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→Highlights of 2016
As we returned from our holiday break in January, we anxiously and excitedly prepared for our Spring Recruitment. At the end of January, we welcomed 65 wonderful women into our chapter. This pledge class became known as “T’s Fleur De Lis.” The members of the new pledge class had their pinning ceremony in February. This pledge class is full of smart, talented, and beautiful women, who have and will continue to make a huge impact on our chapter.
We kicked off March with our Big Little Reveal. Shortly after, we had our Initiation Week Inspiration Period leading up to the beautiful Initiation Ceremony for our “T’s Fleur De Lis” pledge class of 2016. We ended the month of March with our Reading is Fundamental Philanthropy event. Our chapter traveled to Bateman Elementary School to read and craft bookmarks with the children.
April began with Loyola’s Relay for Life. We participated by creating a team and donating to Relay for Life. We also participated in SAE’s Paddy Murphy Week, which is a week-long philanthropy event that raises money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Through practice and determination, we won the powder puff football game for the third year in a row, and we enjoyed participating in all of SAE’s other events that week, as well. Following SAE’s Paddy Murphy Week, we had a mixer with TKE at our local Bar 63 and Grill. The theme of the mixer was to dress up as your favorite Netflix character. We ended the month of April with a Kappa Cares event organized by our newest pledge class, “T’s Fleur De Lis.” Kappa Cares is something that is very unique and important to our chapter. Each new member class hosts an event, where they raise money and awareness for a philanthropy of their choice. For the month of April, “T’s Fleur De Lis” chose to raise money and awareness for GirlForward by selling hair ties and bagels in our student center. GirlForward is a charity in Rogers Park that helps refugee girls by providing them with mentorship programs, as well as educational help and programs. We were very proud of our newest pledge class for hosting such a great event.
We ended the year with a Kappa Cares event at the beginning of December. We partnered with the Crohns and Colitis Foundation to raise money and provide information about the disease. We chose the Crohns and Colitis Foundation because it has affected a few women in our chapter, so we felt strongly toward raising awareness for this foundation. We tabled in our student center and sold Molly’s Cupcakes for the cause, and we raised $163. This year was an exciting year for Eta Lambda, and we are anxiously anticipating adding more wonderful women to this organization. Kappa Kappa Gamma Eta Lambda is looking forward for what next year has in store for us, as we will continue to strive to impact each other, as well as the community around us.
==Highlights of 2017==
Kappa Kappa Gamma Year In Review: 2017
Loyola University Chicago’s Eta Lambda Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma is made up of one hundred and sixty four women. These women are academically driven, involved both within and outside the Loyola community, and strive for greatness in every aspect of their lives. Our chapter is comprised of well rounded women who aid Kappa Kappa Gamma in its continuing efforts to prosper and thrive. This year was one of growth for Eta Lambda, and often times with growth comes a learning curve. However, the women of this chapter handled any hurdle faced with grace and the utmost respect for our organization as a whole. In the past twelve months we have shared some of the deepest laughs, strongest hugs, greatest sorrows and most joyous times; experiencing pinnacle life moments with women, who have gone from strangers to sisters.
This past January, Loyola University Chicago’s Panhellenic Council held the largest recruitment weekend in its’ history. It was a weekend full of excitement, bonding with our sisters, and the anticipation of a new member pledge class. On our “Dream of Kappa” themed bid day, Eta Lambda extended bids to seventy six amazing women.
Then came February, a month where Kappa embodied the true meaning of sisterhood. Eta Lambda’s former Registrar and House chairman was hospitalized for the entire spring semester without a diagnosis. In this difficult time for our sister, our chapter stepped up. Our sisters visited her in the hospital, started a fundraising campaign for her family, involved the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, and held fundraising events throughout campus which ultimately transpired into a community wide effort.
