|Image= [[File:Epsilon_Gamma.jpg|200px]]
|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1958|11|08}}
|College= [httphttps://www.unc.edu/index.htm University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill]
|Location= Chapel Hill, NC
|Homepage= [https://chaptersunc.kappakappagammakappa.org/epsilongamma/ Epsilon Gamma Homepage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Epsilon_Gamma Media related to Epsilon Gamma Chapter]}}
'''2,111 447 initiates (as of June 20122018)'''
'''Charter Members:'''
Bryte Baker Abernethy, Sarah Randolph Adams, Sarah Fletcher Bryan, Janet Barbara Cobbs, Carolyn Sue Cohen, Alice Dannenbaum, Louise Holliday Deifell II, Judith Dale Doherty, Nancy Elizabeth Evans, Carol Griffith Freeman, Joyce Elaine Funai, Patricia Douglas Hamer, Edith Folger Hurt, Elizabeth Ione Johnson, Norma Lynn Merchant, Charlotte Ann Pope, Nancy Anne Tunnell, Cameron Lee Whittemore.
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Birch Lipford (Carlson), Graduate Counselor 1967-1968;
Dorothea Lawendick (Bitler), Graduate Counselor 1977-1978;
Fabian Griffin (Thornhill), Graduate Counselor 1977-1979;Willa Jones (Kane), Graduate Counselor 1978-1980;S.E. Spencer, Leadership Consultant and Chapter Consultant 2014 - 2018;
Martha Hendrix Kaley: Ms. Kaley was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992. She founded Friends for an Earlier Breast Cancer Test (Friends), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting awareness and education and to raising funds for research into earlier detection of breast cancer. Since its inception in 1995, Friends has awarded nearly $3 million in seed grants to qualifying projects. It continues to offer several grants to be used for pilot projects in the area of early breast cancer detection. Friends awards up to $40,000 over a 1-3 year period.
Events in 2011 included: Big Barn Bash and Sapphire Ball. Build a Block (a program to build housing for families of employees of the University)
==Highlights of 2012==
The year of 2012 was filled with many exciting events and accomplishments for Epsilon Gamma chapter. In January and February, we participated in Spring Recruitment. Dinners at the house, a s'mores night, and a Gossip Girl viewing party were among the different recruitment events. After Spring Recruitment we were proud to gain eleven new memebers. Our spring bid day theme was, "If you're one of us, then roll with us" and the chapter went to a roller skating rink for a night of fun and bonding. The chapter held the Blue and Blue Banquet and Initation for the new members on March 16th and 17th.
In February, many girls in the chapter took part in the UNC Dance Marathon, which is a 24 hour event that benefits the UNC Children's Hospital. On March 23rd, the chpater hosted a philanthropy event with Kappa Alpha Order named "Q for the Cause." A barbeque was served on the quad with live bands for entertainment, and the event raised $700 for UNC's Relay for Life. A team of Kappas represented the chapter during Relay for Life in April, which benefits the American Cancer Society. Due to the chapter's dedication to philanthropy, the chapter was honored to receive the Betty Ann Hancock Award for Community Involvement.
The chapter also enjoyed several social functions throughout the semester such as mixers with Kappa Alpha Order, Delta Upsilon, and Pi Labmda Lambda Phi. Other events included a Heartbreaker's themed date function, a Grab-A-Date event at Player's Club, Preformal, and of course, Formal. The Sapphire Ball was held at a very exclusive location, the Blue Zone at Kenan Stadium on March 31st. The chapter continued to strengthen our sisterhood with activities such as making Valentine's Cards for a retirement home in February and a Mardi-Gras themed pancake dinner in March.
Additionally, we had four active sisters as well as members of our house board attend the Kappa Kappa Gamma convention in Jacksonville over the summer, where our chapter received a house board award!
The overall nature of our chapter has been strengthened this past year. One example is the improvement of our academic excellence. For the Fall 2011 semester, our chapter GPA was 3.224. We were ranked 10 out of 11 Panhellenic chapters and 23 out of all 54 fraternities and sororities. However, for the Spring 2012 semester the GPA was 3.330, and we advanced to 4 out of 11 Panhellenic chapters and 7 out of 54 fraternities and sororities. Additionally, our philanthropy involvement has been very strong. In Fall 2012 alone, our chapter completed over 5,000 hours of service and volunteer work.
==Highlights of 2020s:==
From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship==Highlights of 2013== 2013 was an exciting year for Epsilon Gamma Chapter. In January and February we participated in spring recruitment, which included events such as cupcake decorating, dessert outings, and Build-a-Bear making for the UNC children’s hospital. After spring recruitment, seven new members joined our chapter, and we welcomed them with a fun, casino themed bid day. On March 22nd and 23rd, the chapter held our Blue and Blue Banquet and Initiation for the new members. Throughout the year, our chapter continued to be active in various philanthropies. To support our national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental, we visited a kindergarten classroom at E.K. Powe Elementary School in Durham, NC. During these visits, we read to the students, helped them make crafts, and went on nature walks with them. We held service opportunities that the house, including making care packages for soldiers and making valentine cards for senior centers. We also had many sisters participate in on-campus philanthropies such as UNC Dance Marathon and Relay for Life. Dance Marathon, which was held in February, is a 24 hour event that benefits UNC Children’s Hospitals. Relay for Life raises money for the American Cancer Society, and our participants were on a team called “Kappas for a Cure.” On April 5th, we hosted a barbecue, called “Q for the Cause,” with Kappa Alpha Order to support this philanthropy. A band played as this event, and those who attended were served a delicious barbecue dinner. In addition to our philanthropies, our chapter enjoyed many social events throughout the semester. We had a fun, cartoon themed mixer with Kappa Alpha Order. Other events included the Heartbreakers themed date function, a thrift shop themed function, formal, and post-formal. Formal was held at the Carolina Governors Club, a very sophisticated venue. The day after formal, a paradise themed post formal was held at Pantana Bob’s. Sisterhood continued to play an important role in our chapter. In February, we went on a sisterhood retreat to a nearby campground. During the retreat, we played fun team building games that helped as grow closer as a chapter. We had a group honors/of sisters attended Province in Kentucky, where we received awardsfor risk management and our outstanding house board. When we returned to school in August for the Fall 2013 semester, we got straight to work on fall recruitment. After plenty of hard work, 48 new members joined our chapter. To celebrate our new members, we had a Lau themed bid day. Once recruitment ended, we were busy preparing for our Tar Heel Trot 5K, that was held on September 29th. This race benefits Friends for an Earlier Breast Cancer Test, an organization founded by Epsilon Gamma alumnae, traditionsMartha Kaley. We welcomed Martha Kaley for a visit to one of our chapter meetings, and her visit inspired us to work even harder on the race. On the Thursday before our Sunday morning race, we held a Kappapasta dinner to help raise money for it. Altogether, our chapter raised $14,500 with Tar Heel Trot and Kappasta. October was a very busy month for our chapter. On the first Sunday of the month, we went to a corn maze as a sisterhood event. On October 10th, we had our big-little reveal, and we were all excited about the new additions to our Kappa families. The next night, the new members had their pledge class retreat at the house and bonded with their new sisters. We celebrated Founder’s Day on October 13th with a brunch and a special ceremony. Blue and Blue and Initiation was held on October 25th and 26th, and we were glad to officially call our new members sisters. Social eventsthis semester included a “Throw Down for you Hometown” themed mixer with the brothers of Delta Upsilon. We also had a Boots and Bowties date function and Semiformal. Semiformal was held on November 15th at Top of the Hill, and a live band played at the event. Sisterhood activities continued to be fun for all members of our chapter. In November, we went ice-skating. In December, we had a Holiday Extravaganza that included sweatshirt painting, ornament making, and cookie eating. We take great pride in all we have accomplished in this past calendar year, and look forward to seeing what 2014 has to offer us. In 2013, UNC Chapel Hill has experienced some important changes . Our 11th Chancellor, Carol L. Folt, was installed on July 1st, 2013. She is UNC’s first woman leader. Also, our football team defeated Cincinnati and was the champion on the Belk Bowl in Charlotte. We have strengthened the overall nature of our chapter in this past year. We have fostered stronger relationships within the Greek community, and some of our sisters served on the