Altrusa International of Ames, Inc.
Latest News
What are we doing now?
Holiday Home Tour Grant Recipients
At our January meeting, we awarded five $2,000 grants from our successful 2025 Holiday Home Tour ticket sales. Five generous homeowners opened their decorated homes for all to enjoy. All proceeds from ticket sales was divided among five local grant recipients:
Ames Community Theater-ACTORS
Cultivating Hope Farms
Food At First
Legal Aid Society of Story County
University Community Childcare
Altrusa of Ames is committed to supporting our local nonprofits so they can continue work that improves the Ames community.
​
Our busy December!
Altrusa of Ames was all work and all play in December. We hosted the Ames community’s 35th Annual Holiday Home Tour, raising enough funds to fully support grant requests for five Story County nonprofit agencies. In addition, we held our monthly business meeting and took time to celebrate the success of the Home Tour. We wrapped up the month with a festive cookie exchange among club members. It was a busy but rewarding December—one that allowed us to set and accomplish meaningful community service goals while also enjoying time together as a club.
Building Friendships
Our Membership Committee organizes monthly get togethers where we gather to laugh, connect, and lift each other higher-building real friendships that inspire. We support local businesses by meeting in a variety of locations around town. This photo was taken at our November gathering.
Holiday Giving
Spreading joy and hope this holiday season, Altrusa of Ames extended our support for those in need in our community. We donated to our Ames Police program, "Shop With A Cop" plus donated 170 pairs of socks to the Bridge Home (adult socks for homeless support) and Martha's House of Hope (infant and children socks for expectant and new mothers). Pictured are our Membership Committee Co-Chairs, delivering socks to the separate homes.
Make A Difference
Trick or Treat For Literacy
Together, Altrusa of Ames and Downtown Ames on October 30 sparked a love for reading in our community through our annual Make a Difference Project, Trick or Treat for Literacy! 📚✨ Every child that stopped at our table left with a free book, a sweet treat, and a glow bracelet. Over 170 books were given away! 💡
Midwest Mission Mat
Midwest Mission's project is to make Plarn Sleeping Mats. Plarn is plastic yarn made out of plastic grocery bags. The Sleeping Mats are sent internationally and locally to homeless or any place needing a clean and quick drying mat to sleep on. Representatives from Midwest Mission have come to speak and show us how the mats are made. This mat was made from the colorful bags in our Altrusa colors, which we donated to have this mat made.
Working with Ames service organizations
Donating to local pantries and community school
Wednesday, September 17 was a new collaboration with several Ames Community Service Organizations - "Celebrate Community!" Our groups collected non-perishable food and pantry items for MICA, Food at First, Bethesda Church and Salvation Army pantries in Ames and toiletries for the Ames Community Schools Ames Center. Service groups participating were: Kiwanis International, Lions International, Altrusa International of Ames, Optimist International and Rotary International.
Celebrating the Holidays
At the December meeting, our club celebrated the success of our 2025 Holiday Home tour with holiday treats, Christmas game, and heard a close-to-final tour report.
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."