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Our chapter supports the Akola and Dallas Genesis Women's Shelter. At Kappa Karnival with SAE we raised $1560 for both the Dallas Genesis Women's Shelter(which we chose because it is local charity that provides support to domestic violence victims) and Akola Project(chosen because it was started by an SMU Kappa alumna and promotes female leadership/entrepreneurship)
==Highlights of 2019==
The previous calendar year, 2019, was an eventful and special time for the Gamma Phi Chapter. We experienced many special events that further bonded us and supported Chapter Council's goal to make our chapter more connected as a whole. To start, we were able to host many formal events thanks to the help from our incredible Event Chair, Taylor Nielson, and Risk Management chair, Corina Gonzalez-Molina. Some of these were formal parties paired with other sororities on campus, and others were "date dashes," where members dress in costume according to a given theme.
We also participated in the homecoming parade, where we nominated our Treasurer, Sarah Anania, to represent our chapter. We paired with SAE in the parade, and we had a lot of fun building our float together.
Additionally, one of our member's hard work in the classroom paid off. Elizabeth Kelley, our New Membership Chair, is the first recipient to be awarded the Wendy Weber Smith scholarship, a scholarship honoring Wendy Weber Smith, an SMU Kappa almuna. Our chapter was able to properly thank the scholarship donors by inviting them to our Founder's Day celebration and thanking them in person.
Regarding philanthropy, our Philanthropy Chair, Katie Skillman, organized two events where our chapter raised $3197. Our chapter members thoroughly enjoyed coming together to support others and give back to our community.
Lastly, the Gamma Phi Chapter made eco-friendly strides regarding the consumption of styrofoam in the house. With 40 girls living in Kappa and styrofoam being the main source of plates, bowls, and cups, we throw away a mass amount of it on a daily basis. Luckily, our President, Gwen Everett, and House Chair, Ashley Anthony, met with our House Board to discuss "going green" and introducing paper plates. By using paper, we would be reducing our carbon footprint, but also spending more money because paper costs more than styrofoam. With these extra expenses in mind, we feel very grateful that House Board granted us permission and the funds to use paper plates and support our initiative to "go green."
As a Chapter Council, we set one main goal for the year. We wanted our chapter to feel more inclusive and cohesive. While the members in our chapter are kind to one another, we noticed slight divides between different groups of girls. To break these divisions, our VP Standards Chair, Shelby Nutter, planned free workout classes to help promote various fitness studios and also encourage girls to spend time with members outside their typical social circle. These classes were successful, as chapter members feel the classes gave them an opportunity to get to know each other better. Additionally, as our chapter is gearing up to welcome home our new pledge class, PC'20, our youngest pledge class, PC'19, has been doing an incredible job including each other while practicing for recruitment. We believe that the environment within our chapter is much more cohesive than we were in January.
While we had a very successful year, we faced an unexpected challenge. With apartment living so common for the junior and senior classes, we struggled to fill the house with girls to live in it. While we were eventually able to fill it this past year, unfortunately, this challenge appears to be rising again for the 2020 academic year. However, our House Chair, Ashley Anthony, is doing an incredible job encouraging girls to live in the house and communicating its many benefits. While this is a challenge Chapter Council has to face, since we were able to fill the house before, we are confident we will be able to fill it again.
While there have not been many significant changes on campus, the chapter's overall nature is positive and encouraging. The girls in the chapter seem to genuinely want the best for each other, and this positivity continues to grow. Our chapter is especially excited because recruitment is right around the corner. We feel prepared, and we are confident that we will welcome home a group of well-rounded, "kappa classy" girls in January 2020!
Our chapter supports Reading is Fundamental, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, and the Akola Project.
Reading is Fundamental and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation are Kappa's nationally supported philanthropies. Reading is Fundamental supports children's literacy in underprivileged schools. The Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation helps support Kappas in times of adversity. Our third local philanthropy is the Akola Project. The Akola Project was founded by an SMU Kappa in the mid 2000s. The Akola Project serves to employ impoverished women in Uganda by making handcrafted beads for jewelry.
The chapter celebrated Founders Day by hosting the Dallas alumni that were receiving their milestone pins at the house. We hosted an afternoon tea with trays of snacks, beautiful flower arrangements, and speeches to express our gratitude and respect for the members receiving their pins. Per chapter ritual, six Chapter Council members conducted the candle light ceremony, which all of the attendees enjoyed.
The Gamma Phi Chapter is aware and excited for Kappa's 150th anniversary approaching in 2020. Brainstorming for a unique and fun celebration has recently begun, and with our chapter's various creative minds, we are excited to take submissions for ideas. We are considering the budget for a chapter-wide event to celebrate the huge milestone. As time goes on, we will have a more concrete answer as to how we are going to celebrate 150 years of Kappa.