Administrative Information | Search Terms | Background Note | Scope and Contents Note | Arrangement | PDF of Finding Aid
 

COLLECTION SUMMARY

Title:     District Seven, Altrusa International, Inc. conference proceedings

Dates:     1956-1995

Creator:     Ardelle Roberts, member, District Seven, Altrusa International, Inc.

Physical Description:     1.26 linear feet—3 containers

Collection number:     MA 16

Language:     Collection material in English.

Repository:     South Dakota State University Archives, Hilton M. Briggs Library, South Dakota State University, Brookings, S.D.

Abstract:     This collection is composed of conference proceedings for conference and president’s workshops held between 1956 and 1995. Folders contents consist of programs, reports, banquet menus, and minutes, including pre-conference, conference and post-conference.

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Provenance:    This collection was donated to the archives in January 2007 by Ardelle Roberts, member of District Seven, Altrusa International, Inc.

Access Restrictions:     This collection is open to research without restriction. Items in this collection do not circulate and may be used in-house only.

Copyright Status:     Copyright 2009 by South Dakota State University and SDSU Archives. Please credit the SDSU Archives if you copy or reproduce material from this finding aid.

It is the responsibility of anyone reproducing material to determine the copyright holders and obtain permission from them if necessary. Archives staff will provide available copyright information on request. Please note that most collections, especially those received before 1997, may not have complete information on file. (Revised 15 SEP 2003)

Preferred Citation:     [Identification of item]. District Seven, Altrusa International, Inc. conference proceedings, MA 16, South Dakota State University Archives, South Dakota State University, Brookings, S.D.

Processing Information:    This collection was processed by Crystal J. Gamradt on September 15, 2009,

SELECTED SEARCH TERMS

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the subject guide. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

Subjects:

• Altrusa International, Inc.—District Seven.

• Proceedings (Altrusa International, Inc. District Seven. Conference)

BACKGROUND NOTE

Dr. Alfred Durham, a member of Kiwanis, founded the Altrusa Institute in Nashville in 1917. Record numbers of women were going to work during World War I. Dr. Durham saw the need for women’s civic organizations. While he would organize the clubs and collect a portion of the dues, Dr. Durham envisioned the Altrusa Institute as a chain of national clubs where business and professional women could meet and exchange ideas.

Dr. Durham’s idea caught on. He organized clubs in Nashville, Louisville, and Dayton before he moved on to Indianapolis where he met Mamie L. Bass.

Mamie L. Bass had served as the Superintendent of the Women’s Division US Employment Services as well as being a partner in her brother’s architecture firm and assisting her brother in organizing a Rotary chapter in Indianapolis. While she admired Dr. Durham’s Institute, Bass felt that Altrusa could serve a higher purpose. In June 1918, when Altrusa held its first convention in Indianapolis, Mamie L. Bass’s vision became reality. The Altrusa Institute became a classified service organization for women.

Now a classified service organization, the Altrusa Institute renamed itself the National Association of Altrusa Clubs and adopted By-Laws that laid the groundwork for today’s Altrusans. Soon after, Mamie L. Bass created the Principles of Altrusa which defined Altrusa as "a builder of women" and an organization based on merit and accomplishment. The Principles were officially adopted in 1921 along with a major club building effort. By 1922, Altrusa had 20 clubs.

Since the organization required its members to be working professionals, Altrusa decided to make vocational education for women a national policy. Vocational Guidance expanded over the years to include not only scholarships and guidance for young women but older women as well.

Altrusa became international in 1935 when Altrusa organized its first club in Mexico. From that first step over US borders in 1935, Altrusa moved into` Puerto Rico, Chile, Equador, Mexico, India, Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Ireland, Great Britain, Bermuda, Canada, and New Zealand. In 1946, Altrusa sent its first representative to the United Nations.

In the sixties, Altrusans began to look to America’s youth as the future of Altrusa. In 1966, ASTRA was established. ASTRA service clubs target young women ages 13 to 21 and encourage them in their educations, professions and service to society. Expanding on its commitment to youth, Altrusa adopted literacy as on going service in 1977, and in 1997, Altrusa Foundation adopted Camp Safe Haven for children with HIV/AIDS.

The eighties and nineties brought many exciting changes to Altrusa. With the end of Communism, the former Soviet Union saw its first Altrusa clubs. With its increasingly global outlook, Altrusa expanded its projects beyond literacy and education. In 1989, Altrusa adopted a resolution to promote environmental concerns.

Today, despite issues of international concern, Altrusa is, first and foremost, a community based, grassroots organization that seeks to solve the problems in our back yards. Busy Altrusans raise money for local charities, volunteer at battered women’s shelters, help runaway teens, build houses for Habitat for Humanity, and so much more. Inspired by Thoreau, Mamie L. Bass put it best, "it is not enough to be good; Altrusans must be good for something."

Altrusa clubs are grouped by districts pertaining to their geographic location. District Seven is composed of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Michigan, and Wisconsin

SCOPE and CONTENTS NOTE

This collection is composed of conference proceedings for conference and president’s workshops held between 1956 and 1995. Folders contents consist of programs, reports, banquet menus, and minutes, including pre-conference, conference and post-conference.

ARRANGEMENT of the RECORDS

Folders are arranged in chronological order by conference year.

Box 1.

Box 2.

Box 3.

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