Panhellenic governing body. In Spring 2013, our house was officially a hundred years old, and it was inducted into the historical home society. Also, we remain a very active chapter in terms of philanthropy, our chapter completed over 5,000 hours of service in this year. In Spring 2013, our chapter GPA was a 3.166. In Fall 2013, our GPA rose to a 3.197. Both of these semesters, our GPA ranked 11 out of 11 Panhellenic sororities, but we look forward to doing all we can do in the next year to continue raising our GPA and improving our chapter! ==Highlights of 2014== 2014 was an exciting year for Epsilon Gamma Chapter. In January and February we participated in spring recruitment that included events such as intimate dinner outings and an ice cream social. After spring recruitment, seven new members joined our chapter and we welcomed them with a fun Olympics themed bid day which included a trip to the ice skating rink. On March 28th and 29th the chapter held our Blue and Blue banquet and Initiation for the new members. Throughout the year our chapter continued to be active in various philanthropies such as donating books to the Cover to Cover project and promoting the importance of literacy in elementary school children throughout the Greek community. We also had many sisters participate in on -campus philanthropies such as UNC Dance Marathon and Relay for Life. Dance Marathon, which was held in March, is a 24 hour event that benefits UNC Children's hospitals. Relay for Life raises money for the American Cancer Society, and our chapter had a team participate. In March we held a barbeque called "Q for the Cause" with Kappa Alpha Order to support Relay for Life. We had several acapella groups perform at this event and those who attended were served delicious barbeque. In addition to our philanthropic endeavors, our chapter enjoyed many social events throughout the semester We had a fun Heartbreakers themed date function, a mixer with Kappa Alpha Order, pre-formal, and formal. Pre-Formal was held at He's Not Here and Formal was held at the Rizzo Conference Center. Sisterhood continued to play an important role in our chapter. We attended a great sisterhood retreat at the beach. We did many low ropes courses and participated in leadership and team building activities. When we returned to school in August for the Fall 2014 semester, we got straight to work on fall recruitment. For the first time we held a work week before classes started to prepare for recruitment so sisters could focus on their classes. After plenty of hard work, 60 new members joined our chapter. To celebrate our new members we held a Masters themed bid day with an exciting trip to an arcade center. Once recruitment ended we had our "Q for the Cause" barbeque. Similarly to the spring semester event, we had acapella performances and enjoyed delicious barbeque. We also began participating in our national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental, by going to several elementary schools and reading with the children. We have also began collecting books for a low income elementary school to improve their literacy over the summer. October was a busy month for Epsilon Gamma. We held big-little reveal on October 2nd and we were all excited to welcome new members to our families. Our new members also went on their new member sleepover and played fun sisterhood games. We celebrated Founders Day on October 13th with a special ceremony and some delicious desserts. Blue and Blue Banquet and Initiation were held the weekend of October 24th and 25th. We were delighted to call our new members our sisters! Social events also played a large role in the fall semester. We had a "My Tie" date function, a parents weekend function, an "80s Ski Lodge" grab-a-date function, a mixer with Kappa Alpha Order and our semiformal event. Semiformal was held on November 21st at R&R Grill. We had a live band perform at the event. We also have participated in many sisterhood events. In September we went on a sisterhood retreat to Camp Hanes. The camp had many fun activities for us such as archery, canoeing, and leadership building games. We also had a holiday extravaganza that included sweatshirt painting, cookie decorating, and ornament making. We take great pride in all we have accomplished in this past calendar year and we look forward to seeing what 2015 has to offer us! This year while UNC has faced academic scandal, our school has continued to flourish. Our basketball team won a magnificent home game against our rival Duke and made a great run in the NCAA tournament. We have strengthened the overall nature of our chapter in this past year. We have fostered stronger relationships within the Greek community, and some of our sisters served on the PanHellenic governing body. In 2015 we look forward to welcoming a new chapter of Alpha Phi onto our campus. Our historic home underwent a few minor renovations and upgrades such as new bathrooms on the third floor, re-painting of the walls, and a new storage room for girls to put their coats and book bags. Also, we remain a very active chapter in terms of philanthropy; our chapter completed over 5,000 hours of community service this year. We continue to work hard on our academics as well and are continuously trying to improve our overall chapter GPA. Our chapter holds meeting in our historic home on the corner of Pittsboro and McCauley streets. Epsilon Gamma owns our home and we have been in the same home since our chapter was founded at UNC in 1958. Our home houses approximately 33 girls. Unique to our chapter, we also have an annex that we call Study House. Study House contains rooms for group projects or meetings and also sisters old class materials to help those who are currently enrolled in those classes. ==Highlights of 2015==2015 was another great year for Epsilon Gamma Chapter. In January and February we participated inspring recruitment, which allowed us to welcome 14 new members to our chapter. During springrecruitment, we held fun and intimate events such as an outing at a local bakery and a night where weinvited pnms to our historic home to watch a UNC basketball game. The Spring recruitment Bid Daywent off without a hitch, where we welcomed the new members to our chapter. A Mardi Gras theme waswell received by our chapter and its new members as we traveled to a local bowling alley. EpsilonGamma held Blue and Blue Banquet and initiation on the weekend of March 27-28. Before initiation,the new members were able to bond and learn about the rich history of Kappa through the New Membermeetings. This year, we partnered with new Greek organizations to put on a philanthropy event called“Walk a Mile” on April 9th, which helped to raise awareness, and start the conversation about sexualassault. This event was the first time that all four Greek councils at UNC had partnered together, anaccomplishment Epsilon Gamma is proud to be a part of. In March, our chapter had a team participatein UNC’s Dance Marathon, a 24-hour marathon benefitting UNC Hospitals. This year the marathon,with the help of Epsilon Gamma sisters, raised over half a million dollars. While EG was busy beinginvolved on campus and hosting philanthropy events, we also held many social events including mixers,cocktails, formal, and post formal. Some of the highlight events of the spring semester were the Derbythemed mixer, the Valentine’s Day Heartbreakers cocktail and formal and post-formal. Formal was heldon Friday April 10 at Top of the Hill, a landmark location in Chapel Hill. After much dancing and fun,Epsilon Gamma had a post-formal the following afternoon at He’s Not Here, another notorious UNClandmark. Formal and post-formal cocktail were the last events of the spring semester and both eventswere a great way to send off our senior sisters who were moving on to bright futures! When we returned to school in August for the Fall 2015 semester, we got straight to work on fall recruitment. Work week was held the week before classes started to prepare for recruitment. This way, sisters could focus on their classes when school started and we would be all set for Recruitment. Afterplenty of hard work, 48 new members joined our chapter. Bid Day, was so exciting and welcoming forour new members and our sisters. With an American theme and lots of yummy food, including a food truck, bid day was a success. Once recruitment ended and school had settled in, Epsilon Gamma had our annual "Q for the Cause" barbeque dinner, with all funds going to Earlier.org. By partnering with Kappa Alpha Order, we were able to raise more money for our local philanthropy. Earlier.org is an organization started an Epsilon Gamma alumna that works to find an earlier test for breast cancer. We continued our work with Reading is Fundamental, by going to several elementary schools and reading with the children at after school programs in the Triangle. This year, we also partnered with Pi Beta Phi to celebrate Read Across America Day on March 2. In the spring of 2015, after many months of collecting children's books, we donated over 4,000 books to a North Carolina elementary school. October was a busy month for Epsilon Gamma. We held big-little reveal on October 8th and we were all excited to welcome new members to our families. Our new members attended their new member retreat at our house where they played games and got to know