2,350
edits
Changes
→Highlights of 2018
Historically, our chapter always supports and works hard to raise money for Dance Marathon's Children's Miracle Network and for our philanthropy Reading Is Fundamental. We also take part in and volunteer with numerous community charities. As a chapter we continue to support Reading is Fundamental for year with two philanthropy events. One in the Fall called Kappa Con Queso which is a taco and nacho bar held at our house where guests could either purchase presale tickets or one at the door to enjoy this event. This was our 3rd annual Kappa Con Queso and it was so successful it succeeded our goal. We got so much support and participation from not only the greek community but the University community as well. We also hosted our annual Kappa Kickball Tournament benefitting RIF as well. Again the participation was incredible and we were so proud to be able to give back to Reading is Fundamental.
Our chapter also participated in Dance Marathon benefitting the Children's Miracle Network crushing our goals as a chapter and university as a whole. We continued our ongoing volunteering in the Gainesville community with volunteering for JJ Finley Elementary School. We support this elementary school to help educate and emphasize the importance of reading in their lives. This experience is brightening and extremely rewarding to our chapter.
==Highlights of 2019==
Epsilon Phi and its members won the following awards this year: Director of the Year. Dallas Hampton was awarded the Naomi Stevens Award for her major. Sammie Green was a finalist in the Florida Associated Press College Broadcasters contest.
Throughout the year, Epsilon Phi was able to continue many traditions that bring the members joy and create a greater sense of sisterhood. One of the most anticipated events is our Big/Little Reveal, where Big sisters create big/little baskets for their Little sisters throughout the week, while keeping their identities a secret until the day of the reveal. Families often have matching outfits with a fun theme and many families celebrate getting a new member to the family by going out to dinner together.
Epsilon Phi has added a ceremony following the Fireside ceremony that we call the "Senior candle Passing", where seniors in the chapter are able to say a few words to their sisters, as they reflect on their time in the chapter and they give their sisters words of advice for college. We officially end the Fireside ceremony and then open it up to the seniors. New and older members alike enjoy the chance to hear some words of wisdom from other girls and it is a cherished tradition.
Every year, we have a weekend in the fall, Family Weekend, where sisters’ family members are invited from Friday to Sunday to participate in various events together. This year, we had a night at a restaurant in town, watched the football game, and had brunch at the house. It was exciting for families to be able to see the friendships and impact that Kappa has had on their family member’s life.
Our Chapter had the opportunity to participate in many philanthropies and support the Greek community on campus both financially and by competing in their events. Below are the various philanthropies we participated in, and how many hours and funds we were able to contribute to their cause. Also listed is any awards we won during the philanthropies.
Alpha Epsilon Pi Superbowl - 3 hours of participation $35; Beta Theta Pi’s Beta Bring It On - 3 hours of participation $555; Delta Tau Delta’s Delt Miss Greek - 2 hours of participation $305; One of our new spring members, Isabella Carlin, represented the Epsilon Phi chapter proudly and won 1st place in this fundraising pageant. Bella was able to raise $3,007 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Delta Tau Delta brother Ryan Hinterleiter. Delta Tau Delta’s Crawfish Boil - 2 hours of participation $28; Phi Kappa Tau’s Safe Sets - 2 hours of participation $50; Our team won 1st place in this volleyball tournament benefiting the SeriousFun Children’s Network. Chi Omega’s Sandblast - 2 hours of participation $25; Tau Kappa Epsilon’s Takedown - 2 hours of participation $25; Gamma Phi Beta’s Moonball - $25; Kappa Alpha Theta’s Capture the Kite - 3 hours of participation $25; Panhellenic Council’s Around the Row - 2 hours of participation $50;
Phi Gamma Delta’s FIJI Field Day - 2 hours of participation $25; Delta Sigma Phi’s Delta Dunks - 5 hours of participation $25; Lambda Chi Alpha’s Lambda Chi Watermelon Bust - 4 hours of participation $25; Our team won 2nd place in this watermelon activity competition benefiting Feeding America. Kappa Sigma’s Kappa Sigma Splash - 2 hours of participation $25; Sigma Chi’s Derby Days - 4 hours of participation $105; Alpha Omicron Pi’s Strikeout Arthritis - 3 hours of participation $50; Delta Phi Epsilon’s Deepher Dude - $35; Alpha Chi Omega’s Purple Rain - $35; Phi Mu’s Tailgate Invitational - $25; Pi Beta Phi’s Down N’ Dirty - $25; Delta Zeta’s DZ Mac and Deezy - 2 hours of participation $25; Zeta Tau Alpha’s Paint Me Pink 5K - $25; Alpha Epsilon Phi’s AEPhi Hoops - $25; Kappa Delta’s KD Shamrock - $25; Delta Upsilon’s Sets on the Beach - $25; Pi Kappa Phi’s War of Roses - $25; Sigma Nu’s Sets N Nets - 2 hours of participation; $25; Our team won 1st place in this volleyball tournament benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Dance Marathon- Member of Epsilon Phi chapter independently fundraised for Dance Marathon benefiting University of Florida Shands Hospital Children’s Miracle Network. Epsilon Phi was able to raise total funds of $26,536 for various philanthropies, something for which our chapter takes great pride.
