Foundation

Gamma Phi Gives Day Donor Profile: Cary Singleton (Southern California)

Meet Cary Singleton, who is matching up to $10,000 in gifts from Beta Alpha donors during Gamma Phi Gives Day. Cary supports the Gamma Phi Beta Foundation because, as she says, “[Doing so] can change the lives of young women, strengthening their sense of self and purpose.”

Initially, Cary joined Gamma Phi Beta, at age 50, as an alumnae initiate to please her mom, Joyce Stewart (Southern California). Joyce was a fixture within Gamma Phi who donated her time and treasures to the organization for decades. When Cary told her mom the news, Joyce burst into tears.

“She said, ‘I’ll call L’Cena Rice right now and see if there is time before Convention!’ But as I prepared with L’Cena, I truly realized what a gift this sisterhood is,” Cary says.

Cary and her older sister Leslie joined Gamma Phi Beta at, like their mother, Beta Alpha Chapter at the University of Southern California. Since joining in 2006, Cary has met and traveled with sisters, many of whom have become her mentors. She adds, “The [Sorority] and my Beta Alpha sisters have been a wonderful part of the second half of my life.”

In addition to Gamma Phi, Cary supports other nonprofit organizations that benefit important causes, including Alzheimer’s and neuroscience research, experiential learning, affordable housing and ending food scarcity. Her philanthropic heart does not stop there. In 2016, Cary and her husband, Will, launched their own nonprofit, Singleton Foundation. Their Foundation makes the possibility of financial competence a reality for everyone, promotes entrepreneurship (because Cary and Will believe each of us can become the CEO of our own lives) and inspires individual achievement. They do this using short-form mobile entertainment.

Aside from her philanthropic efforts, Cary is the woman to turn to for advice on the career pivot. Some of her professional pursuits include operating different businesses, leading a national school-based violence prevention program, getting involved with the entertainment industry later in life and public speaking engagements, including a Tedx Talk. She’s got the career pivot down, and when we look at her life’s mission statements, there’s no guessing why that is.

“[I live by the following]: 1) Create vision > Inspire action and 2) Be an oyster! Find a problem and turn it into a pearl!”

To learn more about Cary and her incredible impact, visit SingletonInk.com and SingletonFoundation.org.

Watch Cary’s talk, Think Like an Entrepreneur: From Crisis to Opportunity here: youtu.be/ MS4BhcFEaE8.