each other better, a good time was had by all. We celebrated Founder's Day on October 13th with a special ceremony, where we welcomed alumni back, and indulged in some delicious desserts. Blue and Blue Banquet and Initiation were held the weekend of October 24th and 25th. We were delighted to call our new members our sisters! Social events also played a large role in the fall semester. We had a “Lazy Afternoon” date function following recruitment, a parent’s weekend function, a “Throwdown for your Hometown” mixer with Lambda Chi Alpha, a “Woodstock” themed mixer with Alpha Sigma Phi, and a Halloween mixer with Sigma Phi Epsilon. We also had our semi formal event,which was enjoyed by all. Semi Formal was held on November 14th at R&R Grill with a live band performing at the event. Epsilon Gamma also held many sisterhood events this year. In October we took a sisterhood event to the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh where sisters rode rides and enjoyed somedelicious food. In November, we traveled to the mountains for our sisterhood retreat, which was held at Blue Ridge Assembly. The camp had many fun activities for us, such as a high ropes course, hiking trails, and sisterhood games. The retreat was a great way for our sisters to get away from campus and getto strengthen our sisterhood. We also had a holiday extravaganza that included making gingerbread houses, holiday cards, and enjoying the holiday season with our sisters. We take great pride in all we have accomplished in this past calendar year and we look forward to seeing what 2016 has to offer us! The 2015 calendar year contained many exciting things on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill. It hascertainly been a year of standout athletics from many of the teams around campus. Firstly our football had a stellar season that led them to the ACC championship in December. Unfortunately the Tarheelsfell short of a victory against Clemson, however our Kappa sisters enjoyed attending football games and supporting the Tarheels together! The UNC men’s basketball team is also off to a great start for their season, with numerous polls ranking them as the number one team in the nation. Epsilon Gamma sisterswill most definitely have a lot to look forward to on the court in 2016! In the academic sphere, UNC biochemist, Aziz Sancar, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Chemistry for his work with the mapping of cancer cells. In light of the recent academic scandal it is clear that the University of NorthCarolina Chapel Hill has a bright future ahead whether it be in academics or in athletics! '''Chapter Philanthropy:''' Epsilon Gamma continues to support several organizations, among them Reading is Fundamental, ournational philanthropy, and Earlier.org, a foundation dedicated to the early detection of breast cancer areour main focuses. We support RIF by going weekly to local elementary schools and reading with thechildren. We have also had sisters start a library at a disadvantaged school, E.K. Powe Elementary, andEpsilon Gamma helped to provide books for these students to take home over the summer. Our chapter supports RIF, not only because it is Kappa’s national philanthropy, but also because thesisters of Epsilon Gamma believe that interacting with today’s youth is a great way to make a difference.Sisters continually love to work with the children of local elementary schools and are consistentlyasking to go back. We support Earlier.org because an Epsilon Gamma alumnus, Martha Kaley, foundedthe sight and we continue to support her throughout her endeavors to find an earlier method of detectingbreast cancer. ==Highlight 2016== This year was incredibly eventful and successful for the Epsilon Gamma chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. We accomplished many wonderful things and are proud of the progress we have made over the past year! We started the year with a fun winter cocktail on January 22nd at the Strowd. That was followed up by a Loggers and Joggers themed mixer with Sigma Phi Epsilon at Country Fried Duck on February 2nd. During the Spring of 2016, Epsilon Gamma initiated 4 new members. For bid day, we had a build your own ice cream sundae bar where the new members were welcomed with sisters from each pledge class. Our third event was our fourth annual Heart Breakers cocktail on Valentine’s day at the Strowd and sisters wore their best 80’s attire and danced the night away. For new member retreat, we attended a pottery painting facility where we spent the evening expressing ourselves and getting to know each other. On February 24th, Epsilon Gamma began our philanthropic year with a benefit night at Artisan Pizza Kitchen. We enjoyed delicious pizza and raised $235 for Reading is Fundamental. On March 2nd we partnered with Pi Beta Phi to host Read Across America day in the pit. Members of Kappa and Pi Phi worked together to distribute informational materials. In addition, Kappa sisters purchased Pura Vida bracelets, with going to benefit our end of the year bookfair. After a 6-week new member education period, the new members were initiated at the Delta Beta (Duke) chapter on March 5th. We mixed with Lambda Chi Alpha at Pantana Bob’s on March 5th and enjoyed the Hawaiian theme in preparation for spring break. On March 23rd our sisters competed in the annual Greek Groove competition using a sports themed dance routine. While Epsilon Gamma didn’t win our sisters put on an amazing performance and had a lot of fun. On April 7th Kappa Kappa Gamma hosted Its on Us with Sigma Phi, Chi Psi and Alpha Chi Omega. It’s On Us is a national campaign that fights sexual assault on college campuses. Kappa Kappa Gamma worked closely with Sigma Phi and our other partners to customize this initiative for UNC. This event had over 800 people in attendance and raised $8500 for the Orange County Rape Crisis Center. The event itself began with speakers, including Chancellor Folt and Lauren Debskii, a survivor of sexual assault. Attendees then participated in a reflective walk around both quads. The event was concluded with dinner and respectful discussions in small groups. The Epsilon Gamma chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma has always had a strong sisterhood and this past year was no different. In the spring of 2016 the chapter attended a Durham bulls minor league baseball team game on April 8th. Sisters ate hotdogs and french fries to their heart's content, while watching the Durham bulls barely win the game in the 9th inning. After coming back from break, we had everyone’s favorite event of the year, Formal. This was held on April 16th at Top of the Hill Distillery. On May 7th Epsilon Gamma hosted a brunch for all the seniors to wish them well and celebrate their years at UNC and in Kappa Kappa Gamma. Throughout the year, Kappa Kappa Gamma collected money and books for a primary school in Thomasville, North Carolina. Many of these children do not own books, and the summer can be debilitating in terms of their literacy development. To combat this problem, Kappa Kappa Gamma distributed approximately 4500 books, which allowed each student of Thomasville to select and take home 5 books. This event was held May 16th. We started off the fall with formal recruitment where we sang songs, met potential new members, and even had a fun new cheer, which was borrowed from our sisters at Ole Miss to make sure our excitement & pride for Kappa shined through. To adjust with the new "no frills" policy, we incorporated our colors, light blue & dark blue, in our decor to show Kappa spirit! After all of our hard work, 42 new sisters ran home to us on bid day! During the Fall of 2016, we welcomed 42 new members into sisterhood of Kappa Kappa Gamma. For bid day on September 7th, the theme was “Go Kappa – That Blue and Blue looks good on you.” Our house was decorated with two banners, blue streamers, and blue balloons. When new members arrived at the house, they received a new tank top as well as a bag with fun Kappa gifts. Both new members and sisters alike enjoyed the inflatable slide, photo booth, and DJ. To help welcome our new members we had our first cocktail on September 9th on the day after Bid day to celebrate. To immerse the new members into all things Kappa, Epsilon Gamma took the new members to Sky zone, a trampoline park, for their new member retreat on September 16th. The girls jumped the night away, making lasting friendships and great memories. On September 18th Epsilon Gamma hosted a academic excellence banquet to celebrate the 94 sisters who made the Dean's list last year, 47 of whom made the Dean’s list both semesters. Continuing our annual tradition, Kappa Kappa Gamma partnered with Kappa Alpha fraternity to host Q for the Cause on September 22nd. This benefit dinner is held at the Kappa house and raises money to support Earlier.org, a nonprofit that funds breast cancer research and that was started by an alumna of Epsilon Gamma chapter. To help our sisters celebrate family weekend, Epsilon Gamma hosted a parents cocktail at the Ackland Art Museum on the 23rd. In the fall of 2016, the chapter held its annual sisterhood retreat at Camp Hanes a YMCA camp in Boone, North Carolina from September 30th to October 1st. Over the entire weekend the chapter took part in a bonfire with s’mores, a talent show, team building exercises, canoeing, and