Making the community a better place and supporting each other. Two things Altrusa International’s new Queenstown president Sharron Ede appreciates about a women’s service organisation she joined only three and a-half years ago. An office manager, she says she was encouraged to join by her predecessor Kate Dawson who had come to measure up for new curtains. “The truth is, I was quite lonely because with my job I’m on my own a lot — my best friend had moved back down to Invercargill.” Ede, who had previously been heavily involved in netball, says “they’re just a really great bunch of women who are happy to support you”. “I’ve had a few ups and downs in the last probably six months where they’ve been amazing. “They’re easy to get along with and we’re all there for the same reason — to make our community a better place.” With a membership of almost 30 — making it one of New Zealand’s strongest Altrusa clubs — they are very active, whether running their annual golf tournament fundraisers, quizzes and fashion shows, doing weekly reading sessions at Queenstown Primary or making up menstrual packs for young women in Third World countries. “There is a lot that goes on, I don’t know how we do it half the time,” Ede says. One initiative she is interested in is possibly setting up something for school girls, following the example of Timaru’s Altrusa club which established an Astra group for 13- to 18-year-olds. scoop@scene.co.nz
