| Eta Beta | |
|---|---|
| HB | |
 | |
| Founded | October 5, 1996 |
| College | Pepperdine University |
| Location | Malibu, CA |
| Homepage | Eta Beta Homepage |
| Media related to Eta Beta Chapter | |
Pepperdine, established 1937
Chapter Founded in October, 1996
636 initiates (as of June 2018)
Some of Eta Beta’s Outstanding Alumnae: (If you have chapter alumna who have received recognition in any of these three categories, please list them with the date(s) of recognition.)
Fraternity Council Officers:
Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:
Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:
Additional Outstanding Eta Kappa Alumnae:
Jillian Frank (Bibb) Chicago Loop Group Alumnae Association President 2006-10, Treasurer 2007-11, Vice President 2010-11
Lauren Parsekian (Paul) Founder of The Kind Campaign
Contents
The Early YearsEdit
Colonization:
Kappa Kappa Gamma came to the shores of sunny California on April 1, 1996, as the Fraternity pledged 60 young women of the local sorority Zeta Kappa, and four alumnae, at Pepperdine University establishing the colony that became the Eta Beta Chapter. The pledging ceremony took place in the Pepperdine Chapel overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Alumnae in the Malibu, Calif., area joined chapter members from UCLA, USC (Calif.), and Cal. State, Northridge. Before pledging Kappa Kappa Gamma, the group was a longstanding local sorority-the largest on campus. At the University's request, the entire sorority system sought national affiliation. Other National Panhellenic Conference members colonizing on the Pepperdine campus were Alpha Phi, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, Pi Beta Phi, and Sigma Kappa.
The previous information was excerpted from The Key, Volume 113, No. 2, Summer 1996.
Installation:
The fog rolled off the Pacific Ocean as 37 undergraduates and 24 alumnae were initiated to the Eta Beta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity October 4-5, 1996 at Pepperdine University, Malibu, Calif. Cal. State Northridge, assisted by UCLA, and USC (Calif.). Other Panhellenic groups on campus included Alpha Phi, Gamma Phi Beta, Delta Gamma, Delta Delta Delta, Pi Beta Phi, and Sigma Kappa.
The previous information was excerpted from The Key, Volume 113, No. 4, Winter 1996.
The information that follows has been gleaned from available resources including Chapter History Reports, chapter meeting minutes, letters and comments from chapter members and alumnae, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity Archives, and The Key. Each chapter is expected to update its history record annually. Contact Fraternity Headquarters at kkghq@kkg.org with questions.
Highlights of the 1990sEdit
From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:
The biggest event of 1996 was the colonization of Eta Beta in April, and the installation of Kappa’s 125th chapter in October. Actives and alumnae from northern and southern California participated in the ceremony as well as Fraternity President Cathy Thompson Carswell, Illinois Wesleyan, and former Fraternity President J.J. Fraser Wales, Ohio State. The new chapter added 18 members in late 1996 with its first pledge class which was above the All Sorority Average GPA and won the Homecoming spirit cup.
Eta Beta was challenged to incorporate Kappas rules and traditions with the traditions they cherished from their Zeta Beta days, but did so beautifully with continued support from Kappas nationwide and their advisers. The chapter adopted the Fraternity Challenge to Excellence as the chapter goal.
Socially, the chapter enjoyed their Spring Formals, Presents, Fall Balls, and winter Kappa Krush and Mad Hatter parties.
The chapter celebrated its one year anniversary in April 1997 by winning the Best New Chapter award at the 1997 Kappa Province meeting. Also in 1997, Eta Beta was honored to travel to San Diego to help install Kappa’s 126th chapter at the University of San Diego. Informal rush in the fall of 1997 added six more members to the chapter
Eta Beta continued it’s academic excellence into the late 1990’s and had the highest GPA of Greek groups on campus in fall 1998. During this time, the chapter also successfully challenged itself to inrease participation to 80% at mandatory events and to have one sisterhood event a month.
Philanthropy:
The new chapter participated in Stepforward Day, a campus wide event to clean up highways, beaches and public schools in the Malibu area. They also participated in the Malibu Chili cookoff, and delivered food to needy families through a local church. They continued their participation in the chili cookoff and Stepforward events throughout the rest of the 1990’s.
Highlights of 2000-2010Edit
From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:
On campus, Eta Beta was involved in many activities including Songfest and Homecoming, while maintaining excellence in academics. At the Annual Campus Greek Awards in 2004, the chapter received the Rock of the Year Award and the Inter-Sorority Spirit Award. Yearly goals included working on improving attendance and chapter involvement, moral and sisterhood, organization and timely payments, adviser relations and Panhellenic spirit.