jumping into the lake off a giant inflatable. One group of sisters even won Starbucks gift cards for being the first group to complete one of the balancing activities during team building. On October 13th we celebrated founders day with fun games and treats and even had a friendly competition between our sisters about who knew the most about Kappa’s history. On October 26th Epsilon Gamma had our big/little reveal where the new members found out who their big sisters were! Finally, the chapter took a trip to the North Carolina State Fair on October 15th, where sisters rode fair rides, toured the fair-grounds, and sampled everything from fried oreos to candy apples while attempting to win stuffed animals at fair games. We then had our mixer with Sigma Phi Epsilon on October 26th with a fun and festive Halloween theme. At the end of an 8-week new member education period, the new members were initiated on November 5th. Both the pledge class of Spring and Fall of 2016 are great additions to the Epsilon Gamma chapter. We have enjoyed every moment spent with these new members, and as sisters of Epsilon Gamma they bring not only enthusiasm but also appreciation of what it truly means to be a Kappa sister. With the presidential election this year, many of our sisters took the opportunity to get involved on campus and registered voters so that everyone could do their civil duty. Our sisters also kindly offered to help with the initiation of our new sisters at North Carolina State University and 50 sisters traveled to State to help with the installation. The sisters of Epsilon Gamma also had the incredible opportunity to meet the fraternities current president at the installation. After that, we had our Semi-formal at R&R Grille on November 12th to enjoy some time with our sisters and dates before Thanksgiving break. We had our last event of the year with Pi Lambda Phi at the Library on December 1st. The theme was ZooNC and this event was planned by the event assistant and everyone had a fantastic time. Epsilon Gamma was awarded the academic excellence award at convention this year for most improved academics. We were also awarded the Chapter Progress award by our Panhellenic community and a senior Emily Beaty received an Outstanding Senior Award also from our Panhellenic community. ==Highlights of 2017== 2017 was an amazing year for the Epsilon Gamma chapter filled with sisterhood, fun, and philanthropy. Our first event of the year was a "Draft a Date" sports-themed cocktail at Pantana Bob's on January 19th. This fun event was followed by an informal spring recruitment, where we welcomed 14 new members to our chapter and celebrated with a bid day dinner in the beginning of February. The next event of the semester was our annual Heartbreakers cocktail on February 11th. The Heartbreakers cocktail is an 80's rock-themed party where our sisters loved dancing to Bon Jovi and Guns N' Roses at The Strowd. We then had our first mixer of the semester on February 23rd with Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity at a brand new venue on Franklin Street called Might As Well. The theme of this event was Mardi Gras. Sisters bonded on February 25th when Kappa hosted Cheerwine and Design at the house. The local Wine and Design company came and taught a painting class where sisters painted the iconic UNC Bell Tower while munching on snacks. March was a big month for Kappa philanthropy. On March 2nd, Kappa and UNC Pi Beta Phi partnered for the annual Read Across America Day in celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday. In previous years, the event had consisted of handing out lollipops with literacy facts to passersby in the Pit. This year, we incorporated making bookmarks for local school children as well. The goal of this event was to help college students understand the scope of the illiteracy crisis in America today. On March 3rd, Kappa sisters sponsored a UNC Special Olympics athlete. Even though it was the same day as the UNC-Duke rivalry basketball game, many sisters turned out to the Special Olympics game armed with elaborate signs and cheers for our athlete. On March 4th, chapter members participated in a Habitat for Humanity build in a local Chapel Hill neighborhood. Sisters had fun getting their hands dirty and working hard to better their community. Our next philanthropic event was on March 10th when we partnered with a local group called TABLE to raise money to combat food insecurity. Called Starbyx and Kappacinos, we set up a pop-up coffee stand in the Pit and partnered with BYX for their very first philanthropic event. We raised over $300 for TABLE in just 4 hours. That same night we had a mixer with Sigma Phi Epsilon. This "Music Festival and Extra-Terrestrial" themed event was at The Library, and our sisters had a great time as always. On March 24th and 25th, many sisters participated in Carolina for the Kids’ UNC Dance Marathon where Kappa had the highest attendance of any organization on campus. Towards the end of March, we had Big-Little Reveal where all of our new members were matched with the perfect big. While the new members had loved getting to know all of the sisters in the chapter, they also had the opportunity to bond with each other at New Member Retreat. Our sisters still laugh over how at this retreat a friendly game of laser tag turned into a very competitive war simulation. Regardless, everyone had a blast. We had our last mixer of the semester on March 30th with Kappa Alpha Order. Our upperclassmen sisters loved this because we hadn't mixed with KA in 2 years. Everyone dressed as a character from their favorite TV show for this "You are what you Netflix" themed event at Pantana Bob's. The costumes were great conversation starters and our sisters had a blast dancing and enjoying the quesadillas and chicken tenders provided by Bob's. One of our favorite moments of the year was on April 3rd when many Kappas attended the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game between UNC and Gonzaga, watching as UNC became the 2017 National Champions. Us UNC Kappas love our basketball as we were ecstatic that night! Our final spring philanthropic event was It’s On Us, an extension of the White House campaign against sexual assault. Along with Sigma Phi, Kappa organized a walk on April 12th to raise awareness for sexual assault. The event included speakers from the UNC faculty and the Orange County Rape Crisis Center. The centerpiece of the event was a silent walk around the Quad while reading survivor stories. Over 400 people from over 20 organizations on campus attended the event and it raised over $5,000 for Orange County Rape Crisis Center. The event was covered by WRAL, News and Observer, Daily Tar Heel, and more. With 1 in 4 women being survivors of sexual assault, it’s an event our chapter holds dear to our hearts. We ended the semester’s festivities with our annual pre-formal and formal cocktail. Pre-formal was on Friday, April 21st at Country Fried Duck, followed by formal the next night at Top of the Hill. Everyone looked great, had an amazing time, and loved the band, The Troupers! Finally, on April 25th, many members attended a Durham Bulls Game for our final sisterhood event. While the game was slightly drizzly, members kept cozy by eating hot dogs and funnel cakes and sharing the warm bonds of sisterhood! We kicked off the fall semester with Formal Recruitment, during which we continued our transition to a no-frills style of recruitment. Although UNC experienced multiple setbacks due to norovirus and power outages, recruitment was a success! Round 1 was held on September 7th and 8th. We showed off our chapter's personality with a fun song and dance and wore matching shirts with other Panhellenic chapters to embrace no-frills. Round 2, philanthropy round, was held on September 9th. We told the PNMs all about Reading is Fundamental and our chapter's philanthropic activities with Q for the Cause and It’s On Us. Round 3, sisterhood and house tours round, was held on September 10th. We showed off our beautiful house, played a fun video of our sisterhood and made magic carpets to donate to Thomasville Elementary School. Round 4, preference round, was held on September 11th. We updated our preference round ceremony slightly but kept the focus on our chapter's values. In order to fully embrace no-frills recruitment, we limited the decorations in the house to one banner per round and posted photos of our sisters around the house to emphasize our chapter's strong sisterhood. After all of our hard work, 50 new members ran home to us on a Rock n' Roll themed Bid Day on September 12th! After having dinner at the house, both new members and old went to play laser tag and get to know each other in an evening full of fun and festivities. With weekly meetings on Sunday after chapter, the new members had the opportunity to learn about Epsilon Gamma chapter history, our sisterhood, and the workings of our fraternity. The new members got to experience their first sisterhood retreat with the chapter at Busch Gardens on September 16th. A total of 81 members went to enjoy a fun day of rollercoasters and other thrills. We welcomed the new members to our first social event of the year with our annual New Member Cocktail on September 22nd. The theme was My Tie, where sisters had fun getting to wear their dates’ ties