Most people who are familiar with life on college campuses know a thing or two about sororities. Or, at least they think they do!

From the beginning, sororities have demonstrated a sincere commitment to improving the lives of others. They proudly provide invaluable enrichment and support to college-aged women in the United States; and, as their you will soon see, some of the oldest organizations among them boast a nearly 150-year old legacy of providing critical service to their respective communities.

No celebration of Women’s History Month would be complete if it failed to honor the legacies of some of the U.S. oldest and most prestigious sororities. And so, in that spirit, Wiles Magazine invites you to join us in saluting these organizations who, for decades, have made academic achievement, community service and sisterhood their primary reasons for existence!

A WILES SALUTETO SERVICE & SISTERHOOD!

PI BETA PHI, FOUNDED – 1867www.pibetaphi.org

Service Platforms and Partners: “Literacy champions are readers”

History: Pi Beta Phi was founded on April 28, 1867, at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. The 12 founders had a vision to form the first national secret society for women at a time when only five state universities admitted women.

Pi Beta Phi distinguishes itself in the Greek world by leading the way as one of the first of seven founding members of the National Pan-hellenic Conference (NPC), an umbrella organization for 26 international women’s fraternities and sororities.

Pi Beta Phi was also the first organization to form an alumnae department in 1893, the first to organize a national philanthropic project in 1910 and the first to establish an alumnae advisory committee for each chapter in 1913.

The founders of Pi Beta Phi created the Fraternity to cultivate sincere friendship, establish real-life objectives and promote happiness.

Pi Beta Phi continues to encourage young women to develop meaningful relationships as they reach for their personal goals. Membership in Pi Beta Phi and the relationships it yields help sisters adapt to college life by providing a sense of belonging, mutual support and guidance.

KAPPA KAPPA GAMMA, FOUNDED – 1870www.kappakappagamma.org

“Tradition of Leadership”

Service Platform and Partners: Reading is Fundamental

History: Kappa Kappa Gamma was founded October 13, 1870, at Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois. Kappa is a women’s fraternity - the word sorority was not coined until after our founding.

Kappa’s six Founders were exceptional young women who believed they could take on the world and create something totally new. Taught to love learning and literature, these educated ladies not only originated the idea of Kappa Kappa Gamma but wrote its constitution, planned its motto and chose its badge and name.

The Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation supports the operation of the Heritage Museum in Columbus, Ohio, and The Stewart House Museum in Monmouth, Illinois. Read more about the Museums.

ALPHA PHI, FOUNDED – 1872www.alphaphi.org

Motto: “Union hand in hand”

“Since 1872, Alpha Phi has been making a difference in the lives of women – and those women are making an impact on the world. From the vision of our ten Founders to the imagination of today’s members, we are proud of our accomplishments. Our members focus on their scholastic pursuits and serve the communities they call home – all with a balance of sisterhood and fun. This idea is nurtured from the collegiate experience to our alumnae accomplishments.” – Megan Bouche, Director of Marketing & Extension (University of Minnesota, 1998 graduate)

Mission: Alpha Phi is a sisterhood of outstanding women supporting one another in lifelong achievement.

History: Alpha Phi International Fraternity was founded at Syracuse University in 1872 by ten of the first women admitted to the University. These women founded Syracuse’s first social sorority with the intent to support each other in their scholastic, social and service pursuits. From our earliest days, the Founders of Alpha Phi had a vision to grow our organization across the globe. Today, Alpha Phi has alumnae chapters around the world and 157 collegiate chapters in the US and Canada. Throughout our history, the leaders of Alpha Phi set the standard of forward thinking for social sororities.

Alpha Phi’s accomplishments include building the first sorority house in America (1886), creating the first traveling consultant program among Greek organizations (1894), becoming one of the first National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) sororities to create our own Foundation (1956), launching the first web site among NPC sororities (1994) and introducing our own red dress pin for the further awareness of our philanthropic cause – women’s heart health (2004).

Past, present and future, Alpha Phis are generous givers of their time and talents to the communities in which they reside – whether they are collegians or alumnae. In 2010, Alpha Phi’s philanthropic partner, the Alpha Phi Foundation, raised over $10 million in a two year period. These funds support leadership initiatives for our members. During the 2011-2012 academic year, Alpha Phi’s collegiate chapters donated over $1.3 million to the Foundation through campus-based events and Red Dress Galas. Alpha Phis are making a difference in the world around them.

