As the bell rings, my students take their seats in preparation for another day at Campbell High School in Smyrna, Georgia where I am completing my student teaching. Each day, a chosen student begins the class by sharing one of their favorite quotes with their peers. Likewise, I would like to begin this article with a quote that sums up the heart of this project: “Little things can make a big difference.”
Indeed, the little things are extremely important to my high school students, and one of the biggest events of the spring semester looms in the air- prom. For many girls, attending prom may be difficult or completely unobtainable because of the financial obligations involved, but that is where Becca’s Closet, a national organization with chapters across thirty one states, comes into play.
The core mission of Becca’s Closet is to collect and distribute dresses to high school girls with financial need for events such as prom, homecoming, military ball, Latina gala, and even the eighth grade dance.Becca’s Closet began as the brain-child of a 16-year-old girl named Rebecca Kirtman in Davie, Florida. As their website states, “Becca, a cheerleader, honor student, and caring young woman, passed away in a tragic automobile accident on August 20, 2003. Today, her family and friends not only remember Becca for her great love and friendship, but also for her contributions to the community.” There are now countless, dedicated volunteers working to keep Becca’s dream alive by providing free dresses to girls in need.
At Campbell High School, my collaborating teacher, a former social worker, introduced me to the social worker on staff at the school who told me about this great opportunity to give back to the community. When I presented the project to my chapter, I was overwhelmed by my sisters’ response- 100% of our girls voted “yes” to the project! I was so touched and proud of my chapter that I was utterly speechless. Through this project, Alpha Zeta has been able to touch many lives through our participation as “personal shoppers” for the students as well as through the donation of dresses, clothing, and food that the social worker will distribute to students in need. This is our first year partnering with Becca’s Closet, but I hope that our chapter, as well as others, can continue to work with this amazing organization in the future. Seeing the teenage students’ faces light up when they find the perfect dress that makes them feel beautiful and confident is truly a priceless gift.
To read more about this organization or locate a chapter in your area, please visit www.beccascloset.org. Any monetary donations may be mailed to Becca’s Closet 151 North Nob Hill Road Suite 280 Plantation, FL 33324.
Like Activation, Brunch was a huge success! I love this event because it is one of the few times that our sisters’ parents are in attendance; I love that this event gives them the opportunity to learn about our organization and what their daughters are doing. We truly do some great things, if I do say so myself, and this is just a little chance for us to share our story and brag about what our newest pledge class has accomplished throughout the semester.
Here I am with two of my littles at the Theta’s Brunch.
The pledge class also gives the chapter a gift: so cute!! 🙂
I am so proud of my little, Chelsie H.!! 🙂 Also, this is the first time that all three of my littles have been with me at once! If only my big and grandbig could have been there… Maybe one day it will happen. 😉
I am so incredibly proud of my Alpha Zeta chapter- we welcomed 37 new sisters into our chapter this year! The Theta pledge class is full of amazing women that I know will add tremendously to our group. I can’t wait to get to know them better at Spring Retreat, and serve with them this semester.
The lambda family:
I love my littles! 🙂
Our theme this year was Sugar Rush, which I think is just adorable! 🙂
Thanks to Pinterest and the amazing decoration committee, we had some really cute candy decorations this year. 
On Service Night, we worked with an organization called COLORS. Here is an excerpt from their website:
“COLORS is a social business that provides impoverished people across the world an opportunity to provide for themselves by teaching them creative skills, and also by providing an outlet to sell their hand-made goods. At the same time, giving consumers an opportunity to purchase environmentally friendly products that make a difference in another human beings life. We are currently partnering with Destiny Rescue in Chang Rai, Thailand to provide girls rescued out of sex-trafficking the opportunity to learn to crochet and use it to provide for themselves and their families. We traveled to DR’s Thailand base in January of 2011 ,taught four girls how to crochet, and built some very important relationships! This is more than a business for us, it is a ministry. We thank you for partnering with us in this, we could not do it without your support!”