In 2006, Eta Beta hosted the Kappa Province meeting. At the Pepperdine Greek Awards in 2008, Eta Betas won Officer of the Year, and President of the Year. In 2009, one quarter of the chapter studied abroad in one semester. The remaining members bonded by getting together for pledge class dinners and to watch the show Gossip Girl together. Weekly study hours and weekly Bible Study were a part of this chapter's traditions.
To recognize the tragedies of September 11, 2001, Eta Beta participated in a school wide prayer which took place to pray for the victims and their families. The convocation was also dedicated to those lost on September 11.
Philanthropy:
Eta Beta participated in Step-Forward Day, and campus wide community service project where they spent the day at St. Monica's Parish. Chapter member also went down to Melrose in Los Angeles to represent Kappa in the annual AIDS Walk. Eta Beta held a Kappa King competition among the fraternities with the proceedes donated to the Special Olympics. Eta Betas participated in City of Hope's Walk for Hope for breast cancer awareness.
Chapter Convention Awards:
2008 Rose McGill
Highlights of 2011-2019Edit
From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:
Highlights of 2012Edit
One of the biggest achievements regarding philanthropic Involvement is that this past year, our chapter won 10 years of Sigma Chi Derby Days supporting City of Hope. In addition, we successfully put on Kappa Karaoke, our philanthropy that supports School on Wheels. Eta Beta participated in Step Forward Day, a campus wide community service project.
Secondly, we have come up with new chapter goals and successful ideas of implementation. We are aiming to reallocate burdget accordingly and increase understanding of Kappa Foundation and Kappa Ritual. One example of a challenge we are planning to overcome is creating new fun ways to be involved in the chapter, such as 6 Kappa Founder Awards so that we can increase chapter attendance.
New Greek Panhellic Leader: Alex Nicandros Overall Nature of the Chapter: With the new installation of the chapter council, the environment takes on a feel of excitement. We are very optimistic for this upcoming year because of the amount of involved women that are prepared to continue old traditions while still bringing new ideas to the table.
Highlights of 2013Edit
The Eta Beta Chapter had a very successful 2013. We improved to the 3rd place sorority ranking for academics, we began conducting trips for RIF to read to children in Santa Monica, we won the Most Improved Chapter award at Province, and we held a very effective “Kappa Klassic” philanthropy event. In addition, our recruitment was wonderful and had very high retention rates of potential new members throughout the process. Since coming off of our focus letter, our chapter has improved tremendously and become very involved.
Greek Life on the Pepperdine campus has become a lot more involved with other groups including athletics and various clubs. There have been more events promoting unity as an entire student body. The Eta Beta chapter has been very involved in these events as well as the philanthropic events of the other sororities and fraternities. The chapter is very hard working, passionate about Kappa, and possesses strong leadership qualities. We have a very strong sisterhood, which has created a great deal of Kappa pride.
Highlights of 2014Edit
In the past year Kappa has put together their annual philanthropy Kappa Kappa Gameday to support the Ebenezer Foundation, which was started as a non-profit foundation by, recently graduated, Alex Chistolini. Our chapter has also participated in Sigma Chi's Derby Days where our chapter of Eta Beta received a recognition from the City of Hope Hospital for our continuous hard work over the past ten years. Also, several Kappa's volunteered at Pepperdine's Step Forward Day to support and help out less fortunate areas of Pepperdine.
The chapter of Eta Beta has become more involved on our campus and philanthropies. Everyone is involved in all aspects of the Pepperdine community. Our sisterhood has also grown stronger over the past year.
Our chapter holds meeting in the University owned rooms. Our chapter does not own a house, therefore many sisters room together in off campus apartments. These apartments are rented by the girls separately and are not owned by the chapter. Some apartments only have two sisters living there but other apartments have more than two sisters living in them.
Highlights of 2015Edit
Our chapter has had high attendance at most philanthropy events organized by other sororities and fraternities. Thus we received great amount of support for our annual philanthropy in the Spring semester. This allowed us to raise money for the Kind Campaign. Additionally, a few of our members, our President, and one of our advisors attended a regional meeting this year. Another Eta Beta member also attended the Leadership Academy in September. This year we also decided to support a fellow Kappa through the Rose McGill foundation. Our whole chapter donated enough money to be able to buy gift cards for a Kappa in need. Overall our chapter has set goals to improve and grow every year.