PROGRAMS: Alpha Phi is dedicated to developing the leader within our members. Our signature leadership programs are the Emerging Leaders Institute (ELI) and the Chapter Leadership Development (CLD) program. ELI focuses on the up and coming leaders in our chapters, providing 150 rising sophomores and juniors an all-expense paid, week of leadership training and development each summer. CLD is a series of programs developed by subject matter experts and designed for chapters to implement at a weekly chapter meeting or to the entire Greek community at their school. These programs are made possible by the generous donations of Alpha Phis through the Alpha Phi Foundation.

DELTA GAMMA, FOUNDED – 1873www.deltagamma.org

Motto: “Do good”

Mission: Delta Gamma offers to women of all ages a rich heritage based on principles of personal integrity, personal responsibility and intellectual honesty. Its primary purpose is to foster high ideals of friendship, promote educational and cultural interests, create a true sense of social responsibility, and develop the finest qualities of character.Philanthropy: Service for Sight

History: Delta Gamma was founded by Anna Boyd Ellington, Eva Webb Dodd and Mary Comfort Leonard in 1873 in Oxford, Mississippi, at the Lewis School for Girls near the University of Mississippi. The Founders sought to maintain high ideals and standards and to encourage intellectual growth and service in order to exemplify college women at their best.Today Delta Gamma is an international women’s fraternity that continues to place a strong dedication on personal values and standards, academic excellence, leadership and service. Delta Gamma encourages each member to strive for excellence and offers the programming and support to help each member reach that commitment.

Delta Gamma offers its members the experience of sharing the strong bonds of sisterhood for a lifetime.

Delta Gamma’s membership has grown to more than 170,000 women worldwide with 147 collegiate chapters and more than 225 alumnae groups across the United States and Canada.Fraternity Firsts: Delta Gamma is one of the oldest women’s fraternities.

Members throughout the 139-year history have been trailblazers in establishing a tradition of excellence by being the:

*First women’s fraternity to employ a full-time staff member to address the health and wellness needs of its members

*First women’s fraternity to incorporate a foundation in 1951

*First to build an international headquarters specifically for that purpose

*First to have seminars and house corporations

*First to have an archivist handling historical materials at the international headquarters

*First to receive recognition from the American Academy of Opthalmology for Distinguished Public Service

*First to establish challenge grants in values and ethics, through the Dorothy Garrett Martin Lectureship in Values and Ethics

DELTA DELTA DELTA, FOUNDED – 1888www.tridelta.org

Motto: “Let us steadfastly love one another”

“Supporting St. Jude is something that Tri Delta members are extremely passionate about,” said Stacy Gillard, Director of Special Projects for Tri Delta.“Whether attending an event hosted on a college campus or volunteering in a community gathering like the Give thanks. Walk. Held this past November, both our alumnae and college women are excited to be a part of such an amazing cause. This partnership truly exemplifies our founding values of a perpetual bond of friendship and the importance of unselfish leadership to assist others.”

In 1888, women were not permitted to vote, and few women were found in the workplace or at the formerly all-male universities. It was natural for women students to join together in small groups for friendship and support. Although there were three women’s groups represented at Boston University in 1888, Sarah Ida Shaw saw a need for a group which would be different from the others. She said to her friend, Eleanor Dorcas Pond, “Let us found a society that shall be kind alike to all and think more of a girl’s inner self and character than of her personal appearance.”

So the two young women began the work of creating a new national fraternity. Later Sarah wrote, “...The two enthusiastic friends were unaware of the fact that there was something stupendous about the task they had set hands, heads and hearts to accomplish. They were

working for a principle, and it never occurred to them that there could be such a thing as failure. Earnestness of purpose, energy and enthusiasm had brought them both success in college and why should not these same qualities bring assurance of good fortune to the new venture.”

Founding of Delta Delta Delta: Not only did they found a fraternity, but at the same time they wrote the Rituals and constitution, and designed the emblems. The choosing of the name was a joint decision. Eleanor suggested a triple letter and Sarah chose the letter and worked on the Greek mottos and passwords. Inspiration for these came from a variety of sources: Egyptian lore, Hindu mysticism, Greek and astronomy, reflecting the wide and various interests of Sarah Ida Shaw. Never before had a sorority been founded so completely and with such depth of meaning from the very beginning, and the actual day of founding is beautifully described in Sarah’s words.

