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Gamma Pi
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|Image= [[File:Gamma_Pi.jpg|200px]]
|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1927|06|02}}
|College= [httphttps://www.ua.edu/ University of Alabama]
|Location= Tuscaloosa, AL
|Homepage= [httphttps://kkgalabamaua.comkappa.org/ Gamma Pi Homepage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Gamma_Pi Media related to Gamma Pi Chapter]}}
'''3,136 669 initiates (as of June 20142018)'''
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'''Some of Gamma Pi’s outstanding alumnaeCharter Members:'''Margaret Cora Allman, Alberta Inge Austin, Mildred Gaston Beale, Dorothy Ellen Curtis, Alexina Anderson Demouy, Ruth Judson Elliott, Alice Adeline Gardiner, Katie Nell Holmes, Ninette Huffman, Margartia Lopez-Trelles, Estella Keith Masters, Edna Lee McDonald, Mary George Smith Robinson, Susye Katherine Wilkins.
'''Fraternity Loyalty Award:'''
Miriam Austin Locke, 1974
Throughout the year, Gamma Pi members have improved in the area of academics, sisterhood, and involvement around campus and within Kappa. We hosted many events for actives to bond more with their sisters, including Zumba for all grades on Monday nights twice a semester, ice cream get-togethers, movie nights, and pizza parties. We also had bible studies for members who wanted to come together and worship God. Many of our actives are on the Dean’s List, President’s List, and many different academic honor societies. We have many members of Gamma Pi in leadership positions of SGA at the University of Alabama. We are proud of the improvements that we continue to make, and we hope to continue our efforts to become an event stronger chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma.
==Highlights of 2015==
The year of 2015 proved to be another successful year for the Gamma Pi chapter at the University of Alabama. We have had several members that have held leadership positions and are in numerous honor societies on campus. We continue to strive for increased involvement of our members on campus now and in the future.
In January, we hosed our annual Kappa Kappa Gamma Leadership Day. This day is where incoming and outgoing officers and advisers come together and set goals for the new year. This is also a time where previous plans are reviewed and areas are looked at for where improvements could be made. We continue to have an action plans of focusing on Recruitment, Effort, Academics, and Leadership.
In February, we had numerous members of chapter council attend Kappa Kappa Gamma Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. Our members were very excited to have the opportunity to meet with other Kappas from around the country.
In April, we held a memorial weekend and ground breaking ceremony for our new Kappa house. The event was filled with hundreds of alumni and actives at the Kappa house to walk through the old house and share memories from years of Gamma Pi members. The ceremony also was a ground breaking event for our new house, where we shared plans of the future of Gamma Pi.
In August, our current members worked very hard to pledge our largest pledge to date. The pledge class had 140 incredible new members! We, yet again, had the best return rates we have ever had and were very excited to add such an amazing pledge class.
Throughout the year, Kappa participated in and held several philanthropy events.
In January, we supported Big Brothers/ Big Sisters organization of West Alabama with their annual Krispy Kreme Challenge. This event consisted of a 2.5 mile race where participants received a dozen donuts halfway through the race. In order to win the race, participants must eat all of the donuts before finishing the race. On our leadership day, the CEO of Big Brothers/ Big Sisters West Alabama came to speak to us about leadership.
In April, we held our annual our annual Parents Weekend, we hosted a pancake breakfast at the Kappa House. There was a five-dollar donation given by everyone in attendance. The proceeds went to the Cystic Fibrosis foundation.
In September, the Kappas held a philanthropy dinner for Molly Remmert Rossell. A native of Tuscaloosa who was battling cancer. The event was to raise awareness for cancer and support Molly in her fight.
In October, members helped with the Thomas Plott Foundation’s annual golf tournament to raise awareness and funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. We focus several of our philanthropy efforts towards cystic fibrosis because one of our current members suffers from it. We also held our third annual Kappa Karnival. This is to serve the underprivileged children of our Tuscaloosa community and to collect books benefitting our national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental. We asked other sororities and fraternities to donate books for our case. We hosted a carnival for the children at our house. Also in October, we held our annual Virginia Gray Bailey/ Becca Bettis Memorial Scholarship fundraiser cookout to remember two members who passed away. Alumni and actives gathered on the Kappa Lawn to enjoy live music, eat hamburgers and bbq, hear more plans for the New Kappa House, and support the case. The scholarship goes to a deserving active of Gamma Pi who exemplifies the ideals of Kappa Kappa Gamma.