for the night. On September 28th, we partnered with the fraternity BYX for the first time to host Q for the Cause. This event raised money for Earlier.org, a non-profit cancer research organization founded by an Epsilon Gamma alum. We raised over $1,500 at the event, a barbecue dinner attended by members of our campus community and neighbors alike. New members continued to get to know the active sisters by participating in fun mingle events like a dinner date, Minute to Win It games, and a football watch party. The football watch party happened on September 30th and while we lost to Miami, it was still a lot of fun. The dinner date, where new members and active sisters went to different places on Franklin Street, allowed them to get to know some of their new sisters and try out new foods at UNC! The Minute to Win It games offered for some fun competition when the new members divided into four teams and played games of cup stacking, balloon volleyball, and toilet paper mummy-making. Our next event was an Olympics-themed mixer with Pi Lambda Phi on October 6th at Might as Well on Franklin Street. Sisters had fun making creative costumes, ranging from gold medals to rings to athletes to video game characters! On October 13th we had our annual Parents Weekend event, the Parents Cocktail. This event was at one of our favorite venues, The Strowd, and families had a great time meeting sisters and dancing through the night! Sisters also bonded on October 16th at the North Carolina State Fair, where they got a taste of some crazy carnival foods and fun rides. Towards the end of October, the new members were surprised with gifts from their bigs, culminating in Big Little Reveal on October 25th. Each new member got to meet her perfectly-matched Big and the rest of her Kappa lineage. Since Halloween is such a huge celebration in Chapel Hill, we decided to have a Halloween-themed mixer with Alpha Sigma Phi on October 26th. It was held at Pantana Bob's and seven of the new members dressed up as "Shark Week," which was a huge hit! The final event for the new members to get to know each other before initiation was at New Member Retreat on November 2nd. They went to Wheels Fun Park for a night of rollerblading. Finally, the chapter was overjoyed to initiate them on November 4th and have them officially become sisters of Kappa Kappa Gamma. We followed this with another sisterhood event on November 7th at SkyZone, where sisters had fun jumping around and being silly with each other. Next was our annual Semi-Formal on November 11th at R&R Grill on Franklin Street, a fun night of Kappas looking sharp with their dates. Our final fundraising event of the fall was a benefit night at Purple Bowl on November 16th that raised money for Reading is Fundamental. That same night, we had a mixer with Alpha Epsilon Pi at Might as Well. The event was themed "Jarty in the USA" where everyone dressed in denim and red, white, and blue. On November 19th, a group of sisters went to NC State to cheer on an athlete at the Special Olympics tournament. We ended the fall semester with a new event, a Karaoke Cocktail at The Strowd on December 1st. Our sisters and their dates spent the night singing and dancing while dressed up in their favorite tacky holiday attire. ==Highlights of 2018== 2018 was a year full of service and success for the Epsilon Gamma chapter. We began 2018 with a snowstorm that led to some sisterly bonding and memories of sledding and snowball fights in the front lawn. Shortly after it thawed, we held our first date function on January 26th with a “Dynamic Duos” theme at a commonly-used venue called Country Fried Duck. Sisters came with dates dressed as their favorite pairs from pop culture. This kicked off a wonderful semester of events. Chapter Council then made goals concerning transparency and sisterhood that they kept to throughout the year in order to better the chapter. Epsilon Gamma participated in Spring informal recruitment. Spring recruitment activities included an ice cream bar, a basketball game watch party. February kicked off with a social event with Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity at Pantana Bobs. It took place on February 1st and had a “Holiday” theme where everyone dressed as their favorite holiday. There were some creative options like National Ice Cream Day, Mother’s Day or within even Spaghetti Appreciation Day. During this week, women interested in spring recruitment were also able to attend meals and speak with sisters about life in Kappa. We had a wonderfully successful recruitment. The chapter voted and we extended bids to 15 new members that we felt held Kappa’s values and would better our sisterhood. We had a bid day dinner and celebration on February 9th. The new members were pinned that weekend on February 11th and officially welcomed into the chapter. On February 15th, we had a social function at Might As Well with Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity with an “M is for Mixer” theme where everyone had to dress as something that started with their first name. We had such wonderful sisterhood events this year, but the first one really started us off right. Our standards committee organized a pottery night where everyone could decorate a cup, plate or mug with their own designs. It was held at the house in our dining room and was a great way to relax during the time of midterms. Kappa also explored many service opportunities this year beginning with One Act training that teaches how to be an active bystander when facing situations of sexual harassment, assault or relationship violence. Our sisters then got to enjoy one of our favorite date functions, Heartbreakers, on February 24th. It was an 80s rock n’ roll theme and everyone had a lot of fun with their costumes. The events continued with a social with Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity at The Library with a “Hippies vs. Hipsters” theme. It was followed by one of our favorite philanthropy events: Read Across America Day. We partnered with Pi Beta Phi Sorority to celebrate Dr. Suess and literacy issues facing the United States. We also raised awareness for our national philanthropy Reading is Fundamental. We made signs and got students to make bookmarks to give to local children. On March 7th, our spring class received their big sisters in a reveal night and everyone was so excited to join the families that would guide them through their Kappa days. Initiation was held on March 24th and we were so glad to have our new members become our sisters. We held our largest Philanthropy event, It’s On Us, to raise awareness about sexual assault and misconduct on college campuses. The money raised went to benefit the Orange Country Rape Crisis Center. Our formal was held later that month at The Carolina Inn and our chaptersaid goodbye to beloved seniors as they entered Alumni status. We did not have a quiet summer, for at convention our chapter was awarded a Standards Awards for our excellence in sisterhood and standards operations. Fall began with a very successful recruitment where we celebrated 52 new members in a “New Year’s Eve” themed Bid Day. We had a DJ and the porch was covered in glitter as we all sang songs from Mamma Mia. Our community was then struck by two hurricanes and many sisters had to evacuate. In order to support our Wilmington sisters and the community at large, we began a campus-wide collection drive of canned food, bedding, and other materials for We Wilm Rebuild. We had our first date function on September 18th at Country Fried Duck where the theme was” Formal Clothes and What are Those?” Everyone wore funny shoes. We also held our philanthropy event supporting earlier.org, our chapter’s philanthropy that goes towards breast cancer research and was started by a Kappa alum, in the form of a cookout. Our amazing Chef Jo prepared barbeque and his famous mac and cheese. We held a parent’s cocktail and had a wonderful time introducing our parents to our sisters and friends. Our sisterhood retreat was one of the highlights of the fall. We went to Camp Weaver where we toasted marshmallows, did bonding activities and shared our favorite Kappa memories. We even got all the camp staff to sing with us at lunch. We initiated new members on October 27th. The next week we had a Halloween social with Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity at Goodfellows. We held a homecoming tailgate with Bojangles where the “ladies from 80s” came to our house and reunited with their sisters. Semi-Formal was held on November 10th at The Carolina Inn. Our semester ended with new officers being elected on November 18th.Two of our sisters were even elected to Panhellenic Council in the offices of Internal Affairs and Communications. Recent changes on campus included the tearing down of a confederate monument on campus and a strike involving teaching assistants. Protests went on all semester and many sisters engaged in healthy dialogues about both issues. The chapter overall nature has had wonderful growth. We have bonded around our sisterhood even more especially with the tragedy inflicted on some of our members by the hurricanes. In troubling times, we have truly cnetered around what makes Kappa special and strong. We also have made a commitment to our academics with group study sessions and booking study rooms in order to make sure