Our chapter participated in Spring Recruitment for the first time this year. Spring Recruitment is a very different process from formal Fall Recruitment, so the chapter had to do some adjusting in order for it to go smoothly. Our recruitment chairs and members of council worked very diligently together, and our chapter put in some late nights to ensure that Kappa was being represented as the best it could be on campus to potential new members. We were fortunate to get eight wonderful new members and they made the process absolutely worth it! Another goal of the chapter was for our members to become more involved on campus and invest more deeply into UF. Our members definitely succeeded, by creating new organizations, being elected into leadership positions, and becoming inducted into prestigious honor societies.
Our chapter has been fortunate to have so many involved and dedicated sisters. Below listed are organizations that we participate in this year and held leadership positions in.
Dance Marathon
* Captains: 12
* Assistant Director: 2
Student Government
* AD for Chomp the Vote
* Director of Finance and Affordability Cabinet
ACCENT Speakers Bureau
* Vice chair of digital communications
* Director
* Assistant Director of Research and Feedback
March of Dimes
* Venue Director
* Social media director
* Personnel director
Florida Blue Key
* Assistant Director for Individual Events
* Florida’s Future Leadership Program Member
Cicerones
* 2 members
Pre-health Student Organization
* 15 members
Study Abroad Locations
* Madrid, London, Berlin, Paris, Prague, Florence
Warrington Goes Green
* Co-Founder
* VP of External Relations
Pi Chi
* 15 members, 5 second years
Study Edge
* 3 Real Life 101 interns in 2019
Equestrian Team and Awards
* 4 members
Florida Leadership Academy
* 3 Mentors and 1 mentee
Global Business Society
* Vice President of Communications
* Previous global gator guides
Center for Undergraduate Research Ambassador
* Undergraduate Research Liaison to the College of Journalism
Engineers without Borders, Peru Team
* 3 members , one on design team, two on fundraising team
Warrington Diplomats
* Events Committee Head
Heavener Leadership Challenge
* 4 Participants
Business Undergraduate Mentorship Program
* 2 Mentors
UF LitiGators Competitive Mock Trial
* 1 attorney
Florida Greek Ambassadors
* 2 members
Volunteering
* Shands
* All Women’s Health Center of Gainesville
* Habitat for Humanity
* Ronald McDonald House of North Central Florida
* Baby Gator Child Development and Research Center
This past year, there was the addition of a new Panhellenic chapter, Alpha Phi, to our campus. The Greek community has grown closer with this addition. There has been lots of support for other chapters on campus, with philanthropy participation being a time to celebrate the opportunity to raise money for organizations and to come together as a community on campus. Our Epsilon Phi chapter in particular has fostered a greater sisterhood bond for one another through various sisterhood events, participating in philanthropies and volunteering at JJ Finely together, and participating in recruitment and initiation twice this year.
The Epsilon Phi chapter supports local elementary school JJ Finley, where members are able to volunteer and see Reading is Fundamental's direct impact on children in the communities around us. Members work with students to complete homework and assist with activities at the after school care program. Our chapter chose this organization to work with because not only does it support the improvement of children’s literacy in local schools, but it also 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 year we celebrated our Founder’s Day on October 20th with a brunch at our house for our members. This day was a celebration of not only our Fraternity history and the founding of Kappa, but also the history of the Epsilon Phi chapter. We looked back at pictures and events that our sisters in years previous have done and honored our founders and the founding principles of Kappa. Overall, this day served as a way for our chapter to celebrate Kappa’s history and founding members, as well as kicking off Kappa's sesquicentennial celebration!
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:==