In November we held a fundraiser at a local restaurant for “Amazing Grace”. Grace is a young girl from Birmingham, Al who had cancer. The event held was to raise money to donate to the Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, Al in Grace’s name. We sold cups with “Amazing Grace logo” for 5$ a piece so that anyone who bought the cup could get free sodas, all afternoon at the restaurant. We had an outstanding attendance rate from not only our members of Gamma Pi but also from locals in Tuscaloosa.
One of the areas we continue to focus on is improving academics among all members. Every year we strive to increase our sorority’s academic average, and this year, like previous year, we were successful in doing so. We are proud of the improvements that we continue to make, and we hope to continue our efforts to become an even stronger chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma.
The overall nature of our chapter is a happy and friendly chapter. We have no had many changes on campus except for our new University of Alabama President being named. This has not changed many things for the Kappas of Alabama. We are one of the most liked sororities on campus with other students and with the University.
Chapter Philanthropy:
What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
We participate in many different organizations in our community. The above organizations are what we normally give time and money to within the community.
Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
We choose to support different organization due our chapter’s voice in what organization we should promote. If a member has a philanthropy we should support, our philanthropy chairman will review the cause and decide if we have time and money to get involved with the given event.
==Highlights of 2016==
This year, the Gamma Pi chapter focused on increasing our involvement in philanthropic activities and the community while also improving communication within the chapter and chapter council. The Gamma Pi chapter collaborated with Big Brothers Big Sisters of West Alabama for the Krispy Kreme Challenge, and the whole chapter participated in the 5K walk/run in February.
Furthermore, our chapter was honored at the University of Alabama's Greek Excellence Banquet in February for our service and dedication to the campus. In March, we planned and implemented a successful parent's weekend with over 750 attendees (both parents and members). We also held a successful tie dye sisterhood event at the chapter house in March and participated in the university's homecoming week, including a bowling and dodgeball competition.
Our chapter awarded the Miriam Locke scholarship to four of our members in March. These members demonstrated dedication and excellence to both Kappa and academics. We also participated in a Secret Meals For Hungry Children project, an organization dedicated to feeding children who have been identified as going without nutrition over the weekend. Our chapter decorated a backpack for the project, and we were selected as the winners. Other philanthropic involvement included a sisterhood event for Relay for Life, Big Brothers Big Sisters of West Alabama banquet, attending the LHON's foundation cookout in honor of a university student, Bright Minds Reading, and the Virginia Gray and Becca cookout our chapter hosts every year. We also completed construction of our new chapter house and opened its doors in August 2016.
The house is home to 60 members and provides a great location for every one to get together. We also hosted an alumni event in September to showcase the new house. Our chapter overcame the challenges of a large chapter size by bettering communication through providing our members with frequent updates and planning numerous sisterhood events, like movie night or cookie decorating at the house, where members could spend time together. In addition, academics is a challenge our chapter has faced, but by holding members more accountable for their GPAs through mandatory study hours and "major heads" we provided our members with the resources necessary to achieve academic success.
Recent changes on our campus include the construction of new sorority houses and renovation of other campus buildings. Increased focus on GPAs and the need for sororities to meet these standards has also increased. The Gamma Pi chapter has 442 active members. With a chapter this large, we are thankful to have a diverse mix of members and strive to create and facilitate a bond between all members. Our chapter encourages our members to pursue leadership roles within the chapter, campus organizations and the community. Our members are involved in numerous organizations in addition to Kappa. We place an emphasis on academics and philanthropic involvement. Our chapter's officers strive to create a welcoming environment in which every member has the necessary tools to achieve success.
The Gamma Pi chapter has supported Big Brothers Big Sisters of West Alabama, Bright Minds reading program through United Way, Reading is Fundamental, and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation.
Gamma Pi seeks to better the community and our members by making a difference in the lives of those around us. We partner with Reading is Fundamental due to the organization being Kappa's national philanthropy and also because of our chapter's vision of making a difference in children's lives. We host an annual event called "Kappa Karnival" in October to benefit RIF and Big Brothers Big Sisters of West Alabama, our chapter's local philanthropy. We also encourage our members to volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters through participation in their mentor program where each member is matched with a "little brother" or "little sister" (a child from an underprivileged background).
Through Big Brothers Big Sisters, our chapter is able to make an impact on children's lives around us and give back to the community. Big Brothers Big Sisters holds a special place in all of our member's hearts. In addition, our members also participate in Bright Minds reading program through United Way where we send members into local schools to read to elementary children for an hour.