Kappa is making a mark in the classroom. ==Highlights of 2019:== From the first day of classes to the last final exam, 2019 was a year of new friendships, community service and involvement, support, and, above and through all, sisterhood. January brought Epsilon Gamma into 2019 with a burst of fresh energy. Hoping to expand our sisterhood across campus, membership and recruitment committees worked tirelessly to promote the values and interests of Kappa Kappa Gamma across campus. These women hosted a lively ice cream social to acquaint current sisters with potential new members. PNMs later returned to the house for meals throughout the week until we proudly welcomed five incredible women to the chapter. Throughout the winter months, active and new chapter members bonded during new member retreat at the roller skating rink, hot chocolate movie nights, Academic Excellence study nights, big and little meet and greets, and numerous social events. The first social event of the semester was a Wig Out where members sported new hairstyles from neon pink to jet black. Succeeding event themes included Grease vs Greece, Country vs Country Club, Margaritaville, and Rhyme without Reason. Our famous Heartbreakers social witnessed Kappa sisters dressed in rock n roll grunge dancing the night away. A few months later we hosted our Sapphire Ball at the Carolina Inn. Dressed to the nines, members flocked to the Old Well to take photos to commemorate this night for the years to come. Members also had the privilege to attend sisterhood events such as ice skating and fitness classes at Purvelo and Barre. In addition to these activities, the sisters of Epsilon Gamma participated in numerous intramural sports leagues, including basketball, volleyball, and waterpolo. The street hockey team finished their season undefeated and were crowned intramural champions. As the lawn in front of the elegant gray-blue house of Kappa Kappa Gamma traded frost for the springtime morning dew, new members were formally welcomed into the sisterhood. In March, our philanthropy committee coordinated with Pi Beta Phi to host our annual Read Across America Day. With the strength of the panhellenic community, sisters promoted childhood literacy in the student union by creating bookmarks, collecting children’s books, and sharing literacy facts with the community in hopes to spark a collective movement towards realizing the goalsof Reading is Fundamental. To further promote RIF, the chapter hosted a benefit night at Buns. This event raised close to $400 for the foundation thanks to the efforts of sisters in sharing the event across Panhel, campus, challenges and the wider Chapel Hill community. For the final philanthropy event of the spring semester Epsilon Gamma partnered with Sigma Phi Epsilon to host It’s On Us. It’s On Us is a national organization that works to educate university students on consent and urge students to pledge themselves to be active agents of changing the culture surrounding sexual behavior on campus. The proceeds of It’s On Us benefitted the Orange County Rape and Crisis center as well as the Compass Center for Women. The Spring semester came to an end with a host of workshops and festivities. The risk committee hosted Cookies and CAPS where sisters had the chance to frost and decorate cookies while receiving information on how to best manage stress and personal wellbeing with final exams just around the corner. The Delta Advocates sponsored a healthy relationships workshop that instructed sisters on how to create healthy, meaningful relationships while equipping them to identify and confront toxic habits. The education semester concluded the year after our final chapter in May with Senior Spotlight. Littles, grandlittles, and friends created a presentation for each graduating sister to highlight their time shared together as active members. With a tear in every eye and a smile in every heart, we bid farewell to these sisters and anxiously awaited to see the journeys they would begin after UNC. Summer came and whisked sisters across the globe. While some stayed local, working or taking classes, others travelled across Europe, Africa, Asia and beyond- for studies, internships, curiosity, or leisure. During these months, the leadership team prepared for work week and recruitment. In August sisters returned to campus excited to be reunited with each other and energized to bring new women into our chapter. Work week consisted of 5 days of themes, laughter, long hours, house facts, and defining to ourselves and to each other what it means to be a Kappa. Themes included Camp Kappa, rock n roll, throwdown for your hometown, holiday, and, the best of all, Kappa day. Classes followed the last day of work week and a week and a half later, rush began. New members ran home to Kappa Kappa Gamma on bid day. This year’s theme, Pocketful of Sunshine, attested to the secret while obvious gift of happiness and love that Kappa grants each sister. Sisters flocked to the house wearing orange and yellow where they later danced, bounced, ate, and socialized until the clouds of the setting sun matched their attire. The following Friday, the event committee planned a New Member Social to welcome the new member class of 2019. The Kappa Gam Pajama Jam provided returning and new members with the chance to form new relationships and show off their favorite pair of PJs. Additional socials from this event included You Are What You Netflix, Sundress Lazy, and a parent’s weekend dinner. As the leaves began to change, the sisters of Epsilon Gamma bonded over philanthropy events. This October we hosted Kappachinos for a Kure with Zeta Alpha Tau to benefit Earlier.org. Earlier.org was founded by an Epsilon Gamma alumna to promote the earlier detection of breast cancer. Kappachinos for a Kure raised $400 dollars by selling coffee and baked goods in the Pit. The cookies and pastries were baked the previous evening during the Great Kappa Bake Off. Sisters signed up to either provide a kitchen or cooking supplies in the efforts to create the bestselling treat. The following month we hosted our annual Q for the Cause benefitting the Orange County Rape and Crisis Center. With warm string lights and checkered tablecloths, the sisters of Epsilon Gamma raised over $700. Partnering with A Moment of Magic- a cause dear to many sisters of the chapter- Kappa sponsored their Performance for Pediatrics event. Through A Moment of Magic, sisters visit local hospitals dressed as characters from popular children’s films to bring magic and happiness to children suffering from illness. The last philanthropy event of the semester was the Kappa Kollection: Read and Feed. The first portion of the month long event asked for book donations to bring to the elementary school in Durham that the Kappas began volunteering this semester. The second half of the drive collected canned food to be donated to TABLE, an on-campus organization that provides food for children during school breaks. Causes like these- big and small, local and national- united the sisters to make a difference. Additional bonding activities included the sisterhood retreat, the Academic Excellence Brunch, big little reveal, and risk prevention programs. The sisters went to Camp Don Lee for the sisterhood retreat where they went sailing, practiced archery, and stargazed. The Academic Excellence Brunch was hosted at Top of the Hill shortly after the retreat, celebrating the women who made the Dean’s List the previous year. This year’s big and little reveal took a new, exciting approach. Instead of using wrapping paper, the new member committee created a walk up playlist- each song corresponded to a different family. While the families waited in the dining room dressed according to their themes, the littles anxiously hoped to hear their song and find out the members of their Kappa family. The risk committee hosted a flu shot drive and a self defense class led by the Chapel Hill police. The sisters also attended an on-campus program, Southern Smash, geared to give a voice to those individuals suffering from disordered eating. At this event Kappa won the scale smashing contest with a scale artfully decorated with cacti promoting body positivity. The sisters welcomed the brisk end of Fall and the nearing end to the year with semi-formal, holiday social, and chapter elections. The semi-formal was hosted at the modern Franklin Hotel and sisters arrived with their dates for an evening of photos, delicious desserts, and dancing. The first week of December was the annual holiday social. Kappas and brothers of Kappa Alpha sported their best holiday attire, ranging from Santa’s reindeer to a peppermint stick sweater. At chapter the week prior to the holiday social the new chapter council members were overcomeformally sworn into office. As 2019 ends, Epsilon Gamma is excited to commemorate the 150th year of the fraternity. The education committee hosted a Founder’s Day brunch for current members and alumnae. At the brunch, sisters added notes to an inspiration board, stating what Kappa means to them, where they see themselves in ten years, or their favorite Kappa memory. The Sesquicentenial of Kappa is a milestone that the sisters of Epsilon Gamma are grateful and thrilled to celebrate. Outside of Kappa, etcthe UNC community experienced both change and excitement.Chancellor Carol Folt stepped down from her position after initiating the removal of the base of the Silent Sam statue that fell in the Fall of 2018. This December Interim Chancellor Keven Guzkiewicz officially accepted the position of Chancellor to the University of North Carolina. The women’s field hockey team won reclaimed their title as national champions and the women’s soccer team placed second in the NCAA tournament. The UNC football team welcomed back Mack Brown to the program. The football team qualified for their first bowl game in three years. Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders visited UNC, uniting sisters in political conversation. Overall, 2019 filled sisters with the joy of being a Tarheel and a Kappa. ==Highlights of 2020-2029:== ==Highlights of 2020== Although the Fraternity at large had previously endured the hardships witnessed during the year of 2020, the sisters of Epsilon Gamma found themselves in unchartered territory. Through the series of unexpected highs and lows, Epsilon Gamma discovered the resiliency of sisterhood and the ties that bind us to one another. The distance placed between sisters led to more intentional inter-chapter contact and communication with nationals, creating a vibrant and loving sisterhood despite the miles that separated us. We began the unprecedented year on a high note, with a successful Spring recruitment. Epsilon Gamma welcomed potential new members into the chapter house for cupcakes and meals in mid January. Bids were extended and the chapter hosted their Spring bid day dinner on January 24th. At this event, sisters and new members gathered to share a meal in the dining room while sporting lovely shades of light and dark blue. This marked the beginning of their new member period, a new member period like no other. Following into February, the sisters attended the Behind Happy Faces training. This session is part of Kappas's educational initiative that prepares chapter women for success in both college life and the start of their professional journeys. Additional educational programming during the year included a visit from the Carolina Legal Services in January, Galvanize the Greeks in October, and the Carolina Institute of Politics in October. Outside of educational initiatives, the sisters of Epsilon Gamma shared community and sisterly love both in and out of the house. Gathered in the informal living room to view the Super Bowl, sisters enjoyed delicious desserts, laughter, and the halftime show together. The next of many sisterhood events celebrated the bond of sisterhood through the creation of anonymous Valentine's to chapter members. Additional Valentines were made for donations to an assisted living home near campus. Following the craft, sisters partook in the annual HeartBreakers Social. Dressed in rock-n-roll grunge, sisters danced the evening away at Might as Well on Franklin Street. The event was certainly one of the most successful and well attended HeartBreakers to date. Following the festivities of Valentines Day, the sisters celebrated Mardi Gras with a social at Pantana Bob's. Sporting green, purple, and gold, the sisters of Epsilon Gamma partnered with the brother of Kappa Alpha to enjoy the occasion. Following our celebration of Mardi Gras, our Public Relations chair organized a winter photo shoot in which the sisters gathered inside the house, on the lawn, and around our beautiful campus to take photos and videos that celebrated our sisterhood. Dressed in denim, white, and blue, the sisters of Epsilon Gamma used props, a candy bar, and all the glitter you could imagine to take photos that captured the joy of being a KKG at UNC. The first week of March was a busy and exciting time for our chapter, starting with our spring class being placed with their big sisters and families on March 1. This occasion took place on the patio of our house and was filled with smiles as our new members celebrated one of the most exciting parts of the new member period. Following that was three days jam packed with exciting philanthropy events benefitting Reading is Fundamental. This year our chapter organized an incredibly successful benefit night hosted at Coldstone Creamery where sisters and friends lined up down Franklin Street to get ice cream benefitting RIF. Read Across America Day (March3) was celebrated by the sisters of Epsilon Gamma with a table set up in the center of campus, known as "the pit", where students were invited to make bookmarks to be donated to local elementary schools. Finally, over the three days, we collected books in a book drive to be donated to Eastway Elementary School and the Durham Book Harvest. Our sisters and their family and friends collected an impressive amount of books, totaling at 283. Soon after, KKG partnered with the brothers of Lambda Chi Alpha for a jungle themed mixer at the Library on Franklin Street. Dressed in different animal prints and safari wear, sisters celebrated the nearing beginning of spring break and dancing and fun! The following day, March 6, marked the beginning of Spring Break and unknown to us at the time, the last day we would all be together in Chapel Hill for the next 20 months and counting. Epsilon Gamma sisters left Chapel Hill to return their homes looking forward to a well deserved week off. In response to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in and around North Carolina, UNC Chapel Hill issued an announcement to the student body on March 12 announcing that spring break would be extended to March 22 and that, beginning on March 23, all classes would transition to an online format. The announcement turned all our worlds upside down and plunged the chapter into a period of many unknowns and incredible separation. In response to this announcement, the chapter house closed to members and live-in sisters were prompted to return to campus and gather their things to move out a month and a half earlier than anticipated. All chapter activities were put on hold as news of COVID-19 flooded our timelines and we began to grasp the extent of the pandemic that was raging across the United States. The weeks following Spring Break were supposed to be filled with our new member's Inspiration Period, initiation, cocktails, and our annual philanthropy event benefitting the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, It's On Us. Instead it was filled with zoom calls and adjusting plans and expectations for the end of the year and recruitment. After receiving special permission from the Fraternity Council, the 15 new members participated in the first ever virtual initiation. This ceremony was conducted by Denise Rugani, the Fraternity Ritual and History Specialist. Sisters were initiated on April 26th, 2020 with the University of Virginia and the University of Syracuse. Their initiation was followed that evening by a virtual senior send off ceremony at Epsilon Gamma's final chapter of the Spring semester. In May of 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement increased its efforts across the country following the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man. by a police officer. In solidarity with this movement, members of color of the Epsilon Gamma chapter of KKG formed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee to address the inequity found within our own chapter and our community. The committee hosted a programming chapter, educating the chapter on the phenomena of Blackfishing and hosted a panel of some of our members of color. With the support of Chapter Council, the DEI committee added a member to the Standards Committee and had a member sit in on Chapter Council meetings. Epsilon Gamma remains committed to addressing racial inequality in our community as we strive o make Kappa Kappa Gamma a place that welcomes all. Over the Summer officers prepared for a virtual fraternity experience by attending training with national representatives. Other training offered for the chapter at large included Wellness Wednesdays and career seminars. Sisters spent their summers working, completing virtual internships, or even taking courses. In July, the University announced an accelerated schedule in which classes were to begin August 10 and end on November 17. In an effort to reduce student travel to and from campus, fall break was eliminated and final exams were scheduled to take place before students returned home for Thanksgiving and the rest of the holiday season. Donned with masks and plenty of hand sanitizer, live-in sisters moved into the chapter house during the weekend of August 7-9. Living in the KKG house looked differently this semester, nevertheless, was a welcome change for many sisters returning to campus. Ahead of move-in, Chapter Council published a COVID Plan that detailed what live-in life would look like for sisters and the response plan for if a sister was diagnosed with COVID-19. In order to allow for proper social distancing in chapter rooms, the larger rooms which typically house 4 and 5 sisters were down-sized to house 3 and 4, respectively. Smaller double rooms were made to be single rooms and sisters living in larger double rooms were told to sleep with heads at opposite ends of the bunk beds. As a result, the number of live-in sisters was decreased to allow for these changes. Unfortunately , no out-of-house sisters or guests were allowed to enter the chapter