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→Highlights of 2013
Our chapter continues to emphasize Academics, Sisterhood and Participation. We support these concepts by our intense focus on Academic performance throughout the semester, creative Sisterhood events and a new Participation Celebration we implemented Fall 2013 to encourage participation in mandatory events, academic success and participation on campus and in the community.
==Highlights of 2014==
Scholarship:
Epsilon Lambda has done a wonderful job this year of continuing to emphasize the importance of chapter academic success. We are proud to announce that for Fall semester 2014, we had an average chapter GPA of 3.16, which placed us above the all-sorority average of 3.12.
Here are some programs we have implemented to encourage members to excel in academics:
- KKG Test Fairy twitter account
- Academic Conferences for members on an academic status
- Study Hour Log
- Wise Owl Jar, which allows members to be rewarded for their good grades throughout the week.
- Study Hours
- DropBox used for test files
- Rewards for Members who make above a 3.50 GPA
- All New Members must have at or above a 3.0 high school GPA
Awards:
- At the 2014 Convention, Epsilon Lambda won the Finance Award for a housed chapter.
Philanthropic Events:
- Epsilon Lambda participated in and won Beta Upsilon Chi's Island week, whose proceeds went to Tiva Water.
- Participated in Kappa Sigma's South Seas Week, whose proceeds benefitted the Fisher House Foundation.
- Participated in and won Delta Tau Delta's Battle of the Bands, whose proceeds benefitted the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
- Participated in and won Chi Omega's Flag Football Tournament, benefitting Dream Connection.
- March for Babies, benefitting March of Dimes
- Chef's Auction, benefitting March of Dimes
- March of Dimes Golf Tournament
- Reading to children at Thrive for Lonsdale Elementary, benefitting underprivileged youth in the Knoxville area
- Relay for Life (campus-wide event that Epsilon Lambda participated in)
- Habitat for Humanity (campus-wide event that Epsilon Lambda participated in)
- 1st annual Kappa Kolor Wars, benefitting March of Dimes.
We are so proud of the success of our 1st annual Kappa Kolor Wars. Below is a summary of this event:
On September 24, 2014 Epsilon Lambda chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma hosted its newest philanthropy event, Kappa Kolor Wars, benefitting March of Dimes. Kolor Wars is a paint-filled water balloon dodgeball tournament, mixing elements of the color run with dodgeball. The tournament was bracket-style with separate girl’s and boy’s brackets. Each sorority and fraternity team consisted of five players, each receiving a Kappa Kolor Wars t-shirt to participate in. The winners of each bracket received a trophy, as well as a $100 donation to their philanthropy.
A total of 19 teams participated, 9 sororities: Delta Zeta, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Kappa, Kappa Delta, Zeta Tau Alpha, Delta Delta Delta, Chi Omega, Delta Gamma, and Alpha Chi Omega; and 10 fraternities: Delta Tau Delta, Alpha Gamma Rho, Phi Delta Gamma, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Nu, Beta Upsilon Chi, Sigma Chi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Kappa Sigma, and Phi Sigma Kappa. The ladies of Tri Delta won the girl’s bracket, and the gentleman of Sigma Chi were the champions of the boy’s.
All of the proceeds from Kappa Kolor Wars went to Kappa Kappa Gamma’s local philanthropy, March of Dimes. March of Dimes is a non-profit organization promoting the health of babies and their families, along with preventing infant mortality and premature birth. Kappa is excited to announce that a total of $3,110 was raised for the Knoxville chapter of March of Dimes! Everyone in the chapter really enjoyed participating and had a great time raising money for a great cause!
Chapter Goals:
- Academic Development:
* Maintain chapter GPA above the all-Panhellenic average
* Continue to monitor members with grades below 3.0
- Chapter Involvement
* Chapter council members should respect time of chapter members
* Continue to educate the chapter about the attendance reward program
* Emphasize and promote opportunities to the chapter to help members become more involved and gain leadership experience.
- Chapter Leadership Programming
* Chapter council should utilize committees to encourage member involvement in chapter decision making
* Increase chapter participation throughout Panhellenic and always promote Kappa ideals and values
- Chapter Knowledge and Chapter Heritage
* Continue exposing new members to ritual thoroughly and immediately after initiation
* Increase enthusiasm for ritual, and emphasize the importance of Initiation and respecting Kappa values during Inspiration Week
* Educate the members on the importance and uniqueness of our ritual.
