Changes
A review of what the chapter did in 2021
[[File:Screen Shot 2020-12-14 at 6.16.13 PM.png|thumb|Kappa House]]
[[File:Screen Shot 2020-12-14 at 6.19.32 PM.png|thumb|Kappa gal]]
==Highlights of 2021==
We began our new term of Leadership by coming together as a team to work on personal, department, and chapter goals for the upcoming year. We learned about each other and prepared for a successful year. We started the spring semester strong with a virtual “planner party” to get our calendars organized hosted by our new Academic Excellence Director, Brooke Castner. Throughout the semester we enjoyed a “grab-and-go” adapted meal plan that allowed us to still get delicious food in a safe way. In January Eta Eta also hosted Continuous Open Bidding and welcomed home a spring PC, Alpha Epsilon, with a socially distanced 70s Bid Day theme where they could snap some cute pictures at the house! Alpha Epsilon had Formal Pledging as the official start to their new member period, where they learned about the history of Kappa and got to know the rest of the chapter. Eta Eta then enjoyed a masked up sisterhood retreat event hosted by our Member Engagement Director, Jamie Garrison, where we bounced all night long at Defy Trampoline park, and we were so happy to be in person once again!! Alpha Epsilon then found their bigs at the beginning of March and everyone was so happy with their new additions!! The inspiration period began with the Return of the Pin Ceremony, and continued with a “trivia night” as the big event, about all things Orlando, where Eta Eta calls home. Their new member period came to a close with a virtual initiation ceremony in March that allowed both the initiates and active members to really pay attention to what the ceremony means and how special it is. At the end of March we hosted a wonderful virtual philanthropy event to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The event, titled “Layups for the Lungs” was organized by our Philanthropy Director, Alexis Cinotti and was a March-Madness style event where different organizations and individuals competed to have the most accurate bracket. The individual winner received a gift card and the organization winner received a generous donation to their philanthropy. Through this event we were able to raise $3,000 for the CF Foundation!! Throughout the rest of the semester Eta Eta hosted many virtual sisterhood studies to keep us on track to be the “KKGeniuses” that we are. We were also able to keep our sisterhood strong with various sisterhood events hosted once again by our Member Engagement Director, Jamie Garrison, such as Kahoot nights, movie nights, and painting nights. We ended the semester with another virtual senior wills ceremony to say goodbye to our graduating seniors. As the semester came to a close, our VP of Membership, Nicole Leonard alongside our Primary Recruitment Director, Bri Pruitt, began tirelessly working, picking colors, decor, and songs among many other things to prepare for Formal Recruitment. Bri even hosted recruitment workshops virtually throughout the spring and summer to help the chapter adequately prepare for the best recruitment possible. As Formal Recruitment approached, we spent spirit week both in person and virtually getting to know our sisters and practicing to bring home the best PC! We spent the week working on defining our values, practicing conversations, and while in person we got to practice in the house for the first time in almost two years!! Ultimately UCF decided it would be best and safest for everyone to host recruitment virtually once again. Recruitment team worked so hard to keep spirits high, and even came up with the idea “Kappa Konfessionals” where girls could send in fun videos and updates of how they were doing throughout the week, or even just something to make all of us laugh. We got to watch these videos all together at the end of spirit week, and it really got everyone smiling and able to go into recruitment happily with a positive attitude. Despite the challenges and sadness that another year of virtual recruitment brought, Eta Eta was able to welcome 35 new members into the Alpha Zeta pledge class. Eta Eta “came to the rescue” with our lifeguard-themed bid day that we were actually able to celebrate in person!! We first welcomed home Alpha Zeta to the house to meet all our sisters, take cute pictures, and grab some snacks. Then we headed over to Universal’s Citywalk with gift cards in hand to eat and shop as we pleased with all of our new sisters!! Soon after bid day we hosted Formal Pledging and all of Eta Eta’s new members received their new member pins. September was full of new member meetings where Alpha Zeta got to learn about how our chapter works and it’s beautiful history. We also hosted a “speed dating” event, allowing the new members to meet and get to know as many sisters as they could!! Throughout September the new members also had a movie night as well as their new member retreat, where they ate snacks, played games, and bonded as an entire pledge class. We started October with an exciting and in-person big-little reveal, where everyone shined in all their different themes. We then hosted parents' weekend with a delicious cookout made by our chef and had tons of fun with our families finally able to be at the house again!! We also got to have an in person sisterhood retreat organized by our Member Engagement Director, Jamie Garrison where we got to relax and have fun in the sun at the UCF leisure pool! Inspiration Period then started with the Return of the Pin ceremony. Throughout the week we continued to prepare for Initiation, and even had a karaoke night as our big event all dressed as our favorite singers. The week ended with our first in person initiation in two years, hosted by our Ritual and History Director, Sarah Gerdich. With it being in person, both the initiates and active members could be fully shown our beautiful ritual and how special it truly is to experience in person, especially after spending so much time apart. In November we pushed harder than ever to raise money for the mental health organizations we chose The JED Foundation and NEDA, with partial proceeds, “pie-a-Kappa,” and shirt sales. Our big event, titled “Puppies and Slushies” was once again planned by our philanthropy director, Alexis Cinotti. We were able to have chapter members bring their dogs to be played with, we had big outdoor games like Twister and Jenga, and a Jeremiah’s Italian Ice truck as well. Although this took place on a gloomy day, the rain didn’t stop us from all having fun and raising over $5,000 for mental health!! We then had a “Roaring 20s” themed semi-formal planned by our events director Madeline Curley, where we got to dance the night away and snack on some charcuterie at Castle Church Brewing. We ended the year hosting another Senior Wills for our fall seniors, installing our new leadership team, and preparing them for their new roles!