At this semester’s new member retreat, our newest pledge class, Katie’s Kweens were able to start creating the sisterhood within their pledge class that elder members of the chapter have come to appreciate. They were able to strengthen the friendships that make Kappa feel more like a sisterhood. With the end of February came Big/Little reveal where Bigs created matching t-shirts for themselves and their Littles. As Big and Littles began to get to know each other more, Bigs helped guide their Littles into Inspiration Period. After initiation our Kappa Sisterhood grew by seventy one women. Seventy one women who are kind, ambitious, involved, self-starters; all of whom are driven to further propel Kappa forward in the years to come. This March we celebrated Eta Lambda's 10 year anniversary. Fifteen women from the founding pledge class came together for the weekend to celebrate and reconnect. Together, past and present members of Eta Lambda enjoyed brunch and a campus tour. We also hosted Women’s Weekend, where our sisters invited a significant woman from their life to visit. During our Sunday brunch, we shared the value of philanthropy with our woman. In addition to collecting books and donations for our philanthropy Reading is Fundamental, we created bookmarks and made cards for a sister who was going through a tough time. This weekend epitomized our ideal of donating our time, not just our money. We kicked off April by participating in Relay for Life. We helped contribute to raising over $100,000 to help the fight to end cancer. We concluded the month by taking formal to the lake; dancing the night away with our sisters on the Odyssey, a boat at Chicago’s Navy Pier. We then sent our senior sisters off with heartfelt letters and a brunch to remember and celebrate their cherished years in Kappa. With May came graduation and the start of a summer where our sisters spanned the globe. Kappas went abroad, worked in various industries across the nation, volunteered, spent time with family, and prepared for another school year ahead.
September marked the start of another year and the return of our Kappa sisters. Devon’s Darlings, the senior pledge class, kicked off the year with a Kappa Kares event to raise money for epilepsy, a cause near and dear to a few of our sister’s hearts. We tabled in Damen to raise awareness and collect donations for the Epilepsy Foundation. Along with our own philanthropic efforts, we attended various events across the greek life community. We joined Phi Sigma Sigma for their Phield Day and played a riveting game of kickball to benefit the Kids in Need Foundation. In addition to this, we participated in Sigma Chi’s week long philanthropy event, which was in support of the Huntsman Cancer Foundation. We were able to get involved by performing a New Orleans themed dance at their final event for Derby Days. In October, Eta Lambda supported Delta Sigma Phi at their Tugs event to help raise money for the American Red Cross. These efforts came at a crucial time to help support the Red Cross’ effort in providing national aid as our nation grappled with a series of natural disasters. This support embodied the idea that when it comes to philanthropy, the Greek life community bands together to support meaningful causes. T’s Fleur De Lis hosted a Kappa Kares event to raise awareness for Curvy Girls, an organization empowering young women with scoliosis. We hosted a semi-formal at a fun venue, where our sisters spent a night on the town enjoying each other’s company. October concluded with our largest philanthropy event of the year, Kappapalooza. It was a weekend long extravaganza that kicked off with an all you can eat pasta night to raise funds for our national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental. Friday we hosted Kappa for Kids. Members of the Loyola community created encouraging bookmarks to promote literacy. The weekend concluded with our main event, Kappa Kicks. Teams from all different organizations on campus came together to play friendly games of soccer in support of our efforts to spread awareness about childhood illiteracy. The weekend was a success and Kappa was able to shine light and educate the Loyola community about an overlooked issue faced by many. At the end of this month, Kappa was proud of our new member pledge class, Katie’s Kweens, for receiving the highest new member pledge class GPA from Panhellenic.
This November we held one of our most cherished academic recognition events, Pearl Ceremony, a tradition that has been passed on through our chapter. Each semester, we honor the hard work and determination of the women who have received a GPA of 3.8 or higher with a pearl to put on their pin. While this Pearl Ceremony is not considered ritual of Kappa Kappa Gamma fraternity, it has been passed down over the years as an Eta Lambda tradition that we continue to honor.
This past year, Eta Lambda chapter grew not only in terms of membership, but also within Greek life and Loyola’s community at large. Over the year, we learned that Kappa is so much more than just a women’s organization. We are sisters who truly care about each other and the causes that we support. Every day, but especially in times of hardship, we are incredibly grateful to be members of Kappa Kappa Gamma - an organization filled with women of character and integrity.
==Highlights of 2020s:==