Fall Retreat went so well this year! I am truly blessed with an amazing group of actives. 🙂
Since this was the first time that I would actively be serving as president in front of everyone, I was suffering from a mild case of stage fright. I was so nervous about what I had to say and how I would say it… I kept trying to rehearse my lines to myself and my other EB members. I was so afraid to mess up in front of everyone… Needless to say, my fears were NOT necessary! All of the actives are so sweet and understanding; they offer me nothing but support! Once we got going, I couldn’t believe how nervous I had been… or how lucky I am to be surrounded by such beautiful young women.
Of course it was a little awkward at first- especially with all of the motions for voting and such- but once we got going, it was fine. 🙂 One of the first things that I had to tell everyone was that we did not have a chapter room yet. (At the time, I was still working out our reservation with the Student Life office.) I thought that everyone would freak out or blame me or something, but they took it very well- I was shocked! Their trust in me gave me confidence, and I thank them for that. This may seem silly to anyone who has not dealt with a large group of young people (I am thinking back to my days in church youth group), but one of the most shocking realizations of how awesome my girls are happened when the pizza was late. They didn’t complain, and when it did arrive, they formed an orderly line and got their pizza… It is truly the little things in life! 🙂
In the following two days, business continued to go very smoothly! All but one of our amendments passed. We did not raise the mimimum required service hours for active sisters to 30, it remains at 25 hours. The first few amendments that passed were not very exciting- we simply moved the officer descriptions from our constitution to our bylaws, added, “Update all service records and forms at least once per semester,” to the Service Director position description, added, “Update all membership records and forms at least once per semester. These forms should include but are not limited to our roster, contact list, and family trees,” to the Membership Director position description, and added, “She shall attempt to collect new contact information from alumnae once per semester,” to the Alumnae Liason position description. We also took out the fees of an LOA semester, because we do not charge them. Then, we voted on some exciting amendments! The first is about our drug and alcohol policy:
Change to Read: (Bylaws) Article II Conduct
Section 1) No sister shall wear the letters of Omega Phi Alpha when engaging in the consumption of alcoholic beverages or engaging in any activities in which the principles of Omega Phi Alpha are not upheld. No sister shall attend any Omega Phi Alpha function while under the influence of any alcoholic or illegal substance. No sister shall post photos on any online platform of herself while engaging in any of these prohibited activities alongside photos of anything related to or including images of OPA events, letters, or insignia.
Rationale: We are a dry sorority, and we should not associate our organization with the consumption of alcoholic beverages or any other activity that does not uphold the principles of OPA. This amendment is saying that sisters are not allowed to post pictures of themselves drinking in the same album that contains pictures of OPA activities, letters, etc.
We raised our local dues to include the cost of Retreat:
Change to Read:
Section 2) Sisters on Active Status shall pay local dues of $120 in addition to the national dues of $50.
Rationale: The update in our local dues reflects the inclusion of a $60 retreat cost. Retreat is a mandatory event that all sisters should make every possible effort to attend each semester. Therefore, retreat is a cost that all members should expect to pay as a sister of Omega Phi Alpha, but may be surprised by because it is not included in the dues that we advertise. By including the price of retreat in our dues, we do not withhold any information from potential members. I feel that this inclusion (stating that dues are $170) is more straightforward that what we are doing now (stating that dues are $110, but you also have to pay $60 for our mandatory retreat). In this way, the price does not sneak up on our members, and they will know how much they are required to pay per semester.
We also added some conditions to our honorary membership status:
Change to Read:
(Bylaws) Article III Elections Section 11) Honorary members can be nominated by members or self-nominated. She will be able to wear OPA letters, attend meetings and functions if invited by the president, and receive a copy of the Chevron.
- To become an honorary member, a sister will complete a one year provisional period in which she must show active interest in the chapter with a minimum participation in three events per semester including chapter meetings, service events, and sisterhood events. After this year long provisional period, the chapter will vote on the sister’s honorary member status. A two-third vote is required.