Chapter Philanthropy
What local organization does the chapter support and why? Eta Eta supports the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation specifically because we had a sister, Allison Callum, pass away in 2003 due to CF. We also transitioned to our new national philanthropy supporting mental health. Eta Eta specifically selected The JED Foundation and NEDA to raise money for this fall, because the majority of our chapter felt that these two organizations meant the most to us personally. The JED Foundation works to prevent suicide for teens and young adults, and NEDA supports individuals and families affected by eating disorders.
How did the chapter support Kappa’s philanthropy? This year Eta Eta did many things to raise money for our philanthropies. This spring we had various events that our Philanthropy Director, Alexis Cinnotti came up with for us to still raise money in a safe way, such as Kappa Kisses, a valentines themed fundraiser where girls were able to purchase valentines treats to send to others in the Panhellenic community. We also had multiple partial proceeds at Castaways, Island Wing Company, and Texas Roadhouse. Our big event last semester was “Layups for the Lungs,” a March-Madness style event where participants each made their own bracket and whoever was most accurate was rewarded. The individual winner received a $100 Visa gift card, and the organization winner received a $200 donation to their philanthropy. We raised $3,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation through these events. This semester was our first semester raising money for The JED Foundation and NEDA as our mental health philanthropies. We once again hosted partial proceeds at Bento, Texas Roadhouse, and Island Wing Company. We also did an event called “Chalk the Walkway” the week of our big event where we went all up and down Greek Park and wrote positive messages with chalk on the sidewalk along with the Panhellenic community. Our official event this semester was called “Puppies and Slushies” and was hosted at our house on November 10th, 2021. We had a Jeremiah’s Italian Ice truck along with large outdoor games such as Twister, Connect 4, and Jenga, as well as 10 puppies for guests to play with provided by our sisters. We were able to raise just over $5,000 that we will divide between JED and NEDA.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
How did your chapter include diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in your programming this year? (e.g., adding a DEI officer, philanthropy events, social media awareness campaign, chapter training, etc.). Eta Eta incorporated DEI initiatives over the past year in many different ways. We began by electing a DEI committee that made various presentations throughout the semester on things like cultural appropriation and how to avoid it. We were also able to hire professionals to come to our chapter meetings and have serious conversations about relationships, mental health, abuse, and how to reach out for help if you need it. We really worked to foster a healthy environment open for difficult conversations and tried to help each other realize that any one of the 150+ members of Eta Eta would be there if one of us reached out to them for help. In such a time of turmoil and uncertainty in the world I think it was very necessary and beneficial to create this committee. We are also adding a DEI Director to our leadership board in 2022!
Operating in a Pandemic
How did your chapter operations change due to COVID-19 (e.g., how did it affect recruitment, initiation, etc. Were events/activities held virtually?). Eta Eta held both virtual and in-person activities this year. Throughout the spring semester all of our events were held virtually, such as sisterhood studies, various other sisterhood events like movie or painting nights, chapter meetings, ritual reviews, and initiation. As the fall semester and recruitment approached, we did everything we could to safely transition to in-person events, but ultimately Eta Eta and UCF as a whole made the difficult decision to hold recruitment again virtually. After recruitment, we began to transition to in-person again, and throughout this fall semester Eta Eta has had a mix of both virtual and in person sisterhood studies, ritual reviews, and chapter meetings successfully.