The Women’s Wellness Initiative is a consolidated effort that allows chapters to focus on health issues that impact women; specifically, women of color. The Women’s Wellness Initiative was developed after the Sorority’s participation in the United Nations/March of Dimes Prematurity Awareness panel in New York. Acceptable educational and programmatic efforts under this Initiative include, but are not limited to Breast Cancer Awareness, Intimate and Domestic Violence, Heart Health, Diabetes Health, Mental Health and other issues that target women. WWI programs can be conducted at any time during the sorority year.
Swim 1922 was created to address the unfortunate truth that according to the CDC, approximately 10 people drown every day in the U.S.A. An even more startling fact is that 70 percent of African American children and 60 percent of Hispanic children in the U.S. do not know how to swim. Additionally, African American children are three times more likely to drown than Caucasian children. Through the partnership with USA Swimming, Sigma Gamma Rho’s Swim 1922 campaign aims to address this disparity by having. Olympians and members of the sorority teach the community about water safety and how to swim. With USA Swimming, Sigma Gamma Rho has touched close to 20,000 lives, directly, with the projection of changing multiple generations to come. Swim 1922 programs are conducted during May-August of the sorority year.
Our goal is to strengthen USA Swimming’s commitment to diversity and inclusion by breaking down barriers, created by a lack of access and exposure, and expanding our footprint in the local community to increase swim participation and decrease drowning rates.
Held simultaneously, on the second Saturday of March by Alumnae Chapters across the nation, our Youth Symposium serves as a unifying effort during Sigma Week. The Symposium (supported by undergraduate chapters and affiliates) is designed to highlight some of the prevalent concerns that negatively impact our youth (drugs, teen violence, abuse, low self-esteem, suicide, teen pregnancy, human trafficking, etc.).
The late Dr. LaRona J. Morris, Past Grand Basileus (National President), was the originator of this nationwide, one-day symposium. Dr. Morris initiated this program under her administration during the periods of 1996 – 2000. We are honored to continue her thrust to empower youth in our communities through hands-on, interactive leadership activities centered on a relevant annual theme. The Youth Symposium has a standardized agenda and program package to be used nationwide.
Operation BigBookBag is a program designed to address the needs, challenges and issues that face school-aged children who are educationally at-risk, in local homeless shelters and extended-care hospitals and facilities. Through this program, chapters and members collect and donate educational materials, equipment and school supplies.
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority’s Project CRADLE Care is one of our essential programs designed to raise awareness of disparate and inequitable maternal and infant health outcomes Black women endure through community outreach, advocacy, education, and implicit bias training. In so doing, we aim to mitigate outcome and life-course disparities in our communities.
THE POODLE EXPRESS VOLUME 3 ISSUE 1