“At last, all was finished on Tuesday...November 27, 1888, but there was one more meeting of the two friends on the following afternoon before they separated for the Thanksgiving recess, at the top of the college building in what was then the Philological Library. It was there that the two girls embraced each other and said ‘Tri Delta is founded’...It is not strange that the hearts of these sponsors were full of emotion as together they went out of the college building, for each felt there were added reasons why her Thanksgiving should be a very happy one. When they came to the parting of the ways at the historic Boston Common, Miss Pond said, ‘We can make the girls we initiate promise secrecy, but what shall hold us two?’ So there in the shadow of the old Park Street Church, with a bright new moon and three brilliant stars nearby...the two faithful friends clasped hands and said, ‘In the presence of these myriads of witnesses, I swear eternal loyalty and fealty to Delta Delta Delta.’”

CHI OMEGA, FOUNDED – 1895www.chiomega.com

Motto: “Hellenic Culture and Christian Ideals”

Chi Omega has a rich history dating back to its founding at the University of Arkansas on April 5, 1895. Born in the late 19th century, Chi Omega’s four women founders grew to adulthood as a rapidly expanding economy fostered industrialization and urbanization. And they were instilled with the spirit of America, with values of independence, innovation, and adventure. They could not have known how influential their lives would be.

The sorority’s Five Founders, Jobelle Holcombe, Jean Vincenheller, Ina May Boles, Alice Simonds, and Dr. Charles Richardson, wrote the Chi Omega Constitution and Ritual. Dr. Richardson, a dentist by trade, crafted the first badge out of dental gold.The organization grew locally that first year with 11 out of the 14 original members returning to the university in September of 1895. During this time, Chi Omega began to acquire a reputation for determination and poise, and for doing things well.

Chi Omega was founded with the intent of becoming a national organization and it expanded into every part of the country. Whenever a new chapter was installed, members in other chapters wore Chi Omega’s colors beneath their pins and sent letters of welcome and congratulations. By 1904, Chi Omega extended through Texas, Nebraska and California, and as far north as Virginia and Washington, D.C. The Sorority realized the need to enter the Northeast, and over the next

few years founded chapters in Pennsylvania, Maine, and New York City.

In the early 1900s, social service was regarded as a collegiate activity of the highest importance and Chi Omegas gave countless hours of time, unbounded energy, and hard-earned monies to their local communities.

Chi Omega was the first women’s sorority to undertake a major gift to a university. Mary Love Collins and Dr. Richardson scouted a location for a Greek Theatre at the University of Arkansas. The theatre still stands, with five words engraved on the frieze: Knowledge, Integrity, Courage, Culture, and Intelligence.

Over the last century, Chi Omega has grown to an organization with over 300,000 initiates from over 170 collegiate chapters. The Chi Omega Foundation was founded in 1982 to fund the educational goals of the Sorority. Chi O Creations, our in-house boutique, opened in 1989. In 1994, the sorority moved to its new national headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. The Chi Omega Executive Headquarters employs about 50 staff members and supports the day-to-day operations of the sorority, the Chi Omega Foundation, and Chi O Creations.

KAPPA DELTA, FOUNDED – 1897www.kappadelta.org

Motto: “Let us strive for that which is honorable, beautiful and highest”

“A chilly rain splattered against the windowpanes of the little dormitory room on Professional Hall, the dormitory floor where most of the seniors lived. Saturday meant no classes, and the dreary weather that hung over Farmville was a perfect excuse for the four friends to tuck themselves away in that cozy spot and talk for hours... It was that afternoon that Kappa Delta was born - October 23, 1897 - at the State Female Normal School in Farmville, Virginia.”

The thought that over 100 years ago four young women could just sit down and create a sisterhood as enduring as Kappa Delta sometimes defies understanding. But that’s exactly what they did.

Kappa Delta’s founders were four very different women. They ranged in age from 15 to 23, yet brought a singular sense of purpose to this particular endeavor. Their dream was to create something more lasting than a club -- a sorority! It was to be an entity that would grow beyond their own chapter at State Female Normal School. But they never dreamed that it would grown into an organization of nearly 200,000 women, over 200 chartered chapters and nearly 500 chartered alumnae associations nationwide.

The sorority still holds true to its original object adopted sometime before 1902...

“The object of Kappa Delta Sorority is the formation and perpetuation of good fellowship, friendship and sisterly love among its members; the encouragement of literature and education; the promotion of social interest; and the furtherance of charitable and benevolent purposes.”

Kappa Delta’s early leaders were women of vision. Today’s women live that dream and keep the vision alive!

DELTA ZETA, FOUNDED – 1902www.deltazeta.org

Delta Zeta has national partnerships with The Starkey Hearing Foundation, Gallaudet University and the House Research Institute. Chapters also support other local and national speech and hearing organizations as well as various other causes.