Our campus has begun to push for athletes and Greek life to become more involved with each other. Our chapter supported the athletes by attending athletic events to support this movement. Also, our campus has been a place of recent social movements by some students. Our president of the university addressed this by assuring the students that there will be less inequality and more diversification in the future. Overall our chapter is always willing to help where is needed whether it’s showing up to other philanthropies or supporting our campus.
Chapter Philanthropy: What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community? The Eta Beta chapter has supported Reading is Fundamental by raising money and organizing a book drive for donations. Also, the Eta Beta chapter donated $200 to the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. Additionally, we have raised $5,000 for our annual philanthropy, the Kind Campaign, which supports girls who have been a victim of girl-on-girl crime. This fall we have also participated in our universities annual Step Forward Day where we volunteer in our community. We had the opportunity to volunteer for School on Wheels in Ventura.
Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support? Traditionally, we have participated in the Kappa Kares program by selecting a new philanthropy each year for our chapter to support. Although the philanthropy normally changes every year, Eta Beta is constantly focused on supporting sisters through philanthropy. We have supported multiple sisters’ philanthropies through the years and will continue to do so for years to come. We chose to do the Kind Campaign for our philanthropy this year because it was co-founded by an Eta Beta alumnus, Lauren Paul. The Kind Campaign is a movement against girl-on-girl crime. Thus we felt a close connection to the organization and the cause.
Highlights of 2016Edit
This past year the Eta Beta chapter was presented the New Member Programming Award at the Kappa convention as well as receiving honorable mentions for Gracious Living for an Unhoused Chapter, Recruitment, and Chapter Management. These awards and honorable mentions were a huge honor and accomplishment for the Eta Beta chapter and have encouraged the chapter to continue to grow and strengthen.
In 2016, the Eta Beta chapter also improved its philanthropic attendance and involvement within the university’s Greek Life. In fact, the chapter won the 2016 Alpha Fifa philanthropy, a soccer tournament presented by Alpha Phi. Additionally, the chapter actively participates in weekly Greek organizations’ philanthropic events, such as attending university supported Convocations, auctions, skit nights, Coffeehouse music events, as well as each fraternity and sorority’s official philanthropic events. The chapter has also improved interfraternal relations as Eta Beta designates ambassadors for each fraternity and sorority on campus in order to make announcements of upcoming events as well as maintain and strengthen fraternal relations. Eta Beta has also strengthened their Panhellenic involvement as a member of Eta Beta serves as Pepperdine’s Panhellenic president.
Additionally, the chapter has made good use of designated Committee Chapter nights, in which the chapter as a whole is broken into committees to address ways to improve the chapter and set semester and year-long goals.
Eta Beta also continued its biannual Academic Teas which feature a panel of accomplished women in differing job fields who offer advice and encouragement to the chapter in regards to academics. The Academic Teas also recognize chapter members who have earned high GPAs during the semester. In the Fall of 2016 more than 15 girls were recognized for receiving a GPA of 3.6 or above. Additionally, in 2016 two girls were presented with a pearl dangle to be worn on her badge. The pearl dangle represents the highest achievement of academic excellence and are only awarded to girls who receive a 4.0 GPA.
In 2016 Pepperdine University’s campus experienced many pushes in increasing on-campus diversity and cultural acceptance. Events for this movement included open forum discussions led by the university’s president and topics included the US presidential election and racial diversity awareness on-campus. This proactive push on campus has been well accepted by the student body as a whole and has increased sentiments of mutual understanding and acceptance among students.
The overall nature of the Eta Beta chapter has improved in the areas of sisterhood and fraternal involvement in 2016. Sisterhood and participation have been a focus during 2016 and the chapter experienced an increase in interfraternal involvement on campus and experienced a increase in members being engaged in Kappa events and wanting to participate on Eta Beta’s chapter council. Additionally, members of the chapter are involved in all aspects of campus life and participate as leaders in the community through their positions in on-campus jobs and positions on the Panhellenic board.
Historically members of the Eta Beta chapter have participated in service hour opportunities through organizations such as Jumpstart and Project Serve. Additionally, every year the Eta Beta chapter as a whole participates in Pepperdine’s annual Step Forward Day, in which service groups orchestrated by the university go out and serve underprivileged communities in the LA area. This year one of the members of the Eta Beta chapter was the event planner of the entire Step Forward Day event. The chapter was honored that one of their own put on such an amazing event that benefited so many people in our neighboring communities.