- If the sister is rewarded honorary member status, she must sign a contract stating that she will continue to fulfill her honorary member duties and responsibilities through her graduation date. If the sister fails to participate in a minimum of three events per semester, her honorary member status may be revoked with a two-third vote by the chapter.
- This does not include our first advisor Louise Lawson
Rationale: Right now, there is nothing in our constitution about what we expect from our honorary members after they are awarded this status. Honorary members should continue to show interest and commitment to OPA throughout their college career, just as any other sister would. This amendment ensures that we will hold our future honorary members to a high standard- worthy of the right to wear letters and associate themselves with OPA.
We included our wedding tradition in our Bylaws:
Change to Read: (Bylaws) Article VIII. Chapter Traditions.
Section 2. On the occasion of a sister’s wedding, all Omega Phi Alpha sisters in attendance may perform the following ceremony for the bride; at some point during the bride’s wedding day, her Omega Phi Alpha sisters shall form a circle around her, sing “Yellow Rose,” and present the bride with yellow roses.
We limited the number of waivers that a sister may receive:
Change to Read: (Bylaws) Article I Section 4 Clause 1. G A sister may only receive a full waiver once throughout her active semesters. In case of extreme financial hardship, she may apply for further full waivers with supporting documentation.
Rationale: Our chapter cannot afford to continually waive dues for multiple sisters each semester. There are other options available for sisters who cannot afford to pay such as payment plans, partial waivers, and LOA semesters.
Changed the responsibility of determining fundraising points and the minimum at which they may be set per semester:
Change to read: f. Attain minimum fundraising points as set by the Fundraising Chair and Treasurer and approved by the chapter at the beginning of each semester with a majority vote. Fundraising points must be set at a minimum of four points each semester. For a fundraising project to pass, it must be presented to the chapter and voted on by a majority. If a sister votes yes to a project, she is required to participate in said project.
Finally, we updated the way that we determine our sisterhood points to match the way that we determine our fundraising points:
Change to Read: g. Attend the minimum requirement of sisterhood events each semester as set by the sisterhood chair and approved by the chapter at the beginning of each semester with a majority vote. Sisterhood points must be set at a minimum of four points each semester.
I know that everyone doesn’t feel this way, but I enjoy the amendments! I think that proposing and voting on amendments is a great way for sisters to become involved in the leadership of our organization.
While business is the main purpose of Retreat, we also had some fun! Of course, we played signs, the birthday game, the egg/chicken/gorilla/elvis/enlightened game that I can’t name right now, and I painted as many nails as my sisters would let me! 😉 Oh, and of course we can not forget the annual traditions of mattress surfing down the hallways and late night truth or dare. I love my sisters SO much, and I wouldn’t trade our experiences together for anything! While this was my last Fall Retreat as an active, I didn’t let myself get sad- which means I didn’t even let myself think about it while I was there- and I hope that I will be able to return as an alum. I never want Omega Phi Alpha to leave my life! 🙂
Our EB Retreat went really well- I am so excited for all of the great things that we have in store for this semester! 🙂 I am definitely looking forward to Fall Retreat this weekend. Fall Retreat is always so much fun- an amazing time to bond with your sisters. We will be going to a girl scout camp near Macon, GA, and we have lots of fun business to attend to as well as some sisterhood games and activities… And you know it just wouldn’t be retreat if I didn’t paint everyone’s nails! Stand by for a retreat recap next week.
In the mean time, I wanted to share this cool website I found: http://www.smartgreek.com/index.html. Unfortunately, they do not have Omega Phi Alpha merchandidse at this time, but that could change in the near future! You can send an email to info@smartgreek.com asking them to include Omega Phi Alpha. I just sent my email, so maybe if we can get some more support on this we can see O Phi A products on this website. 🙂
I wanted to write this post to tell everyone about my experience at Convention last week in Salt Lake City, Utah. Salt Lake City is a beautiful place! I really enjoyed visiting this city. Temple Square and all of the buildings within it were beautiful, City Creek Mall was unique, and the Family Search Family History Library was educational! I was able to trace my family line back to 1797.