Traditions:
- Sapphire Rewards Banquet
- Mother Daughter Tea during the Spring semester
- Annual Parents Weekend during the Fall semester
- Father-Daughter Baseball Game during the Spring semester
- Recruitment Traditions, including the Tennessee Kappa Rap and Kappa Kozy during Recruitment Retreat.
Overcoming Challenges:
For the past several years, Epsilon Lambda has been on an academic focus letter due to our chapter semester GPA falling below the all-sorority average semester GPA for multiple, consecutive semesters. We are proud to announce, that for Fall 2014, Epsilon Lambda placed 5th overall for Panhellenic GPAs. Our chapter had an overall GPA of 3.16, placing us above the all sorority average of 3.12. This is the first time we have been above the average in many semesters. Our VPAE and her committee continues to work diligently to ensure we remain above the all-sorority average again for Spring 2015.
Also, one concern that Epsilon Lambda has had for some time is overall chapter appearance at informal meetings. Many members were wearing athletic clothes, baggy t-shirts, and other non-professional attire. Chapter Council members decided that Members should look more presentable and professional, even for informal meetings, so under the leadership of President Whitney Robinson, Epsilon Lambda created a new Standing Rule that banned athletic clothes, leggings, and baggy t-shirts from informal meetings. This is to ensure that members look presentable for all guests coming into chapter meetings.
Another challenge Epsilon Lambda continues to battle is lack of participation by a large portion of our membership. Attendance at major philanthropic events has been a recent issue for Epsilon Lambda, but we are taking strides to eradicate this problem. One such stride is the implementation of the Sapphire Rewards program in Fall 2013, which keeps track of member involvement throughout the semester. At the end of the semester, members who have obtained all required points for mandatory events as well as those who have the most points, will be invited to a Sapphire Rewards Banquet, which includes dinner and some sort of tangible reward, like a new and trendy clothing item or other gift. So far, this system seems to be encouraging more attendance, but we are still working through this challenge. We are excited to see all the benefits this system brings to the chapter in the coming semesters.
The University of Tennessee is a very dynamic campus- constantly changing and working to improve. Similarly, Epsilon Lambda is an ever-evolving chapter as well. As a chapter, we work hard to overcome challenges and better our chapter in any way possible. As our university changes, we work hard to stay at the forefront of new reforms, thus promoting university standards and ideals while upholding the reputation of an influential and beneficial organization on this campus.
In 2010, the University of Tennessee announced its goal to become a Top 25 university. Since then, many strides have been taken in this direction. With increased focus on academics campus-wide, Epsilon Lambda is proud to announce our recent accomplishment of obtaining a chapter cumulative GPA above the all-sorority average. Just as the university has increased focus on academics, so have we placed more emphasis on this vital aspect of the college experience. We believe in creating a supportive environment in which Epsilon Lambda members can succeed academically. With the new programs and rewards in place, we encourage all members to contribute not only to Kappa Kappa Gamma's academic standards, but also the academic standards and goals of the University of Tennessee.
In the past year, the University of Tennessee has also increased its standards for the Greek community. As members of Kappa Kappa Gamma, we believe that we must be leaders in the Greek community, embodying university ideals at all times. We acknowledge that we are wearing our letters at all times, and we realize that our behavior inside and outside of the classroom will reflect on the reputation of our chapter. As the university looks with more scrutiny at the Greek chapters on campus, Epsilon Lambda is committed to proving to our university that Greek life is beneficial to our campus in many ways, not detrimental. To do this, we are uniting with more Panhellenic sororities and enacting reforms within the Panhellenic community. Our Panhellenic delegate is doing a wonderful job at communicating Panhellenic decisions to the chapter and at communicating Kappa values to the Panhellenic community.
In conclusion, with the changes implemented on the University of Tennessee's campus, Epsilon Lambda's goal is to remain a model organization on campus, embracing all university ideals and fostering the development of young women into successful, proud alumni of both Epsilon Lambda and the University of Tennessee.
All Epsilon Lambda meetings are held in the Chapter Room of our beautiful house located in the new Sorority Village on the University of Tennessee's campus. Once per month, a chapter meal is held at the house before a chapter meeting to foster deeper relationships between all members in all pledge classes. On February 23, 2013, Epsilon Lambda opened the doors to its first house, located in the beautiful Sorority Village on the University of Tennessee's campus, where all 13 sororities now have a house. Our house sleeps 33 girls, mostly members of the Sophomore pledge class. This house has been a wonderful opportunity for members to become closer to each other and develop relationships that they otherwise would not have without this wonderful house.