Dear Friends,
Greetings and welcome to the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter Online. This is an exciting time as we celebrate our 85th Anniversary as the second oldest chapter in the Southern Region, a significant aspect of the history of the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, is a public service organization committed to addressing societal concerns and issues in an effort to improve the lives of others, especially those in the African-American community. The sorority had its beginning with the vision of 22 women who founded Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, at Howard University, on January 13, 1913. These visionary young women used their collective strength to promote academic excellence and assist persons in need.
Greetings and welcome to the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter Online. This is an exciting time as we celebrate our 85th Anniversary as the second oldest chapter in the Southern Region, a significant aspect of the history of the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, is a public service organization committed to addressing societal concerns and issues in an effort to improve the lives of others, especially those in the African-American community. The sorority had its beginning with the vision of 22 women who founded Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, at Howard University, on January 13, 1913. These visionary young women used their collective strength to promote academic excellence and assist persons in need.
Following this prototype, the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter has gained local, state, regional, and national acclaim due to its outstanding public service initiatives, a legacy of which we are proud. The Atlanta Alumnae Chapter began its operation in 1924 when eleven undergraduate women from Atlanta University and Spelman College chartered Sigma Chapter. In 1925, a group of graduate students chartered a graduate chapter, Iota Sigma Alumnae Chapter, that was renamed Atlanta Alumnae Chapter in 1958. Today, the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter continues as a vital force in the community by providing viable public service initiatives and supporting the work of other organizations that give value to the city we serve.
More specifically, the chapter's major programs are based upon the sorority's Five-Point Program Thrust, social action, arts and letters, collegiate initiatives, and fundraising for programmatic efforts and scholarship awards. Among recent Five-Point Program initiatives are the following:
- Economic Development
- Economic empowerment initiatives for youth (Delta Academy) and seniors
- The Habitat for Humanity fundraising campaign to provide housing for a family in the Atlanta community, having raised approximately 20% of its $70,000 goal
- 2004 Economic Empowerment Fair focusing on educating the community about making sound financial decisions
- 2004 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)
- Educational Development
- Dr. Betty Shabazz Delta Academy having served 24 girls, ages 11-14
- 2005 Scholarship Awards totaling $19,500 for 17 deserving graduating seniors in the Atlanta Public Schools and a rising college senior at Alabama State University. The Ebony Fashion Fair, along with the generous support of corporate sponsors, is the chief source of scholarship funds.
- 2004 and 2005 Writing Projects serving high school students funded by a Gannett Foundation grant
- 2004 Atlanta Public Schools Summer Reading Achievers Awards/Reception
- Recognition of eligible seniors in the Atlanta Public Schools who were in the top 10% and 3% of their graduating classes in 2004 and 2005, respectively
- International Awareness and Involvement
- Support for the Mary Sick of the Mission Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa
- 2004 Ghana Expo
- Providing amenities for South African college students during the 2003 winter holiday season with proceeds from a silent auction
- Recipient of the Africa Heritage Achievement Award from the Africa Heritage Foundation, Inc.
- The 10th Anniversary of the Dismantling of Apartheid: A Conversation at Spelman focusing on the status of democratic rule in South Africa and its implications for black women in particular
- Physical and Mental Health
- First Annual From the Heart Walk and 27th Annual Health Fair
- Aid to Children of Imprisoned Mothers with a primary focus on the latency-aged children of imprisoned mothers by providing books, book bags, and school supplies for the children
- Memory Walk in 2003 and 2004
- 2004 AIDS Walk Atlanta
- 2004 International Day of Service focusing on HIV/AIDS in collaboration with Hands On Atlanta
- 2004 Luggage Drive for the Department of Family and Children Services Foster Care Program by providing 33 duffle bags for use when placing children
- 2004 African-American Healthy Marriage Forum
- 2004 Thanksgiving Basket and Toy Drive for 31 families with a donation of 32 Christmas gifts
- 2003 Thanksgiving Basket and Toy Drive for 30 families with 125 children
- 2003 Diabetes Screening and Education
- Political Awareness and Involvement and Social Action advocacy efforts
- Supported Breast Cancer legislation
- 2003 Focus on Fulton – A Government Services Expo
- 2004 and 2005 Delta Days in the Nation's Capital, a legislative initiative
- Presidential Debate Watch
- Deputy Registrar Training
- Voter Registration
Many of the chapter's programmatic features are initiated through collaborative efforts with agencies and organizations such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Diabetes Association of Atlanta, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia. Other agencies include the Fulton County Department of Family and Children Services, Alzheimer's Association – Georgia Chapter, Fulton County Government, and other metro Atlanta chapters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
Our vision for the future encompasses a continued focus on serving the Atlanta community through implementing goals in the following areas:
Intensifying
Community Service
Expanding
Advocacy Efforts
Our vision for the future encompasses a continued focus on serving the Atlanta community through implementing goals in the following areas:
Intensifying
Community Service Expanding
Advocacy Efforts We sincerely hope that our website will be instrumental in keeping website visitors informed about relevant chapter issues for the community and chapter members. Chapter focal areas will correlate with the sorority’s National theme – One Mission, One Sisterhood: Empowering Communities Through Committed Service.
Sincerely,
Nadine Baker-Smith
President
Sincerely,
Nadine Baker-Smith
President