Additionally in keeping with Kappa tradition, the Eta Beta chapter supports Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) as well as the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. This year the chapter was able to donate $175 for the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. Additionally, Eta Beta supported RIF through funds raised during its annual philanthropic event Kappa Kappa Gameday, book drives throughout the year, as well as an event called Kappa & Queso which featured a queso cook off competition and book drive. Through Kappa & Queso, the chapter was able to raise $1,406 and 26 books for RIF. The chapter also participated in a RIF trip in the Spring of 2016, in which the girls visited an underprivileged elementary school and encouraged literacy by reading books to the students and donating books to the school. Eta Beta also upheld their tradition of supporting the Rose McGill Foundation with a Christmas donation for $200 to a family in need during the holidays.
During 2016 Eta Beta had the privilege of supporting the Susan G. Komen Foundation for their annual philanthropy event; Kappa Kappa Gameday. Kappa Kappa Gameday included an auction night and an inspirational speaker, who was a breast cancer survivor, and concluded with flag football tournament all benefitting the Susan G. Komen foundation. In total the chapter raised $9,635.91 for Susan G. Komen.
Members of the Eta Beta chapter decide to participate in individual service hours and projects based on their own personal preferences as well as the traditions and overall pro-service environment of the chapter and university. The chapter’s involvement with RIF and the Kappa Kappa Gamma foundation is built from fraternity tradition as well as the Kappa nationals’ philanthropic requirements. As far as Eta Beta’s involvement with the Susan G. Komen Foundation, this involvement came freely from the members of the chapter as the ladies deemed the organization to be an upright and worthy cause to support for their annual philanthropy event.
The Eta Beta chapter is an unhoused chapter of Kappa that meets in the Fireside Room on Pepperdine’s campus. This spacious multi-purpose room boasts panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and serves as a lovely unofficial home for the chapter and accommodates the entire chapter with chairs and tables.
Highlights of 2017Edit
2017 was a year full of friendship, sisterhood, and memories for the Kappa Kappa Gamma Eta Beta chapter at Pepperdine University. To start the year off in January, the Eta Beta chapter transitioned it Chapter Council positions passing on its traditions and leadership to a new group of strong and hardworking sisters. Following this, the chapter was heavily involved on campus attending and raising money for all of the philanthropies hosted by the other Greek life chapters on campus. The chapter worked hard and achieved placing top 3 in numerous events throughout the first semester of the year. The Eta Beta's philanthropy came nothing short of amazing as our Philanthropy Chair, Elizabeth Ford, hosted our annual Kappa Kappa Gameday, a flag football tournament and tailgate. Gameday was a huge success and the chapter ended up raising just over $10,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The Eta Beta Chapter continued with their philanthropic achievement by having a semester annual RIF book drive where the members donated books to an underprivileged elementary school in downtown Los Angeles and even got to spend the day reading these books to the kids. Overall the RIF event brought in almost 60 books.
Towards the end of the semester our chapter studied hard as they prepared for finals week. Our events chair Mikaela Bisson thought it would be a good idea to have an event to help the Eta Beta chapter relax during this stressful time. So, our chapter had a Kappa study break at one of the member’s homes in the Pacific Palisades where the girls hung out, talked, and ate a lot of yummy baked goods. This sister study break brought the chapter together and even relieved some of the stresses that come with the end of the semester.
Even though the summer time is a chance for relaxation and leisure the Eta Beta chapter was still working hard where numerous members started incredible internships across the country. Just to name a few of these incredible internships our chapter has held this summer: our sister Haley Bekins interned with the presidential campaign for Donald Trump at his campaign headquarters in Nebraska, Elizabeth Ford interned with E! News in their Publicity department in Los Angeles, Shannon Hansen interned with Buzzfeed in their Journalism department in Los Angeles, Julia Latimer interned in the White House at the Presidential office of the United States Trade Representative, and Lauren Gottschall interned with the Los Angeles Dodgers in their Athletic Training department. This is just a short list of the numerous internships our sisters held this summer.
When the Fall season came around so did recruitment. This years recruitment theme was Kappa, Love, and Rock N’ Roll, a fun a playful theme we thought represented our chapter. A great new edition to the chapter’s recruitment room this year were the new 6 foot painted wooden letters done by our very own house chair Kat Perry. With the leadership of our philanthropy chair, Kaitlin Rassi, the Eta Beta Chapter grew with 23 new members. The Chapter made the new members feel right at home by hosting events like Senior-New Member brunch, Big- Little reveal, and Blue and Blue dinner. Things like these brought about a new sisterhood that lead to our incredible initiation which was held at the USC Kappa Kappa Gamma’s Delta Tau Chapter on November 11th.