This organization is important to our chapter due to the opportunities to make a difference and experience hands on philanthropy. United Way recognized us in their newsletter for our partnership with the reading program and the dedication our members have shown this past semester.
We also donate to the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation as our chapter wants to give back to the organization that is the reason of our existence. Without Kappa, our members would not have the opportunity to experience the bond and sisterhood we all share. Without the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, our chapter would not exist; for this reason, it is important to give back and recognize our origins.
We hold chapter meetings in our new chapter house on campus. The house opened in August 2016 and has been of great use to our chapter.
==Highlights of 2017==
We began our year in January with our Kappa Leadership day, where we outlined important dates and set our individual and chapter goals. One of our major goals this year was to implement committees to encourage involvement from all members within Gamma Pi. In review, the committees allowed chapter council officers to accomplish more and allowed each member of Gamma Pi to show her leadership ability and increase her involvement with the chapter. In February, we partnered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of West Alabama in their biggest fundraiser, the Krispy Kreme Challenge. The whole chapter was able to participate in the 5k fun run/walk and give back to a philanthropy that is important to our chapter. We also were honored at the Alabama Greek Excellence Award's Banquet for our impact on campus. In March, we hosted our annual Parents' Weekend and receive record-breaking feedback of its success. The event catered to 700+ people (parents and members), and was our time to show our immense gratitude to our parents for the opportunity to be involved with Gamma Pi. In April, we hosted a blood drive on Alabama's campus in partnership with Red Cross; this was the largest blood drive on campus this year. Over the summer months, we worked hard for the upcoming recruitment in August. In August, we had amazing success pledging 145 new members to Gamma Pi. Our Marshal worked hard to organize and emphasized the importance of Kappa's Ritual during special education session which we were then able to share with 143 new members during Initiation in October. Throughout the year, our chapter has strengthened our bond with monthly sisterhood events such as baseball games, educational speakers, and ice skating that gave the members time to spend with each other. With such a large chapter, sisterhood events are imperative and truly strengthen our relationship, in addition to being fun activities. As chapter council, we have worked hard to make Gamma Pi an exemplary Kappa chapter. We have made major changes such as implementing committees, strictly holding members accountable, increasing communication with each other and members, and working to increase our chapter GPA, just to name a few examples. But all of this could not have been done without the help and encouragement of each other and our loyalty to our Kappa sisters.
Major changes on our campus include construction of new sorority houses. Our house was just completed August 2016; we are lucky to have such a wonderful house! Our chapter consists of 438 active members. We are thankful for the diverse mix of members and the bond Gamma Pi has allowed us to make. Not only is Gamma Pi a source of friendship, but it is also a source of encouragement. We encourage our members to be involved and pursue leadership roles in our chapter, Alabama's campus organizations, and Tuscaloosa's community. We strive for academic excellence and philanthropic involvement within Gamma Pi and individually. Overall, Gamma Pi is a source of encouragement, friendship, and memories that will last a lifetime.
'''Philanthropy'''
The Gamma Pi chapter's major philanthropy, locally in Tuscaloosa, is Big Brothers Big Sisters of West Alabama. We also spend time with Bright Mings reading program through United Way, in addition to Reading is Fundamental. Gamma Pi seeks to better the community and our members by making a difference in the lives of those around us. With such a large chapter, we feel we have a huge opportunity to make a difference in the community locally and nationally, with our donations to Reading is Fundamental. We partner with Reading is Fundamental because it is Kappa's national philanthropy and we notice the importance of child literacy. To promote RIF, we organized a Reading is Key event. During this event, our members volunteered with a local elementary school's kindergarten class, spending time reading and creating crafts. Each child received a book and a supply box filled with crayons, glue, scissors, and stickers. The teachers also received 10-15 books to have for the class. This impacted the children of Northington Elementary tremendously and spread the importance of child literacy. In addition, we are also involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters of West Alabama. Big Brothers Big Sisters is a mentor program where qualified mentors are matched with a "little brother" or "little sister", of an underprivileged background. We highly encourage our members to become mentors with Big Brothers Big Sisters as it is a gratifying experience and opportunity to make a difference in someones life. Each member of our chapter is able to volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters during one of our biggest philanthropy events, and Big Brothers Big Sisters main fundraiser, the Krispy Kreme Challenge. This event is a 5k fun-run to raise money for the philanthropy held annually in February. Big Brothers Big Sisters holds a special place in all of our members' hearts. In addition, our members also participate in Bright Minds reading program through United Way where we send members into local schools to read to elementary children for an hour. We also donate to the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation as our chapter wants to give back to the organization that is the reason of our existence. Without Kappa, our members would not have the opportunity to experience the bond and sisterhood we all share. Without the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, our chapter would not exist; for this reason, it is important to give back and recognize our origins.