house, making our usually loud and busy common rooms and dining room unusually quiet. Live-in members wore masks anytime they were not in their rooms or bathing and socially distanced when inn the common rooms. Common areas were disinfected 4 times daily baby weekly designated pairs of sisters. Hand sanitizer stations posted around the house became a part of the live-in sisters daily routines. Our wonderful house mother, house board, and live-in members worked diligently to ensure that we lived in a safe environment and were able to remain in our chapter house throughout the semester. Our amazing chef prepared the chapter lunch and dinner Monday through Thursday and lunch on Friday packaged individually in to-go packages. Out of house sisters picked up their meals by a socially distanced drive through system in our parking lot. A combination of diligent cleaning consistent mask-wearing and social distancing, and care and respect for our sisters resulted in a successful and safe semester for Epsilon Gamma. Despite the detailed precautions, the University announced a switch to fully remote learning and the closing of on campus residence halls on August 17th following a sharp spike in cases on campus. This announcement made national headlines with UNC's Sigma Nu Fraternity receiving special attention from the New York Times. A chaotic and scary start to the Fall 2020 semester was handled with grace by Epsilon Gamma as our live-in sisters remained vigilant in order to remain in the chapter house and out of house sisters worked hard to keep themselves safe. After settling back into our class routines, whether in Chapel Hill or elsewhere, the chapter began final preparations for fall recruitment. A completely virtual fall recruitment was an adjustment that our Membership Chair, recruitment team, and technology coordinator were well prepared for. Weeklyvirtual recruitment practices began soon after the start of classes and continued until the beginning of recruitment on September 7. After 4 days of virtual conversations with potential new members, Epsilon Gamma welcomed our new member class of 2020 on September 8. Despite the disappointment of not being able to have a bid day celebration with the whole chapter, sisters celebrated wearing masks with their roommates. We virtually welcomed our new members dressed in green and rainbow in accordance with the theme "Lucky to be a KKG". Regardless of whether or not we were physically together as a whole chapter, Epsilon Gamma celebrated a wonderfully successful first virtual recruitment and truly felt lucky to be KKGs. As our new member class started their new member period, sisters began to lead individual sisterhood events to help maintain our strong sisterhood despite the distance between us. Events such as yoga ad workout classes, photo editing sessions, coding demonstrations, baking tutorials, game nights, and Kappa history lessons were hosted by sisters to help the chapter feel connected. Over the course of the semester, members hosted 21 sisterhood events and Epsilon Gamma's sisterhood continued to blossom. On October 13th, the Fraternity celebrated 150 years of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Chapter members were provided with an iris to honor the Sesquicentennial and were encouraged to attend both Epsilon Gamma's virtual ceremony and the commemorative livestream hosted through Kappa headquarters. The livestream featured current and previous Fraternity presidents as well as a message from the chancellor of Monmouth College, Patrick F. Leahy. Our New Member Chair worked diligently to ensure that our new member class were educated on our chapter and the fraternity at large and were prepared to be initiated into our sisterhood. On October 24, our new members were placed with their big sisters and families in a virtual big-little reveal.Following the reveal, the chapter entered into the Inspiration Period on October 18th. I-week began with as virtual Return of the New Member Pin ceremony and contained events such as A Letter to a New Member, Mock Dining Room Dinner, and a Digital History night. On the evening of the 23rd, Epsilon Gamma welcomed 37 sisters into the fraternity with a plethora of alumnae joining us for the ceremony. On November 5th, the last new member was initiated thanks to the sisters of Gamma Kappa at Washington and Mary University. After the initiation of our new sisters, the Nominating Committee met on November 1 to create a Chapter Council slate to be presented to the chapter that evening. The following Sunday, the chapter met again to hold elections for our new Chapter Council. The women elected to hold office throughout the end of 2020 and 2021 spent the week following the elections meeting with their outgoing officers and advisors in preparation for being initiated into their new roles on November 15. On November 3, our nation participated in arguably the most consequential election of our lifetime. Epsilon Gamma sisters flooded to the polls after being educated on the candidates for both national and state offices in previous programming chapters by Galvanize the Greeks and the Carolina Institute of Politics. Sisters were proud to exercise their civic duty and have their voices heard in this all important election. November 17 marked the last day of classes for Epsilon Gamma sisters and the beginning of a week of final exams before the official end of a unique and challenging fall semester. After finishing their final exams, sisters returned home to their families in time to celebrate Thanksgiving and remained home throughout the rest of the holiday season.
2020 was certainly a year to be remembered both for Epsilon Gamma and the world at large. A year filled with uncertainty, fear, and separation tested the sisterhood of Kappa Kappa Gamma and showed sisters just how strong the bonds between us are. Despite all of the challenges this year has brought, Epsilon Gamma remains a chapter filled with love and sisterhood. We look forward to continuing into 2021 with joy and strength.
'''Housing:''' ==Highlights of 2021==
Our main goals for this year was to focus on member involvement, philanthropy, and DEI. For member involvement, we focused on being able to have safe in-person events as well as work toward in-person bid-day/initiation and opening our bottom floor for out-of-house members. Please look at the questions below for more information on how we reached out philanthropy and DEI goals.
Epsilon Gamma supports multiple local organizations.These organizations include the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, Club Nova, Earlier.Org, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness Orange County. All of these organizations have missions that our sisters support for numerous reasons. For example, Club Nova and the National Alliance on Mental Illness Orange County are both mental health and wellbeing chapters that strive to help those impacted by mental illness in the local community. Our sisters recognize the significance mental health can have on one’s daily life and thus strive to help those impacted.
In 2021 Kappa Kappa Gamma transitioned national philanthropies from Reading is Fundamental to Mental Health and Wellbeing. In the spring semester of 2021 (Jan-May) we supported Reading is Fundamental through reading virtually and having virtual pen pals with a local elementary school (Pearsontown Elementary. Additionally, we organized a book drive that was donated to Durham Book Harvest. In the fall semester of 2021 (August-November) we organized a kitchen supply drive to a Mental Health and Wellbeing local organization, Club Nova. In addition, we hosted Q for a Cause, a dinner fundraiser, and a bake sale on campus for an organization founded by an Epsilon Gamma alumna, Earlier.Org.
'''Philanthropy:'''New DEI chair was placed. The committee set plans for programming chapters in the future, including educational training on anti-sigmatism. The committee kept close ties with the PR committee to ensure that religious holidays were included and observed. The committee found speakers to come present to the chapter the following semester. The committee has multiple passion projects to implement in kappa, including solving accessibility concerns. The committee has organized itself into various subcommittees to become more efficient. Not only did the committee focus on preventative education, but sources were complied to address current concerns.
Spring Bid Day, big little reveal, and initiation were held on zoom
We were able to open our dining room in April 2021
Our Formal, held in April 2021, was our first in-person event since the pandemic began. It was outdoors, members were split into groups to keep numbers lower, everyone was masked, and everyone was required to turn in a negative COVID test to attend. Because this event ended with no COVID spread, we used it as the protocol for events in fall 2021.
Fall 2021 Bid day, big little reveal, and initiation were able to be held in person (masked and separated into groups).
We were able to hold many more events in the fall; all were masked and required negative COVID tests to attend.
The bottom floor of the house opened up to out-of-house members in the fall.
Outdoor events were common and encouraged. We did multiple sisterhood events entirely outside.
'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''