Inspiring Opportunity The Alpha Xi Delta Foundation Newsletter Spring/Summer 2014
Through the Years...
We are told when we accept membership into Alpha Xi Delta, that membership spans a lifetime. Many of us share similar experiences of our collegiate days, including:
Recruitment Initiation Big Sister Little Sister Graduation Alumnae Realize Your Potential Dedication Whether you have just graduated or you are celebrating your Order of the Rose membership anniversary, each of you has a story about why you give to the Foundation, and each of you has a unique Alpha Xi Delta story. Yet, you come together to help the Foundation successfully reach our goal each year and to help Alpha Xi Delta and her members realize their potential. This issue of Inspiring Opportunity focuses on the generations of giving that make the Foundation what it is today.
1940s
What is your fondest memory of your Alpha Xi Delta college experience? As a sophomore, I was asked to participate in the Panhellenic swim meet because I was the only member who could swim breast stroke. I came in first and ended up on the University’s swim team, becoming the team captain. - Beverly Rorer, Pennsylvania ’49
1950s
What prompted to you support the Alpha Xi Delta Foundation with your first gift? I saw what the Leadership Consultants were able to accomplish during their stay on campus. Their year was funded by the Foundation, and I felt they were serving a very important role in the life of Alpha Xi Delta. - Mary Paule McMath Bierlein, Michigan State ’58
1960s
Why do you continue to give to the Foundation? My Alpha Xi Delta college experience made such an impression on me and influenced the direction my life has taken. I want today’s (and future) members to have that same opportunity. I have done that by contributing to the Foundation regularly and naming Alpha Xi Delta in my will. - Jean Sauer DeFrances, Florida State ’60 What is your fondest memory of your Alpha Xi Delta college experience? If anything stands out from those collegiate years, it is the friendships formed each evening, talking and laughing, waiting in the living room for dinner to be served. - Jane Mercereau, Oregon ’60
1970s
What is your fondest memory of your Alpha Xi Delta college experience? It had to be the night of my first Preference Ceremony. It was a magical night, and when the Sisters whispered in my ear, “May your dream and our dream be the same dream tonight,” I just burst into tears, and my soonto-be pledge Sister Linda Roberts, Frostburg State ’72, and I hugged each other. After that, we were both offered bids to Alpha Xi Delta and the rest is history. - Rebecca Neilson, Frostburg State ’72
1980s
What prompted you to support the Alpha Xi Delta Foundation with your first gift?
As an Alpha Xi Delta scholarship recipient I benefited from others’ gifts to the Foundation. I felt it was right that I should do the same and give back to the Foundation. I continue to do it every year. - Jody Dettmer Halley, Baldwin Wallace ’89
1990s
Why do you continue to give to the Foundation? This year, 2014, marks the 20th anniversary of my Initiation into Alpha Xi Delta. Over the years, I have been an alumna volunteer and have seen many Sisters benefit greatly from the scholarships awarded by the Foundation. I am inspired to see my Sisters achieve their educational dreams through my donations. - Jennifer Knowles Elliott, Sonoma State ’94
2000s
2010s
What is your fondest memory of your Alpha Xi Delta alumna experience?
My fondest memory of my alumna experience was when I met and became a mentor to a collegiate member. I wasn’t sure what we could have in common with the years between us, but I learned as much from her as I think she learned from my experiences. A few years later upon her graduation, I was asked to write a recommendation for her. I was happy to be a part of her collegiate experience as her accomplishments on campus, in the chapter house and in her life were outstanding examples of what Alpha Xi Delta stands for. - Megan Gustafson Melloy, Iowa ’00
What prompted to you support the Alpha Xi Delta Foundation with your first gift? The first time I donated to the Foundation was through the Senior Challenge, now referred to as the Undergraduate Giving Challenge. Through Alpha Xi Delta, I received an education on leadership, relationships, problem solving, recruiting and overall creativity that I would not have otherwise acquired without membership and the Fraternity’s educational programming. I thought giving to the Senior Challenge would be the best way to help future members gain the same valuable experience. - Nicole Valdes, Central Florida ’07
Alpha Xi Delta
Why do you continue to give to the Foundation? I give to the Foundation because it has given so much to me. During my freshmen year, I received the Slaymaker-Kinsey Award for having the highest GPA in my chapter, which came with a small monetary award. I have also been honored to receive two Alpha Xi Delta scholarships during my undergraduate career. These helped me immensely with paying for my education and expenses. The Foundation and its donors made these scholarships possible for me, so I always like to give back to the Foundation whenever I can. - Erika Yates, Christian Brothers ’11
is
Friendship Home Family Leadership Sisterhood Potential Giving Back
We all share the common bonds of Alpha Xi Delta and the desire to see her move forward and become the best she can be.
Summer Programming
Alpha Xi Delta has a busy summer ahead of us. From Indianapolis to Atlanta to Washington D.C., watch for a sea of ΑΞΔ letters everywhere!
VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE The Volunteer Leadership Conference (VLC) will allow attendees, National and Territory Directors, National Council, National Housing Corporation and The Foundation Trustees, to spend a weekend getting to know Sisters serving in national volunteer roles, while using their ideas and talents for the betterment of the Fraternity. This weekend will be jam packed with great ideas, training, collaboration, Sisterhood and fun!
THE WORKOUT Alpha Xi Delta’s comprehensive recruitment training program, The Workout, is being offered in two sessions this summer, in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bloomington, Indiana. The Workout will help get our chapters in top condition before they start the recruitment marathon. Activities and exercises for a successful recruitment plan and a review of conversation tactics give Sisters the tools they need to instill Alpha Xi Delta pride!
SUMMER IMMERSION EXPERIENCE This program, July 27 - August 2 in Washington, D.C., gives collegiate members the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of autism spectrum disorders. Sisters will collaborate and develop connections with Autism Speaks and spend a week fully immersed in the four pillars of our partner’s mission: awareness, family services, advocacy and research.
THE FOUNDERS’ ACADEMY The Founders’ Academy (TFA) is Alpha Xi Delta’s premier summer educational opportunity held in off-Convention years for Chapter Presidents and emerging chapter leaders. This year’s TFA programming will be centered on StrengthsQuest and how to use our strengths through leadership opportunities and chapter management.
BECOME A FOUNDERS’ ACADEMY SPONSOR As Sisters from our chapters across the nation are preparing for the newest leadership program this summer, The Founders’ Academy, we are offering you the opportunity to be a founder yourself by sponsoring this year’s conference. Just $250 will sponsor a collegian’s time at TFA this summer. You can help IGNITE the strengths and passions of this generation of Alpha Xi Deltas. To donate, go to the Foundation online giving page and make your gift. Be sure to make your gift “In Honor of” The Founders’ Academy so we can properly acknowledge you. Please feel free to add a note in the special comments section to be shared with participants at this year’s The Founders’ Academy. If that amount is too much right now, please don’t hesitate to give what you can. There will be a private Facebook group for sponsors to view participants’ photos as well as their thoughts on sessions, the Sisters they are meeting and all of the excitement surrounding TFA. A link will be provided to all of our TFA sponsors at a later date so they can stay up-to-date with the conference. You will also be recognized at TFA as a sponsor. Your gifts to the Alpha Xi Delta Foundation are key to the future and success of events like The Founders’ Academy and Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support.
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