This fall the Eta Beta Chapter held its first ever parents weekend event during Pepperdine annual weekend. ‘Kappa Hour’ was an incredible success! Hosted by our incredible House Chairman, Kat Perry, sisters got a chance to mingle with the Chapter’s parents, eat a delicious lunch, and inform the parents on how Kappa has impacted their daughters over the years. Overall this event will become a tradition for Eta Beta for years to come.
Another new event our Chapter got to have this year was a bonfire sisterhood event held by our Standards Chair, Julia Latimer. This event was at the beautiful Point Dume Beach in Malibu. The Chapter got to crowd around a fire, roast marshmallows, and take part in numerous interactive sisterhood games all while soaking in the stunning view of the sunset. The evening was full of smiles, laughs, and memories with sisters that the chapter will not forget.
Our philanthropic involvement continued during the fall semester for the Eta Beta chapter. The semester started off on a high note as the chapter participated in Pepperdine’s annual Step Forward day, an event held by the school where groups go out into the Los Angeles communities and serve numerous different organizations. This year Kappa got to volunteer at the Malibu Boys and Girls Club where they organized and help clean the entire facility. Another amazing thing our chapter participated in this Fall was the Out of the Darkness Walk hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the same foundation we had support in the spring for our main philanthropy event. This was a time devoted to bringing awareness to the community about mental health and our sisters were proud to represent such an incredible cause. The Eta Beta chapter hosted a new RIF event this fall called Books and Bowls with Kappa. This event was hosted on campus where our chapter sold acai bowls to the Pepperdine community. In total we raised $800 thanks to the help of Backyard Bowls who donated 100% of their services to help with our cause. Our Chapter also gave back to the Rose McGill Fund this year by raising $200 towards the hurricane relief. Lastly, our chapter continued to be heavily involved in the Pepperdine Greek community by participating, again, in every event on campus as well as placing top three in numerous events and even won the overall title for Sigma Chi Derby Day’s powderpuff tournament.
Overall 2017 was filled with so many laughs, smiles, and memories our sisters will cherish for a lifetime. From the philanthropies, to the internships, to the sisterhood events each and every sister can walk away with a smile on their face knowing they made a huge impact on the Eta Beta chapter this year. We look forward to seeing what 2018 brings our sisters.
This year our chapter continued to raise money for the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), and the Kappa Kares Program; For the Kappa Kares Program our chapter chose to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
The Eta Beta chapter chose to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention after being presented this charity during chapter in the fall of 2016. This foundation was presented by Juliette Bai who had close ties with the AFSP. She shared the tragic story about how her best friend from high school died from suicide the year prior. She also discussed how mental health is one of the top issues in the country and numerous sisters agreed that this foundations mission was moving and personal to our chapter. For these reasons the chapter agreed that AFSP was what the sister wanted to raise money for the following year.
The Eta Beta Chapter meets every Sunday at 6pm in the Fireside Classroom on Pepperdine's Campus; Chapter Council meets one hour prior to our regular chapter meeting (5pm).
Highlights of 2018Edit
2018 was a testing time on the Malibu community. Faced with the devastating Woolsey Fire that affected Malibu, the Eta Beta chapter cancelled fall formal and donated the chapter's funds for formal to help relief efforts instead. The fires forced our campus to close for a week before Thanksgiving and all students had to evacuate. The members of Kappa Kappa Gamma all came together to support one another through this time. In 2018, Alex Case was the Vice President of Recruitment for Panhellenic. Sydney Sauter was elected as Panhellenic President for 2019. In the spring and fall, four members had a 4.0 GPA.
Pepperdine University has had an increasing freshman class the past few years. As the campus grows, the number of new members has increased as well. This year we had 25 new members. This year we focused on being more engaged and active on campus within other Greek Life philanthropies, campus events, etc. We had this same goal during recruitment as well.
Our chapter supports Lung Cancer Alliance in support of our sister, Sarah Landers, who presented this organization to the chapter because her father passed away from lung cancer.