[[File:Gamma Pi Chapter Facility.jpg|thumb|Gamma Pi Chapter House opened in 2016]]
We hold our chapter meetings in our chapter house on campus. It was opened August 2016, so it is still fairly new. We are so grateful for this amazing house and the time we spend together inside.
==Highlights of 2018==
We began our year in January with a beneficial leadership seminar that allowed the newly elected Chapter Council to meet as a unit, and brainstorm ideas to improve the chapter in the upcoming year. We outlined important dates and set individual and group goals, as well as learned valuable leadership skills. One major goal was to increase chapter participation in Gamma Pi, which we did by giving chapter council committees more responsibilities, allowing them to get more involved. In February, we partnered with Big Brothers/Big Sisters in their biggest fundraiser, the Krispy Kreme Challenge. The entire chapter was able to participate in the 5k run and support the philanthropy that is so important to Gamma Pi. In March, we hosted our annual Parent’s Weekend, which was huge success. We hosted over all of the members of our chapter and their parents, with a total of over 700 people. We host this event every year to express our gratitude for all of the parent’s involvement and support of our chapter. In April, we partnered with Red Cross to host a blood drive on campus, the largest blood at the University of Alabama this year. Over the summer, we continued to work hard to prepare for our upcoming recruitment. In August, we had tremendous success, and recruited 112 new members. Throughout the next several weeks, our marshal worked with them in the new member education program to teach them the importance and significance in Kappa rituals. In October, the new members were initiated, which was a special occasion for the entire chapter as well as the dozens of alumni who were also in attendance. Having such a large chapter, it is important to keep connected through sisterhood events which were held every month, including movie nights, spa days, catered food trucks, and educational speakers to help strengthen our bond as a chapter. Overall, our chapter council has worked hard to preserve the Kappa standards and bring our chapter closer together. Our implementation of committees as well as increase in accountability for all members seems to have boosted morale and increased participation. All of this said, none of this could be possible without the love and dedication from our Kappa sisters and alumnae.
We are so blessed to have such a beautiful house that we all respect and share. Our chapter, being so large, is blessed to have such a diverse and interesting group of women who love and encourage each other every day. There is such a strong sense of community and friendship throughout the entire chapter. We encourage our members to be leaders in their community, the classroom, and role models to those around them. Overall, Gamma Pi is a source of love and sisterhood that we are confident will last far beyond our years at the University.
One of the most important goals of Gamma Pi is striving to better the community by impacting the lives of those around us. Being such a thriving chapter, we have an incredible opportunity to donate our time and resources to our philanthropies. We partner with Reading is Fundamental, which is our national philanthropy because we see the need in this country to greatly improve child literacy. One way we contributed, was by hosting our annual Reading is Key event, during which our members volunteered at a local elementary school’s kindergarten class. Each class received books and supplies for all of the children. Our members stayed with the children, reading to them and making arts a crafts. In doing this, we believe we made a positive impact on the teachers and students of Northington Elementary, as well as spread the importance of child literacy. In addition to Reading is Fundamental, we also support Big Brothers Big Sisters of West Alabama as our local philanthropy. Big Brothers Big Sisters is a mentor program in which qualified mentors are paired with a “little brother” or “little sister” from an underprivileged family. We highly encourage all of our members to take part in this program, as it is very rewarding for both our members and the children they mentor. We also support Big Brother Big Sisters by partnering with them in their biggest fundraiser of the year, the Krispy Kreme Challenge, which is a 5k held in every year in February. We, as a chapter, have formed very strong bonds with the leaders of Big Brothers Big Sisters and are honored to be able to give back. Our chapter also participates in the Bright Minds reading program, through which our members volunteer to read to local elementary students for one hour. We also donate to the Kappa Kappa Gamma Organization to support or national chapter. Without Kappa, many of us would not have the opportunities we have today, and for that we are extremely grateful.
Madeline Turner, a Gamma Pi current member and legacy, in addition to newly elected Vice President of Education for the 2019 year, has deep Kappa history. She can be reached at mturner@crimson.ua.edu.