Caroline, Jessica B., and I had a great time at Convention, but it was not all fun and games. We learned a lot about our sorority on a national level and how to lead our sisters on a local level. This experience has prepared us for the coming year in many ways, and we cannot wait to share what we learned with the EB at our EB Retreat and with all of our active sisters at Fall Retreat!
Throughout Convention, Caroline and I attended several workshops. These included workshops on parliamentary procedure, communication, preserving OPA’s history, planning meaningful service projects, constitution clean up, and songs. We learned some awesome new OPA songs that we cannot wait to share with our other sisters!
The first thing on our business agenda at Convention was the National EB’s review of OPhiA Vision 2015 plan for Year 2. One of the bigger projects involved in the Vision plan is to employ a person to design and create a national database to better organize all OPhiA information. There is also a new OPhiA website in progress as we work to rebrand our image and recruit new members. There is work to raise money for our sorority on a national level as the NEB has piloted a Chapter Booster Club at three different chapters, and plans to expand the program soon. In the near future, OPhiA nationals will be sending letters to active sisters’ parents encouraging them to donate to the sorority of their assets and abilities as they see fit. The VP of Advancement Planning, Pamela McEwen is staring a donation program called “Friends of OPhiA.” Through this program, sisters make an annual donation of $5 to support member services, chapter support, sorority publications, and OPA’s leadership programs. Your gift will help OPA to grow and develop their programs and services. For more information on this program, please contact Pamela McEwen at advance@omegaphialpha.org
Then, we voted on the amendments to our national constitution. The first amendment, attempting to change the name of our active pin to “lifetime member badge,” failed. The active pin will still be referred to as an active pin. The second amendment, which passed, refers to our alcohol and illegal drug policy. This section states that there shall be no use, possession, or distribution of alcohol or illegal drugs of any kind at an OPA event. It goes on to define an OPA event as an event, project, meeting, or gathering that has been officially coordinated, sponsored, or promoted by any member of the sorority as part of sorority activities. An OPA event is also defined as any outing, meeting, or gathering that is discussed or planned at another OPA project, meeting, or gathering or through official means of sorority communication including sorority email or social media groups. The next amendment, which also passed, outlines the repercussions to a violation of our alcohol and illegal drug policy.
The rest of the constitutional amendments also passed, but they were not as exciting as they did not cause such heated debate as the first amendments did. They were mostly formalities moving various issues to the decision of the National Standards Board. Then, we passed a substantive proposal regarding the NEB’s Convention Registration Fees stating that the sorority will cover the Convention registration fee for all NEB members who complete at least 75% of their monthly reports and online voting as well as attend 75% of convention activities. Finally, we passed an Omega Phi Alpha Privacy Policy.
Next up we held elections for positions on the NEB. Megan Johnston, our District 3 TLC, was elected VP of Membership, Aly Inglish for VP of Business Operations, and Heather Pritchard, a Nu chapter alumna from Georgia Tech, for President Elect.
We participated in an awesome service project with TreeUtah to clean up a community garden in Salt Lake City.
At the end of business, the location for Convention 2013 was announced…. Pittsburgh!
The last event of Convention was Banquet where our chapter received numerous awards! Every 2011-2012 Alpha Zeta EB officer won the Outstanding Officer award. Then, Alpha Zeta won the Chapter Development Award as well as the Chapter Excellence Program Gold Seal for the fifth year in a row! An incredible eighteen sisters won awards for Individual Achievement in Service, and we had three sisters in the top ten for Individual Achievement in Service- Thi Nguyen, Jessica Bowron, and me, Teigan McIntosh! What a huge honor!
Convention 2012 was a great success, and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to represent our Alpha Zeta chapter. I know that Caroline and Jessica feel the same way. I am excited to share all of this new information with you, and I cannot wait for all of the great things that I know we will accomplish this semester.
Nothin' Sweeter than ΩΦΑ 