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==Highlights of 2017==
Twenty-Seventeen was a year of growth and change for Beta Chi. We started off 2017 with a bang. We began with the announcement that our beloved home was going to be renovated for the 2017-2018 school year. While excitement ran high, this also caused some worry about how the chapter would function without a home.
With the knowledge that chapter life was going to change without a house, the chapter created goals to ensure this year of transition and change went as smoothly as possible. The first goal was to improve chapter communication and organization. This was achieved by creating a chapter Google Drive with all important information and included a thorough calendar of everything happening. We also utilized digital media and social networking to keep our sisters in the loop. Chapter meetings were held every Monday at 6:30 PM in the Don and Cathy Jacobs Academic Science Building.
Our second goal was strengthening our sisterhood, this was achieved through new and creative ways to get our sisters together, even though we didn’t have our house. Our standards committee worked hard to put on weekly sisterhood events for all interests ranging from cookie decorating, to watching the Bachelor, fitness classes, night out at the movies to see “Bad Moms: Christmas”, attending the Cincinnati Reds vs. Chicago Cubs baseball game, and many other fun and exciting events. We also worked to grow our sisterhood by recognizing our sisters weekly for amazing things they have done. We gave out “Keys” to recognize their sisters who had positively impacted others with random acts of kindness, we had the “Polished Kappa” award for sisters who were best dressed to social functions and we recognized the sisters who inspire us, guide us, and support us through our Hero Book.
Finally, our third goal was to welcome in the new members with open arms and share the amazing sisterhood that Beta Chi has with them. Going through recruitment without a home was a challenge that only brought us closer as a chapter. During formal recruitment all but two of the fifteen Panhellenic chapters were in their homes, Beta Chi was one of these two. The chapter recruited out of the home of Sigma Chi Fraternity which is located centrally in UK’s Greek Park neighborhood. The recruitment team and all members worked hard to make the new space feel like home with crafts, rugs, photos and special touches that made the space feel a little bit like our beloved home. At the end, Beta Chi welcomed home 85 beautiful women into our sisterhood in Greek Park. These women truly uphold the legacy of Beta Chi and we cannot wait to see how these women impact the university, the Beta Chi chapter, and the world.
The Beta Chi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma supports our national nonprofit “Reading is Fundamental”. The chapter is very passionate about working with RIF and their mission. This past semester Beta Chi has developed a unique relationship with a local Title 1 Elementary School, Russell Cave Elementary in north Lexington. Before the school year began, the Beta Chi chapter donated over $2000 worth of school supplies to the teachers to help supplement some of the cost that they pay out of their own pockets. This semester our chapter members have had the opportunity to assist in classrooms on a weekly basis. Sisters helped with reading activities in the classroom, grading papers and other tasks teachers needed help with. During Recruitment, with the help of potential new members, the chapter made over 7000 flashcards to promote cognition of sight words and basic math and number recognition skills. These flashcards were in English and Spanish to accommodate the 54% of the students who come from Spanish-speaking households. The students were then able to take these flashcards home during our Reading is Key Carnival that occurred later in the semester. At the Carnival, chapter members assisted in running various carnival games which were open to all students and the public. All funds raised at the carnival went straight to Russell Cave Elementary. At the carnival, Beta Chi hosted a booth where children participated in a literacy activity and at the end of each student received a book. Throughout the year, Beta Chi has purchased over 1400 books which went directly to the students and extras were given to teachers to keep in their classroom libraries.
This fall, Beta Chi held our two philanthropy events, our 3rd annual Kappa Bowl with the men of Kappa Alpha order and our first ever Amazing Race event! This fun event was based off the hit TV show The Amazing Race, but was here, at the University of Kentucky. This event consisted of twenty-three teams from student organizations, both Greek and others. During the event Beta Chi chapter members ran the stations and cheered teams onto victory. This was an awesome event for players and our chapter. We can’t wait to make this our annual fall event. Overall through this event we raised over $1000 to support Reading is Fundamental!
Another area of focus for Beta Chi this year was academics. This year sisters encouraged each other to dive deeper academics. The academic committee worked hard putting together fun incentives for spending time studying together. The committee put together a program where members are rewarded for their academic successes and the member with the most points received a prize. This year the prize is a Kendra Scott necklace and bracelet. As a chapter we were able to be ranked third on campus for grades, which we are very proud of.
Throughout Lexington and on campus, the sisters of Beta Chi continue to be involved in the communities around them. Over thirty sisters danced in the annual Dance Blue dance marathon, helping raise over 1.7 million for the Golden Matrix Fund, which supports the kids of Dance Blue Kentucky Children’s Hospital Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic. We also had a large group of sisters participate in Greek Sing, where our theme was “Forrest Gump”, and sisters also participated in Stompapalooza. Sisters were also involved in other student organizations ranging from student government, to equestrian teams, and pre-professional groups. Kappa’s also participated in intramural flag football, futsal, and basketball.
During the fall, Beta Chi Chapter was lucky enough to host many alumni. In August, we held the official ground-breaking ceremony for our new home, in which the entire chapter, alumni, House Board, and construction team were present to celebrate the occasion. In October, we hosted the pledge class of 1967 back to campus to receive their 50-year pins and celebrate Founders Day with the chapter. Later in the fall, we had visits from author and sister, Holly K. Dunn, who shared her story and her new book with Beta Chi and the UK community, as well as a visit from sister Ashley Judd, who came to spend time with sisters on campus.
We also hosted our families throughout the year. We welcomed our moms into our home this spring to a brunch and afternoon of canvas painting. After spending time at the house many ladies and their mothers attended a day at Keeneland for horse races. We also held tailgates for held a Dad’s Day and Family Weekend, both were well attended events which we plan to do again in the future.
As the year winds down, the sisters of Beta Chi are excited for the future which includes the unveiling of our new home, serving our community, and continuing to grow in our sisterhood.
The chapter house, located at 238 E. Maxwell, began renovations and expansion in May 2017. Due to construction, the house was left vacant for the 2017-2018 school year. Over 40 sisters elected to live together in a local apartment complex off campus to keep the feeling of the house. For weekly meetings we utilized campus classrooms and lecture halls. Sisterhood events were held on campus, and off campus in homes, apartments and at local parks.