Changes
→Highlights of 2014
Our chapter holds meetings in multi-purpose rooms on Loyola's Lake Shore Campus. We rent these rooms out depending on our need for each chapter meeting. At Loyola University Chicago sorority housing is forbidden. There is no housing for our sorority. Instead, Eta Lambda members are allowed to live in whichever dorm or apartment building they see fitting.
==Highlights of 2015==
This past year has been a wonderfully productive and exiting time for the Eta Lambda Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Our chapter has grown and evolved tremendously, not only in numbers, but also in our on campus involvement as well as our in our presence in the Loyola University of Chicago community. We are one of the highest ranked organizations academically on campus, and we currently have 127 active members. Loyola University of Chicago is located on Lake Michigan, surrounded by a diverse and exiting community and has nearly 16,000 students. Our chapter strives to make a difference not only on campus, with our fellow greek life members and other organizations, but also in the community.
As we returned from a lovely holiday break in January, we enthusiastically awaited our first Spring Recruitment. Due to Loyola’s decision of moving Greek life’s recruitment season from Fall to Spring, we were afforded the unique opportunity of bonding longer as a chapter as we awaited our enthusiastic new members. At the end of January, we welcomed the pledge class, “Devon’s Darlings” of 60 incredible women into our happy family. We finished the exciting month with a mixer with “Tiki with TKE” mixer at our local Bar 63 and Grill.
We had a very fun filled February, as we not only had our Big Little Reveal, but also our annual Date Party full of bowling, dancing and karaoke. We finished the month of February with one of our monthly Kappa Cares events. Unique to our chapter, Kappa Cares is something we are very passionate about; each month, a different pledge class gets to choose a philanthropy of their choice to raise money for or to spread awareness for, adding a very personal aspect to what we do. In February, Angie’s Army raised money for WATSI, an organization that funds medical treatments for people who are unable to afford them around the world. Through our efforts, we were able to help fund a heart surgery for Wildiesta, a little girl from Haiti.
We kicked off March by participating in SAE’s Paddy Murphy week, a week long philanthropy event that raises money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Through practice, sweat and hard work, we were able to win their annual powderpuff football game for the 2nd year in a row, and had a great time participating in all of their events as a chapter. The C’s Keys pledge class then held a successful Kappa Cares event, tabling for Autism Awareness. We also participated in Loyola’s Relay for Life, creating a team and raising money by selling bow’s created by one of our very own. We finished off the month with a greatly anticipated and beautiful Initiation Week, for our Devon’s Darling Pledge Class.
Soon after, in April, Dev’s darlings got their first opportunity to hold their own Kappa Cares events. They did a beautiful job, selling bagels and cupcakes, to raise money for one of their own, whose aunt was battling cancer and struggling financially. We had an amazing formal at the exquisite Drake hotel, in downtown Chicago, and danced the night away. We finished off the semester by holding a senior brunch on April 19th, to honor our senior members’ commitment to Kappa and their approaching graduation.
After a long and relaxing summer, we returned at the end of August for the 2015-2016 academic year. In September, C’s Keys held a Kappa Cares event raising awareness for Crohn’s and Colitis to honor one of our very own battling with Crohn’s Disease.
October was a fully packed month filled with sisterhood. We celebrated our Founder’s Day on October 11, with a fun “Which Founder are You Most Alike” quiz, a kappa history quiz, and included some fun trivia facts about our chapter’s history, while enjoying pizza from one of our favorite local pizza joints. That coming week we participated in Sigma Chi’s Derby Days philanthropy event. The weeklong event included obstacle courses, photo competitions, and finally a sorority dance competition in order to raise money for the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Later that month, we had our annual Women’s Weekend, a weekend in which we at Eta Lambda invited our most influential women role models,whether it be our our moms, sisters, or aunts to join us in fun-filled sisterhood events such as a tour around Chicago and a brunch at Loyola. We ended the month with a sisterhood trip to Goebert’s Pumpkin Patch, enjoying fresh corn on the cob, sweet apple cider, and spending time with a variety of farm animals.
We started off November by holding our huge philanthropy event: Kappa Karnival. This is a carnival styled event in which organizations and clubs on campus could participate in by making a carnival themed table, and by competing in a talent show in order to raise money for Lurie’s Children’s Hospital, a hospital that Kappa volunteers at every month. We blew our original goal of $4,000 and actually doubled it, raising a total of $9,400. This was our most successful Kappa Karnival yet. We continued through November by facilitating our annual GIRLS’ Academy event at Carl Sandburg Junior High. 50 girls attended and it was an amazing weekend helping to educate and talk about issues such as body image and bullying, and to help inspire them to become respectful leaders in their school and community. Our Dev’s Darlings pledge class stepped up to the plate again and held another extremely successful Kappa Cares event in which the Eta Lambda Chapter invited members of the Loyola University' Chicago community to share their story and take a photo in order to combat personal stigmas that people face.
After a lovely Thanksgiving break, we returned to Loyola and had another wonderful sisterhood event, attending Lincoln Park’s Zoo “Zoo Lights”, before approaching Finals Week. Eta Lambda has had a very positive year, striving to continue to keep impacting both our Loyola as well as our Chicago community. We look forward to taking on the new year with the addition of a new pledge class, and continue to keep growing and learning as a Chapter, while always showing our love and loyalty for Kappa Kappa Gamma.
==Highlights of 2020s:==