Delta Zeta Sorority was founded at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 1902. Miami is dubbed the “Mother of Fraternities” because of the many prominent men’s fraternities which were founded there.

When six young women came together in 1902 to form a social sorority, they had a vision of lifetime sisterhood fostered by ideals that they cherished. These friends bonded quickly as they faced the challenges of starting a sorority on a male-dominated campus (women had just been given full status as students at Miami University in 1902).

Although fraternities were well-established by the time Alfa Lloyd, Mary Collins, Anna Keen, Julia Bishop, Mabelle Minton and Anne Simmons met with Dr. Guy Potter Benton, then president of the university, to make their idea a reality, they faced derision from the male students of the university. This adversity served to bond them even closer.

They applied for and received the Articles of Incorporation from the State of Ohio. The date of incorporation, October 24, is Alfa Lloyd’s birthday and that date is a tribute to her, for she

quickly showed a leadership that was effective in moving the Sorority forward. Delta Zeta became the first sorority to be founded at Miami University. The Founders then went on to lay the foundation for the Sorority which would have a national reach.

Today, Delta Zeta has enriched the lives of over 220,000 alumnae and collegiate members in the United States and Canada. The Delta Zeta Foundation a non-profit organization, makes possible gifts and support for scholarships, leadership, philanthropy, and education that continue to enrich our members and enable them to enrich the lives of those in need.

ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA, FOUNDED – 1908www.aka1908.com

Motto: “By merit and culture”

For over 104 years, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority has distinguished itself on the strength of its commitment to service. Through a powerful network of over 260,000 members in 965 chapters worldwide, AKA has made a global pink-and-green impact. Inspired by the theme “Global Leadership Through Timeless Service,” the sorority is addressing the array of health challenges that particularly impact minority communities. This is being achieved through partnerships with the leading organizations devoted to advocating, championing, educating and finding cures for major diseases like cancer, heart disease, asthma and diabetes. The Sorority is also tackling global poverty and worldwide hunger in some of the world’s poorest regions through its support of Heifer International, a global nonprofit whose goal is to end poverty and hunger in a sustainable fashion. Alpha Kappa Alpha’s mission also embraces education, economic security, social justice and human rights, the environment and internal leadership training for external service. Alpha Kappa Alpha’s signature initiative is the Emerging Young LeadersSM program. This initiative mirrors the Sorority’s mission to cultivate leadership skills in middle-school girls. Its overarching goal is to prepare young people to assume the reins of leadership. This is

particularly critical in an increasingly complex world that is desperately in need for inspired leadership. Alpha Kappa Alpha has left its mark on the global horizon through its resolve to “serve all mankind.” This commitment represents the mission upon which we were founded and the dynamic that makes us one of the world’s preeminent and enduring service organizations.

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Alpha Kappa Alpha boasts a nucleus of more than 250,000 women in 965 chapters in the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, Germany, Bermuda, Korea, Japan and in the continent of Africa who are dedicated to service. Since its founding, members have donated more than 3.5 million hours to programs that have benefited over 16 million people worldwide.

Its membership includes a wide array of outstanding luminaries who cross several disciplines and industries. Some of its marquee members are Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia, poets Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou, Dr. Mae Jemison, first woman of color to travel into space, actresses Phylicia Rashad and Jada Pinkett-Smith, Grammy Award winner, Alicia Keys and Congresswomen Sheila Jackson Lee, Eddie Bernice Johnson and newly-elected lawmakers Terri Sewel and Frederica Wilson. The late civil rights champions Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks and Septima Poinsette Clark are also members. Attorney Carolyn House Stewart is the 27th International President whose program theme is: “Global Leadership Through Timeless Service.”

DELTA SIGMA THETA, FOUNDED – 1913www.deltasigmatheta.org

Motto: “Intelligence is the torch of wisdom”

Service Platforms: Economic Development; Educational Development; International Awareness and Involvement; Physical and Mental Health; and Political Awareness and Involvement.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University. These students wanted to use their collective strength to promote academic excellence and to provide assistance to persons in need. The first public act performed by the Delta Founders involved their participation in the Women’s Suffrage March in Washington D.C., March 1913. Delta Sigma Theta was incorporated in 1930.

