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→Highlights of 2017
Eta Gamma is very passionate about helping fight to end breast cancer. The Shades of Pink Foundation support more than 115 women in five counties. Many women who are diagnosed with breast cancer have extra financial burdens places on them during treatment and recovery. Common issues are insurance payments, food, transportation, childcare, and other essentials of daily life. This Foundation offers temporary financial assistance during their time in need. We chose to support this organization because it is a local philanthropy that we are really passionate to help.
==Highlights of 2017==
Eta Gamma has had an outstanding 2017! Our spring recruitment brought us 34 new members who were eager to get involved and participate right from the start. Our eventful Bid Day consisted of getting to know each other over fun sisterhood games and delicious food. In March, actives and new members danced the night away at our annual Presents dance, where active members wore black dresses and the new members wore white. This is always such a special and fun event for both actives and new members.
After their first week in Kappa, our new members had the opportunity to get to know the sophomore pledge class during “Sapphire Sis” dates. Actives and new members were paired up so that the girls could get to know each other and start finding a big or little sister. They had four different Sapphire Sis dates, in which active members treated the new girls to dinner, coffee, frozen yogurt, or just meeting up on campus. After dates were done and girls were matched up, Kappa holds a Big-Little ceremony to introduce the big sis and the rest of the family to the little sis in a fun way. Afterwards, families go and get dinner together and bond! Big Sis reveal is a very special and memorable time for us in Kappa. Having a Kappa “family” allows us to develop an important lifetime bond with our sisters.
The weeks leading up to initiation are called Inspo Week. Each day, a new member’s big sis gives her a gift of a certain color or importance that teaches them something about what it means to be a Kappa. On Blue Night, big and little sisters exchange pillows and decorated keys, and actives have a chance to talk about what Kappa means to them. It is a special moment for the new members to understand the meaning and value that Kappa holds to the active members. Fireside was held the night before initiation, and the next morning the new members were initiated. This is always such an exciting and momentous day for our chapter!
Kappa held and participated in many philanthropy events on and off campus. This year, we put on three main events: Field Day, Reading is Key at Sherman Elementary, and Kappa Koncert. Kappa’s Field Day was put on in order to raise money for the Reading is Key event we hosted in the Fall semester. We ended up raising $2,400 for Reading is Key! Our Kappa Koncert featured students at USD displaying their vocal talent, and ended up raising $3,000 for Shades of Pink Foundation. Kappas also went to Sherman Elementary School on a Monday morning to read books to elementary school students. Kappas also participated in philanthropy events with other sororities and fraternities to benefit various organizations.
Apart from philanthropy events, Eta Gamma also has had many memorable social and sisterhood events this past year. Along with Presents and Sapphire Ball Formal, we also had many exciting events such as exchanges with Phi Gamma Delta and Lambda Chi Alpha. We had many memorable sisterhood events, such as going to a pumpkin patch, having a kappa “Friendsgiving” with a catered thanksgiving meal, Disneyland, and planned dinners. We also have surprise sisterhood activities after some chapter meetings, where we play fun games and bond. Mom’s Weekend was in the spring, and featured a cooking class, a workout class, and a beautiful beachside brunch. Dad’s weekend was in the fall, and featured go cart racing, shopping at the Little Italy market, hanging out at the beach, and a fun brunch. Both weekends were filled with sisters and their parents getting to know each other. We hosted Founders Day Tea on campus, which was an incredibly special experience. It was so amazing to hear from so many alumni about their special experiences with Kappa and how many continue to participate in Kappa after graduation. Seniors also participated in Senior Programming activities such as yoga and sampling wines at a local winery.
Eta Gamma has also encouraged all members to donate to help Las Vegas shooting victims and victims of the California fires. Some members have been affected by these tragedies, and Eta Gamma’s Chapter Council has offered emotional support to these women.
There was an addition of a wonderful new sorority, Pi Beta Phi, which was colonized in Spring 2015. Kappas have greatly welcomed their transition here on campus, and now they have grown into a flourishing chapter here at USD. Unfortunately, one of the chapters here on campus lost its charter last year. Because of this, however, Eta Gamma has learned to really value our chapter and the inspirational women we call sisters.
Our chapter is comprised of kind, funny, intelligent, strong, and talented young women. Through the latest values-based recruitment, we have all become so much closer. We strive to continuously embrace each other’s differences. The Senior pledge class has gotten to know the new pledge class, as many of the Junior pledge class is abroad. Overall, we are always trying to plan sisterhood events to increase bonding, as this is very important to our chapter as a whole!
Our chapter has continued to donate money to the KKG Foundation. We have also hosted an event called Kappa Koncert, which was held at USD and featured many talented student singers from the USD student body (along with some of our own kappa sisters!). It was an amazing night, with beautiful pink decorations, Chipotle catering, raffles, photo booths, and great music. $3,000 was raised for the Shades of Pink Foundation. In addition, our Reading is Key event was a major success! We read books to students at a local elementary school, Sherman Elementary. We also were able to donate books to this school! To raise money for these books, our chapter put on an event called “Field Day,” where we invited the entire student body to participate. There were outdoor events where each team competed and all of the money that was raised in sign-up fees, raffles, and other activities went to RIF. The amount of money raised for RIF was $2,400. In addition, our chapter takes great pride in supporting other chapter’s philanthropy events, such as running in Alpha Delta Pi’s 5k run to support the Ronald McDonald House, and making teams in Delta Tau Delta’s Dodgeball tournament to raise money for JDRF (among many more!).
Eta Gamma is very passionate about helping fight to end breast cancer. The Shades of Pink Foundation supports more than 115 women in five countries. Many women who are diagnosed with breast cancer have extra financial burdens placed on them during treatment and recovery. Common issues are insurance payments, transportation, childcare, food expenses, and other essentials of daily life. This foundation offers temporary financial assistance during their time in need, so they can focus on improving their health and fighting cancer. We chose to support this organization because it is a local philanthropy that we are very passionate about. So many women are affected by breast cancer, and Eta Gamma strives to help!
Our chapter meetings are held in USD’s University Center Forum C. The UCs are the hub of campus life at USD, which includes the main dining hall in the Student Life Pavilion, a to-go food market, various offices, the Student Leadership and Involvement Center, USD’s own restaurant, USD’s bookstore, and a lounge for students to enjoy.
==Highlights of 2020s:==