2,350
edits
Changes
→Highlights of 2017
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==
