The chapter has felt a deeper connection to Kappa as a whole, and has been able to truly appreciate that this group of women is not just at UF, but present internationally and has had an impact through the decades. During Initiation and Founders Day, women reflected on the significance of the Fraternity and how the women before us have set an example for us to follow and a place from which to build. Having alumnae present during initiation was special and gave solid proof that our Fraternity goes beyond the four years in college.
==Highlights of the 2020s:2020==
(Information from 2020 was a very eventful year for Epsilon Phi. Although this year has looked different than years past, our chapter history reportscontinues to look forward with a positive mindset and cherish the year we have had. This year Epsilon Phi was able to achieve great success, scholarshipbeing awarded Most Outstanding Risk Manager Award for the work of Lyndsey Kleinman, group honors/awardsour Risk Management Director, traditionsas well as a UF Greek Outstanding Scholarship Award. Epsilon Phi was also recognized as the most improved chapter by the Fraternity. Two big events that were impacted this year by COVID-19 were Formal Recruitment and Initiation. The largest change for both was the transition to becoming entirely virtual events, rather than the typical in-person. Between many summer meetings with both the Panhellenic Council and Kappa Fraternity reps, special eventswe were fully prepared to train current members and recruit potential new members virtually in August 2020. During a successful spirit week via Zoom, changes on campus or within our members learned how to speak with potential new members and generate excitement for this new chapter, overall nature in their lives with leadership from our Vice President of Membership Allison Wehle and Primary Recruitment Director Alexandra Baker. Recruitment began with the chapterviewing of round one submission videos. Potential new members submitted one minute videos of themselves and gave a brief background of who they are and what they were looking for in a sorority and college in general. In turn, chapter goalswe provided a short video of Kappa, challenges which included a house tour and open conversations between current members about our values and why Kappa is special to us. Rounds two and how they three were overcome, etcheld virtually over Zoom as well and gave current members and potential new members an opportunity to get to know each other on a deeper level. The traditional preferential ceremony was pre-recorded and viewed online before potential new members spoke with current members over Zoom. The entire chapter was able to close out Recruitment with a Bid Day celebration that was socially distanced outside and in small groups.)
'''Housing'''Natalie MacDougal, our Ritual/History Director, planned our first-ever completely virtual initiation. Even through zoom, we were able to host current and alumnae members, Kappa Fraternity representatives and legacy parents to experience a beautiful ceremony to initiate our New Members. We were very happy to be able to welcome 77 New Members into our chapter.
This year we celebrated our Founders Day on October 18th with a virtual zoom celebration. Our All Member Director Gaby Rodriguez put together a wonderful presentation with interesting facts and stories of the history of Kappa Kappa Gamma. We also held a brief Founders Day ceremony that spoke of the women who founded our Fraternity 150 years ago and how they have impacted our lives. While we were planning on hosting an in-person brunch at the house as we typically celebrate, we were still very fortunate to be able to see each other via zoom and spend time reflecting on our membership in this Fraternity.
Our Chapter was able to support the Greek community on campus by participating in other chapters’ philanthropy events before the pandemic such as Beta Theta Pi’s ‘Bring It On’, Delta Tau Delta’s ‘Miss Greek’, Alpha Chi Omega’s ‘Purple Rain’, Kappa Sigma’s ‘Splash’ and Chi Omega ‘Sandblast’, and through financial contribution after many chapters adapted their events to accommodate for the pandemic.
Money we raised:
$7,340.96 raised from Kappa Kickball
$3,929 raised from Raffles for RIF
$4,200 donated to RIF
$2,100 to the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation
$500 to the Alachua County Days for Girls
Remaining $500 was received in physical checks and sent directly to Kappa Kappa Gamma Headquarters to be apportioned at their discretion. The money raised from Raffles for RIF has not yet been distributed.