Highlights of 2020sEdit
This year was filled with many challenges due to COVID-19. However, with those challenges our Chapter was able to come together, rise to the occasion, and adapt to our new circumstances. Pepperdine University went completely online on March 13, 2020 and from that day on our chapter operated completely virtually and will continue to do so in the coming year. While the shift to virtual was less than desirable, I am proud of our chapter for our ability to adapt to our new circumstances successfully.In March when our University went unexpectedly online, our Chapter Council’s goal was to ensure that our sisterhood remain connected and continued to offer a support system to all of our sisters for the duration of the semester even if we could not physically be together. As a chapter we held virtual yoga classes, virtual movie nights, virtual chapter events and zoom mental health check ins.Over the summer our Eta Beta President, Leila Anawalt attended the Kappa convention which had to be virtual this year due to COVID-19. Our head of membership and chapter President worked diligently to prepare for virtual recruitment. They held a virtual recruitment training session to prepare everyone how to maneuver breakout rooms and foster authentic and valuable conversation with PNM’s on zoom. Our virtual recruitment began on September 4thand our virtual bid night took place on September 7th. We had two nights of sisterhood, pref night and then bid day. While everyone wished we could have been in person for recruitment,we still managed to develop authentic connections and have great conversations with so many girls. On pref night we were still able to highlight what makes Kappa so special to us each and every member. We had individual members speak to the friendships and bonds they have found throughout their time in Kappa and we wrote and shared a few sentences about what we saw in each girl we invited back to pref night and our hopes for what they too will find in Kappa. Usually on Bid day there is screaming and jumping and hugging and while I wish more than anything we could have had that this year, there was still screaming, and jumping and*virtual* hugging via zoom. The same level of excitement for new members joining our sisterhood was still present through the screen. Since COVID-19 did not allow us to have an in-person celebration with food and balloons and so much more, our new member mom Lauren Graney sent each new member a card and special package to formally welcome them to Kappa. After completing their new member education requirements, the new members were ready and excited to be initiated. As Marshal I attended multiple virtual training sessions where I learned the guidelines and expectations for virtual initiation. On the morning of October 31st, we held a virtual initiation for our new members where they were able to learn more about the ritual that makes Kappa so special! Throughout the duration of the Fall semester we held virtual sisterhood events,virtual philanthropy events, had guest speakers come to chapter and held a virtual pumpkin carving mixer with Delta Gamma!
As a chapter this year we supported RIF and the JED Foundation.This year we chose to support the JED Foundation in addition to RIF because it was a foundation near and dear to our sister Fernanda’s heart. The JED Foundation is a non-profit organization works to protect emotional health and prevent suicide for teens and young adults in the United States. JED’s work is so important particularly in today’s society due toCOVID-19 where millions of people are feeling more isolated, alone and depressed than ever before. The JED Foundation partners with local schools and universities to strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs.While we could not hold an in-person philanthropy event like we normally would, we decided to adjust and hold a virtual philanthropy campaign via our social media. As a chapter we were able to spread awareness about the importance of mental health and resources for those struggling and we were able to raise and donate $450 for the JED Foudnation and we donated $350 to RIF. We made our donation on “Giving Tuesday” and our donations were each then doubled by the organizations!Other philanthropic efforts our chapter made this semester did not directly go to an organization rather it went to better our local community. On October 25th and October 30thour head of philanthropy, Olivia decided to launch a “Kappa Klean Up” initiative where she encouraged sisters to get outside and pick-up trash in their community (with gloves and proper sanitary equipment)!
Over the summer in the aftermath of the atrocity committed by the police officers who murdered George Floyd our chapter council met and discussed how to best educate our chapter on the racial injustices taking place today and how our chapter could get involved. We decided to hold a virtual discussion as a chapter in order to foster an open dialogue. Our virtual gathering over the summer about racial injustices allowed sisters to share their own experiences, ask questions and make suggestions on how we can get involved as a chapter. Asa chapter we launched a social media campaign showing Eta Beta’s support of the Black Lives Matter movement and encouraging others to get involved and individually make donations to the Black Lives Matter Foundation, sign petitions and join marches in their individual communities. We had so many sisters in the streets peacefully protesting and marching and making donations to the BLM Foundation.Later in the semester we appointed our first ever DEI chairman named Sydney and we hope to continue and grow that position every year going forward!
This year was Kappa’s 150th anniversary! Since COVID-19 prohibited our chapter from gathering in person, we had our education chairman Megan give a presentation in chapter about Kappa’s history and as a chapter on October 13th our chapter attended the Kappa National’s Virtual Founders Day Facebook Live celebration!
Photographs Our sisters supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement this summer! Virtual Yoga class as a chapter!
