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|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]}}
'''2,395 447 initiates (as of June 20162018)'''
'''Charter Members:'''
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.
were 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 fallrecruitment. 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 forour new members and our sisters. With an American theme and lots of yummy food, including a foodtruck, 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 ourhouse where they played games and got to know each other better, a good time was had by all. Wecelebrated 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 weekendof October 24th and 25th. We were delighted to call our new members our sisters! Social events alsoplayed 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 withAlpha 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 bandperforming at the event. Epsilon Gamma also held many sisterhood events this year. In October we tooka 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 atBlue Ridge Assembly. The camp had many fun activities for us, such as a high ropes course, hikingtrails, 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 gingerbreadhouses, holiday cards, and enjoying the holiday season with our sisters. We take great pride in all wehave accomplished in this past calendar year and we look forward to seeing what 2016 has to offer us!Describe the recent changes on your campus and describe the overall nature of your chapter.
The 2015 calendar year contained many exciting things on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill. It hascertainly hascertainly been a year of standout athletics from many of the teams around campus. Firstly our footballhad 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 andsupporting the Tarheels together! The UNC men’s basketball team is also off to a great start for theirseason, 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, UNCbiochemist, Aziz Sancar, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Chemistry for his work with themapping of cancer cells. In light of the recent academic scandal it is clear that the University of North
Carolina Chapel Hill has a bright future ahead whether it be in academics or in athletics!
'''Chapter Philanthropy: What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, inyour community?'''
Epsilon Gamma continues to support several organizations, among them Reading is Fundamental, our
children. We have also had sisters start a library at a disadvantaged school, E.K. Powe Elementary, and
Epsilon 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 the
breast 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 2020s: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 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 chapter said 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.
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.
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.
==Highlights of 2021==
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.
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:'''