Altrusa of Montrose wins International Relations Award

Members of the International Relations committee hold the 1st Place certificate awarded by Altrusa International, Inc. in recognition of their projects emphasizing Himalayan empowerment through education in Nepal, Tibet, and Afghanistan.
Pictured are Rose Price, Carol Parker, Diane Winger, and Val Burnell.

Altrusa of Montrose was honored with a 1^st Place award for projects supporting education in Himalayan regions during the worldwide organization’s biennial convention held recently in Indianapolis, IN. The Dr. Nina Fay Calhoun International Relations Award was established to encourage and stimulate international relations, to create an awareness of other cultures and people of the world, and to recognize outstanding achievement in international relations by Altrusa clubs.

Our club’s winning projects were:

· Three Cups of Tea - Building Hope in Central Asia – We organized and sponsored four evening presentations at the library illuminating issues of literacy, culture, religion, gender and politics in Central Asia.

· Main in Motion - “If you read just ONE book…” – We loaned copies of Three Cups of Tea to anyone interested in reading it.

· Book Donations – We donated copies of the Young Reader’s edition of Three Cups of Tea and Listen to the Wind (both by Greg Mortenson) to all Montrose elementary and middle schools, plus the Montrose Library District

· Tibetan orphanage - In partnership with ASTRA, school supplies were provided to an impoverished school in remote Gorepani.

· Kiva micro-financing – We made several micro-loans to small groups in 3^rd world countries related to medical and educational needs.

Consider this: Altrusa International has clubs in more than 370 locations throughout the United States and nine other countries -- and our International projects were recognized, along with those of an Altrusa club in New Zealand, with this prestigious award!