Helping hands: Altrusa International of Centre County to hold mid-year school drive

Altrusa International of Centre County is committed to doing all we can to positively impact literacy. We are holding our second annual Mid-Year Madness where we provide school supplies, clothing, books and other items to two schools in Centre County (Bellefonte and Wingate elementary schools).

Each school has almost half of their students whose families are at or below the poverty level and receive free lunches. These schools had the highest free lunch rates in Centre County. Additionally, on average about half of the students at the schools read below grade level. From previous years’ literacy efforts we found out that the biggest help to the students and their parents would be to provide them with school supplies and warm clothing. This makes it easier for the students to concentrate on learning.

We know that many organizations provide supplies to schools at the beginning of the school year, but unfortunately most of them are gone by January. Therefore, we concentrate on a mid-year drive. We had a highly successful drive in 2024 and were able to provide the schools with books, supplies and clothing. We are hoping to partner with other organizations next month because together we can make a bigger difference. The need is much greater than any one organization can do.

Anyone (or any organization) that is interested in partnering with us can get more information by emailing the club at altrusacentreco@gmail.com .