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Kappa Kappa Gamma’s national philanthropy is Reading is Fundamental, emphasizing the importance of reading at an early age in order to develop a passion for reading that will stick with you throughout life. Our Delta Upsilon chapter has taken a local interest in our national philanthropy by partnering with Athen’s very own Books for Keeps non-profit organization. Books for Keeps gives children, who otherwise would not be able to afford it, the opportunity to take home 12 brand new books over the summer. These books are tailored to each grade level to not only help avoid the summer slide but also improve their active reading levels. By pairing with a local organization, our chapter is able to see the impact of our hands on involvement within our very own community.
==Highlights of the 2020s:2020== (Information from chapter history reports, 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.) '''Housing'''
We began last semester with our annual Kappa Crawfish Boil which is our spring philanthropy event. We had it over Parents Weekend and raised a ton of money for Books for Keeps. In March, we all left for Spring Break, but UGA announced a two-week extension of spring break halfway through the week. Eventually, classes were moved online for the remainder of the semester. In-house girls were unable to move out of the house until late April. Adjustment to online classes was difficult, but we still managed to find ways to connect with our chapter. Unfortunately, we had to cancel Cutting of the Ivy, our traditional farewell ceremony for our seniors. In the fall, we had virtual recruitment run by our incredible Recruitment Chairman, Lily Waggoner, and her assistant, Emma Simonton. They lead the chapter through virtual work week and through the confusion and complications of online recruitment. We got such an unbelievable new member class this fall! The New Member Chairman, Ella McGregor, and her assistant, Lily Nichols, put on a spectacular, COVID friendly bid day and made sure all of the new members felt welcomed. The theme was “Dropping Jaws!” Our banners got stolen by some boys from outside of the house that night and Ella tracked them down and got them back! Throughout the fall we tried to find ways to make the new members fell included and connected to the chapter despite all of the restrictions. The sophomores took all of the freshmen on big-little dates and many of the upperclassmen hosted small bachelor watch parties in their houses and included people from every new member class. Virtual Initiation went well and we tried our best to preserve all of our traditions. We still collected and handed out sleep notes to the girls even though they were unable to spend the night at Kappa before Initiation. Over 30 alumni attended virtual Initiation and many came to Athens to surprise their girls in person. A few weeks later, we had a socially distanced version of Big-Little at the Athens Classic Center where all of the girls wore funny hats. Other sisterhood events we had throughout the semester were Little Ice Cream Dude on the Kappa lawn, Sydney Parrish hosted an outdoor yoga class with smoothies, and we had a pure barre Zoom class as a chapter. Overall, despite the pandemic and all of the restrictions and stress it caused this semester, Delta Upsilon chapter had a very successful and happy year!
'''Philanthropy'''
Last year, we raised over $25,300 for Books for Keeps. Books for Keeps has given 650,000 books to students, teachers, and fellow nonprofits in Georgia in the past decade. In 2020, the organization built and launched an online ordering process for students in 20 elementary schools that allowed students to select and receive books - a process that helped deliver 68,000 books direct to children's doorsteps. Every dollar raised helps put books into the hands of area students and teachers, and helps provide tools to families to make reading part of their child's success strategy.
'''Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion'''
'''Sesquicentennial'''
We had a sisterhood event where we had a virtual trivia night with Kappa history facts and facts about the Delta Upsilon chapter. We also held Initiation on Founders Day!
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