ZETA PHI BETA, FOUNDED – 1920www.zphib1920.org

Motto: “Scholarship, Sisterly Love, Service, Finer Womanhood”

The year was 1920. It was the start of the decade, shortly after World War One, and a time of great prosperity for the country. Women were called dames, dolls, or the cat’s meow. At the beginning of the decade, women still wore long skirts but the “Roaring 20s” brought a new look of short skirts and smartly coiffed shorter hair. Racial tensions were high and quotas set for immigrants coming into America. The Klan was very active during this period. The Harlem Renaissance was acknowledged as the first important movement of black artists and writers in the US. On January 16, 1920, the Volstead Act became effective, heralding the start of Prohibition and on August 18th of the same year, Tennessee delivered the crucial 36th ratification necessary for the final adoption of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. The worst and longest economic recession to ever hit the United States would define the end of the decade-the Great Depression.

It was within this environment that Zeta Phi Beta Sorority was founded. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority was founded on the simple belief that sorority elitism and socializing should not overshadow the real mission for progressive organizations - to address societal mores, ills, prejudices, poverty, and health concerns of the day. Founded January 16, 1920, Zeta began as an idea conceived by five coeds at Howard University in Washington D.C.: Arizona Cleaver, Myrtle Tyler, Viola Tyler, Fannie Pettie and Pearl Neal. These five women, also known as our Five

Pearls, dared to depart from the traditional coalitions for black women and sought to establish a new organization predicated on the precepts of Scholarship, Service, Sisterly Love and Finer Womanhood. It was the ideal of the Founders that the Sorority would reach college women in all parts of the country who were sorority minded and desired to follow the founding principles of the organization. Founder Viola Tyler was oft quoted to say “[In the ideal collegiate situation] there is a Zeta in a girl regardless of race, creed, or color, who has high standards and principles, a good scholarly average and an active interest in all things that she undertakes to accomplish.”

Since its inception, the Sorority has chronicled a number of firsts. Zeta Phi Beta was the first Greek-letter organization to charter a chapter in Africa (1948); to form adult and youth auxiliary groups; to centralize its operations in a national headquarters; and to be constitutionally bound to a fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated. Zeta’s national and local programs include endowment of its National Educational Foundation, community outreach services and support of multiple affiliate organizations. Zeta chapters and auxiliary groups have given untotaled hours of voluntary service to educate the public, assist youth, provide scholarships, support organized charities and promote legislation for social and civic change.

A nonprofit organization, Zeta Phi Beta is incorporated in Washington, D.C. and in the state of Illinois. The dues and gifts of its members support the Sorority. Over the years since the sorority’s inception, Zeta Phi Beta has chartered hundreds of chapters and initiated thousands of women around the world. Zeta has continued to thrive and flourish while adapting to the ever-changing needs of a new century. Despite the Great Depression, discrimination and segregation and a host of other challenges, Zeta has continued to hold true to its ideals and purpose, for, as stated by one of the Sorority’s founding members: “…I believe that no [other] organization could have been founded upon principles that were so near and dear to all of our hearts.” (Founder Myrtle Tyler)

SIGMA GAMMA RHO, FOUNDED – 1922 www.sgrho1922.org

Motto: “Greater service, greater progress”

Service Platforms and Partners: National Education Fund, Project Reassurance, Project Africare, SPEAR (Sigma Public Education and Research Foundation), Sigma Youth Symposium, National Marrow Donor Program, Cancer Awareness Program, Buckle Up America“We are proud to continue the legacy set by our Founders almost 90 years ago through service and commitment to shaping the future for our youth.” - Toni Odom

Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority’s aim is to enhance the quality of life within the community. Public service, leadership development and education of youth are the hallmark of the organization’s programs and activities.

Sigma Gamma Rho addresses concerns that impact society educationally, civically, and economically. Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was organized on November 12, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana by seven young educators: Mary Lou Allison Little, Dorothy Hanley Whiteside, Vivian White Marbury, Nannie Mae Gahn Johnson, Hattie Mae Dulin Redford, Bessie M. Downey Martin and Cubena McClure. The group became an incorporated national collegiate sorority on December 30, 1929, when a charter was granted to Alpha chapter at Butler University.

Soaring To Greater Heights of Attainment Around The World, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., as a leading national service organization, has met the challenges of the day and continues to grow through Sisterhood, Scholarship and Service.

From seven young educators, Sigma Gamma Rho has become an international service organization comprised of women from every profession. Sigma Gamma Rho offers its members opportunities to develop their unique talents through leadership training and involvement in sorority activities. Sorority activities provide an atmosphere where friendships and professional contacts are developed which often lead to bonds that last a lifetime.Sigma women are dedicated to helping each other and their personal success is recognized in The AURORA and through various awards.