==Highlights of the 2020s==
==Highlights of 2021==
Throughout the past year, the Gamma Pi chapter, as well as all chapters across the nation, still faced challenges and changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe that our chapter handled the new challenges in the best possible way and I am so proud of everything that this chapter has accomplished over the past year. We also switched House Moms at the end of the 2020-2021 school year. We welcomed Suzanne Lucas in August and she has added a new spark to the chapter.
Scholarships:
We got to host the annual Virginia Gray and Becca Scholarship Fundraiser again this year, after not being able to do so in 2020. This scholarship raises funds for two members of our chapter to receive scholarships to pay for their member dues. Grace Sutherlin, our Director of Philanthropy, raised money for Reading is Fundamental and Mental Health Awareness, as well as the Virginia Gray and Becca Scholarship. We were so happy to hold this fundraiser again this year, and we hope to be able to continue this tradition in the coming years. In addition, we were so proud of all of the members who received scholarships from the University as well as other organizations.
Traditions:
This year, we got to get back to our some of our usual traditions, with a few limitations. We held the annual end of recruitment workshop waterslide and snow cone party. This allows everyone to celebrate the hard work that was put in during workshop and go into recruitment week with a strong sisterhood and positive attitude. Everyone looks forward to it and the payoff really shows during recruitment week. We also held the Virginia Gray and Becca Cookout this year, after not being able to hold it last year. It is an annual event dedicated to the memory of two former Gamma Pi chapter members, who unexpectedly passed away in a car accident a few years ago. The money raised in their honor is donated to a scholarship fund for two active member’s dues. Those who purchase a wristband can come into the Kappa house on a specific game day (usually Homecoming) and enjoy a barbeque lunch. We also got to have the annual Founders Day dinner, that all of the members look forward to attending. The kitchen staff pulls out all the stops for the special day. Girls line up all around the house to eat and celebrate with each other, and it was so nice to see everyone eating and enjoying themselves in person again. Much like the Founders Day Dinner, the Thanksgiving dinner the week before Thanksgiving is a wonderful time at the house, with everyone enjoying great food and looking forward to seeing their families for the holidays. It was so nice to get back to some traditions this year, but there were still a lot of events that we were unable to hold this year.
Special Events:
The pandemic stopped us from hosting many of our usual events last spring and one event that was not held this year was the Krispy Kreme Run. This philanthropy event benefits our local philanthropy, Big Brothers Big Sisters of West Alabama. It is usually held on Saturday mornings and always has a big turnout of Kappas. Whitney Jamison, our chapter advisor, is very involved with BBBS, and was very sad that it could not be held last year. In lieu of this event, she still held a fundraiser for BBBS in order to raise money for this special organization. In the fall, we were able to hold a new fundraiser for the new Fraternity philanthropy. We held “Biscuits at Bryant Denny” in order to raise money for the Jed Foundation. The Jed Foundation is a non-profit organization that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults in the United States. They partner with colleges in order to strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs and systems. Biscuits for Bryant Denny was held on a Saturday morning before our last home game, and people could come by the front of the Kappa house in order to purchase a biscuit in support of the foundation. It was so fun to get involved with the people in the community, as well as the fans who had traveled to Tuscaloosa to see the game.
Philanthropic Involvement:
In the spring, we were very limited with what we could do with the philanthropy Reading is Fundamental. With the majority of children that we work with doing school at home, we could not visit the local elementary schools and read to the children. These Reading is Key events were so fun and taking a semester off was incredibly hard for our members, who love to be involved in the community. The children love when we get to visit, but we knew that it was better for everyone to stay home and stay safe. Over the summer, the Fraternity philanthropy changed to mental health awareness, so we unfortunately do not hold reading is key events anymore. We were going through a transition at the beginning of the year, but we got to hold a new fundraiser for the new philanthropy in October. As stated before, we held Biscuits at Bryant Denny in order to raise money for the new Kappa philanthropy. Our members are very passionate about a strong sisterhood and positive environment inside of Kappa, so this new philanthropy was welcomed with open arms. The members loved passing out biscuits before the home game and knowing what the cause was that we were supporting, made it so much more special. During the spring, we were not able to hold a lot of Percentage Days, but in the fall, we got to hold a few percentage days in order to support the new philanthropy.
Chapter Goals:
Operating a chapter amidst a pandemic was hard for chapters across the nation, and our chapter goal was chapter involvement. We continued to hold chapter zoom meetings and operate virtually for a little, which allowed everyone to stay involved and keep Kappa in their hearts during tough times. The pandemic was hard for all, but we strived to keep the sisterhood as normal as possible.
Chapter Philanthropy
What local organization does the chapter support and why? Click or tap here to enter text.