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We hosted a virtual celebration with alumnae and active members. We had one of Epsilon Mu’s founding members speak, and also a recent EM graduate who currently serves as Miss South Carolina. Additionally, we had an interactive social media campaign for both members and alumnae to participate in.
==Highlights of 2021:==
This year our chapter accomplished many events and received several awards and honors. First, Clemson Panhellenic as a whole received the 2021 Excellence Award from the National Panhellenic Conference. Epsilon Mu also celebrated 50 years, and our chapter hosted a great Founders Day brunch to celebrate this. Our chapter created the SOAR academic award this year which is an award we will give yearly to an individual who has the most improved GPA, also known as the most dedicated. This year Caroline Hall of PC 20 received the award for all her hard work. Our traditions for initiation of the new members being presented with letters from friends and family members congratulating them the night before initiation was completed again this year with a record number of letters received. Initiation went smooth as it was back in person, and we had multiple legacy members attend the ceremony as well. Our philanthropy changed a lot this year, and we are now supporting the JED Foundation which we were able to raise over $37,000 for in three months! From the university, Kappa received the Alumni Development Award, Fraternity and Sorority Involvement Award, Philanthropic Service award, and the Scholastic Achievement award, which we are all very proud of. These are just a few of our highlights from the year, and it can only continue from here.
'''Philanthropy'''
Our chapter locally supports numerous organizations and causes including Dance Marathon, Helping Hands, All In Foundation, and many more. Primarily, we support the Clemson Area Diverse Literacy Program, which we created in partnership with local businesses and community centers, to continue the purchase and distribution of hundreds of books to students in the local Clemson area. The books are written by authors of various backgrounds, ethnicities, races, genders and abilities to promote ideas of inclusivity, racial justice and equality. Thus far, we have raised over $17,000 and distributed over 900 books. We plan to continue this program for at least the next 5 years as a way to successfully transition from our previous literacy-based philanthropy to our new mental health awareness and well-being philanthropy. We partnered with the JED Foundation for our new mental health philanthropic efforts. We have successfully fundraised over $37,000 so far from fundraisers and events including First Friday, Kappa Kickball, Parent’s Cocktail Silent Auction, and Mental Health Awareness Week. Our Mental Health Awareness Week included a suicide awareness speaker, random acts of kindness, proceeds days, flower arranging sisterhood event, and serotonin boosts!
We are so proud of our efforts to not only support a nationwide mental health awareness push but our efforts to ensure the well-being of all of our members right here as well. We have done numerous social media pushes as well to spread the word and raise awareness by members of our chapter sharing their stories and battles with mental health. We have lots of events planned for the upcoming semester and year to continue our work and support of JED!
'''Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion'''
This year, Epsilon Mu implemented a DEI officer, and utilized the position to a great extent by bringing the chairman onto chapter council. Initiatives included having designated ‘office’ hours where members could speak to the DEI officer about any personal struggles as well as a weekly sent out submission form where members could submit a friend in need to be reached out to. Our chapter council led a mental health awareness week and brought Lizzie Borek, a Kappa alum and certified mental health specialist to speak to our chapter about suicide prevention awareness, following up her first speech to the chapter in spring 2021 regarding general mental health. We prioritized our members' mental health through sisterhood events that promoted DEI values, self-care and general bonding within the chapter. PR also promoted these values with educating the chapter consistently throughout the term through social media, as well as by allowing members to be brave and share their mental health journey to normalize the stigma. The DEI chair attended monthly Panhellenic wellness meetings for education purposes, and also coordinated with various on-campus departments such as Clemson’s diversity office to gain perspective and ideas.
'''Operating in a Pandemic'''
During Covid-19 there have been changes made to our chapter overall, but the past two semesters we have been able to get back to normal some. Our chapter complies with all University mask mandates over campus, which includes wearing masks when we have chapter events on campus. We also had two separate initiation ceremonies to limit the number of individuals in the room to limit the spread of potential illnesses. Virtual options of meetings were provided if necessary.
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