The Epsilon Phi chapter supports local elementary school Carolyn Beatrice Parker, formerly known as JJ Finley, where members are able to volunteer and see Reading is Fundamental'''Philanthropy'''s direct impact on children in the communities around us. Our chapter works with this school because it provides members with the opportunity to interact with the children and see how their time spent volunteering makes a positive and lasting impact on their educational experiences. This is important because our members really value feeling like they made a tangible difference outside of fundraising and donating money. We were able to complete 356 hours of service at Carolyn Beatrice Parker before COVID-19 impacted our opportunity to volunteer. We were able to host Kappa Kickball at the beginning of the spring semester with 31 teams participating. Through the event, we raised $7,340 for Reading is Fundamental and we collected books to donate to Carolyn Beatrice Parker Elementary School’s Extended Day Enrichment Program. Although we normally host an in-person event for our fall philanthropy event, this year we held our first-ever fully virtual fundraiser instead! ‘Raffles for RIF’ was a two-day event, where items were raffled off to participants who purchased tickets. This event generated $3,929 for RIF.
Over the past year, Epsilon Phi has also taken the critical step of bringing diversity, equity, and inclusion to the forefront of our conversations and actions as a chapter. Over the summer, we implemented our first-ever Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director, which we promptly integrated into our Chapter Council structure to ensure continual work towards these goals for years to come. In addition to our new director position, we created a committee of five women to oversee and direct programming based on the five pillars of diversity we have chosen: LGBTQIA+ inclusion, women empowerment, mental health, accessibility, and racial and ethnic diversity and linguistics. Throughout the fall semester, this committee has created programming for the chapter covering a range of topics from inclusive recruitment practices, ableism, cultural appropriation, and racial slurs. In addition to presentations, we have been taking feedback from the chapter to ensure that every chapter woman feels safe and supported. Finally, Epsilon Phi has been working with DiversiPhi, a diversity and inclusion initiative that connects all Panhellenic chapters at the University of Florida to create intentional changes, within our community as a whole, to ensure that everyone feels like they have a place within it.
'''Convention Awards''' ------------------------ '''Note To reflect on the year as a whole, we would like to Chapter Registrar:''' Please refer to your chapter archives including chapter meeting minutes recognize our member’s achievements and involvement. This year we had 12 Pi Chis involved in Formal Recruitment. Olivia Galler was chosen as Head Pi Chi for recruitment in 2021. We will also have four second year Pi Chis and seven first year Pi Chis in 2021. This fall we had two Florida Blue Key Taps, our President Sarah Bartolomei and member Faith Allen. One of our New Members, Angelina Deltoro, will be a Preview Staffer in 2021. Ally Mattia and back issues Caroline Labrit are members of The Key to fill the Florida Future Leaders Program. Our VP of External Affairs, Mia Forsman is a Student Government Cabinet Chair and we have many Assistant Directors serving in any gaps Student Government. We also have sisters working for Florida Blue Key’s Speech and Debate as Directors and Assistant Directors. As well as involvement in ACCENT. Gracie Overstreet was an Assistant Supervisor of the above historical highlights2020 Student Government Election. If your chapter archives Hallie Richards and Jordanna Hermann are not completeAssistant Directors for Dance Marathon, please research your university libraryand we have 19 Captains this year. As well, campus newspaper we have Jordan Spira serving as Intramural Programming Assistant Director and yearbook archives Emily Lampi serving as Scholarship Assistant Director for newsworthy information about your the Panhellenic Activities Board.This year the chapterexperienced the sudden passing of a sister, Maggie Paxton, Member Class ’20. Please double check your work While grieving her loss, the sisters have learned to rely on each other for accuracy. Contact chapter Advisory or House Board memberssupport, local Alumnae Association membershelp out sisters in need, or your Province Director of Chapters for assistanceand remember to tell their loved ones how much they are loved. Your efforts will ensure Overall, we were very happy to celebrate Kappa’s 150th anniversary this year. Epsilon Phi has continued to deepen our bonds of sisterhood even while facing a complete and accurate history global pandemic. Although most of your chapter our events for the year were held virtually, our sisterhood persevered and is looking forward to the future generations to enjoy!continue to strengthen these bonds.