroptimist and Civitans gave me the go ahead and a venue

was secured. Fr. John has already started publicizing the event in the Parish bulletin.

The 7th annual Pack the Pick-up with Proteins and Product for the Pantry will be held Saturday,

August 22, 2020 from 8 AM – 12 Noon. Stations will be set up to separate food and monetary

donations from personal products for easy delivery. We also have a rain date of Saturday, August

29, 2020 for the same times. St. Pius X Church is located at 310 Westfield St., Middletown.

We will need to have volunteers to accept and sort donations. Please contact me, Pat Jackowski at

H: 860-344-8622 or C: 860-638-8018 to discuss times available. We need to mindful of social

distancing and wear masks. I am so excited to expand this project and the venue generosity of St.

Pius X Church as we

Pack the Pick-up with Proteins and Product for the Pantry!

Pat Jackowski

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Altrusa International of Central CT, Inc.

P.O. Box 2532

Middletown, CT 06457

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Altrusa Community News