Nash's Donor Tour Part II

It’s Nash, here again with another update on my awesome “Donors Rock” tour. I continued my travels meeting sisters both in Philadelphia area and neighboring New Jersey as well….

November 19 – I ventured across the bridge to visit our fabulous women at Zeta Pi, The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). Over a delicious pasta dinner, we shared some Phi Sig history and lots of good stories. Thank you for cooking for me and welcoming me on my first ever visit to this campus. It was really fun!

November 20 - I was delighted to have coffee with two very special alumnae at Starbucks on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. It was wonderful catching up with Heather Kelley, a Beta Psi alumna and current Foundation Secretary and Diane Spatz, a Nu alumna, who is a Foundation Director Emeritus and the long standing CKA at Xi Chapter, Temple University.

November 20 – Dodgeball, anyone? How fun it was to watch the sisters of Zeta Gamma chapter at West Chester University compete among themselves in their first annual Phi Sig Olympics. The chapter divided themselves into teams complete with names, t-shirts, and cheers while having a blast playing dodgeball, answering trivia questions, and other fun activities. Following the game, it was so nice to tour their house and chat with the sisters about how the university has changed since I was their CKA in the 1990s. Thank you for hosting me and allowing me to share your entertaining games!

November 23 – I was thrilled to have lunch with Beta Alpha alumna Bonnie Diamond Aaron, who served the Foundation as a former Philanthropy and Fundraising Chairman. Since it’s been years since we’ve seen each other, it was wonderful to touch base, get up to date, and share family photos with each other.

November 23 - I traveled to New Jersey again, this time to attend a meeting with the sisters of Theta Eta chapter at Rider University. We had a blast remembering our Phi Sig history. After the meeting, I toured the house which is very impressive. Thank you to the women at Theta Eta for allowing me to visit where I had such a good time!

November 24 – I was honored to have lunch with Past Grand Archon and Phi Sig icon, Veachey Rudolph Bloom. If you think I tell good stories, then you haven’t had the pleasure of hearing Veachey speak. I could listen to Veachey talk all day and all night about her Phi Sig experiences…she’s a Phi Sig treasure!

November 24 – For my final visit, I was honored to attend a very lovely ritual meeting at Gamma Xi chapter at Widener University. Following the meeting, we had a question and answer session, and then I toured the Manor, their beautiful home. Thanks to all my Gamma Xi sisters for a terrific evening!

It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks, but an extremely exhilarating experience. Our chapters continue to aim high and I know our Founders would be so proud of them. Thanks to everyone for hosting me with such warmth and enthusiasm.

One thing is for sure, our DONORS ROCK!! Look out, Nash may be dropping by to see you soon!

Foundation Executive Director Nancy Hay, a.k.a. “Nash”, Is On the Road in Philly

Nash has hit the road and has been a blogging maniac! See below for her latest stories and news!

Greetings from Nash. I’m currently in Philadelphia where it has been my great pleasure to meet and visit with so many wonderful Phi Sig collegians and alumnae.

November 14 - I began my “Donors Rock” tour with a trip to Stevenson College in Owings Mills, MD to attend Zeta Chi Chapter’s Basket Bingo. I was honored to meet the sisters and their advisors, families and friends at this fantastic fundraiser. This event was not only fun, but it raised thousands of dollars for the Foundation. Congratulations to the chapter on a job well done and thank you for all your support.

November 16 - I was delighted to attend the Founders’ Day luncheon hosted by the Philadelphia Alumnae Chapter. Check out all the details here.

November 17 – After having met all the local chapter reps at the Philly Founders’ Day celebration, I set out to visit each chapter on their own campus. My first stop was Beta Rho chapter, my alma mater Drexel University.

I was quite impressed with the growth of the university which has so many new buildings that I hardly recognized it. It was so nice to meet the chapter, tour their house, and chat with the sisters about how the university has changed since I was in school. Thank you Beta Rhos for hosting me and allowing me to share some of my most cherished memories!

November 18 - I traveled to Xi Chapter at Temple University, where I was thrilled to meet some of the sisters at the dining hall for lunch. While eating, we had a blast playing Phi Sig Jeopardy, and the sisters who answered the questions correctly were rewarded with prizes. After lunch, I toured the house which is very impressive. Thank you to the women at Xi for taking time out of your busy schedules to show me such a good time!

November 19 - I was so pleased to meet with Xi alumna Sue Bleznak Weisberg, an old friend and former Convention Chairman for the Fraternity. It was delightful to catch up with this Foundation donor and special sister!

Stay tuned for more of Nash’s travels!

Wonderful Founders' Day Event

The Foundation received this wonderful report from Melanie Toner, Archon of the Philadelphia Alumnae Chapter. Congratulations for a wonderful event!

Founders’ Day 2008 was a huge success for the Philadelphia alumnae chapter. With seven chapters in attendance, we hosted almost 400 women to celebrate our founders’ vision and strength. Special Events Chair, Mary Elizabeth Gantz, planned a fabulous event at Harrah's in Chester. For this Founders' Day, we debuted a new format, complete with a panel of successful alumnae, a Phi Sig marketplace featuring every chapter, and a new collegian award.

Our panel featured Foundation Executive Director Nancy “Nash” Hay (Beta Rho), Gina D’Amato-Kaufman (Gamma Xi), Jess Pomraning (Gamma Gamma) and was moderated by Foundation Secretary Heather Kelley (Beta Psi). Collegians were asked to provide us with questions of anything that might be on their mind. Among other things, they asked about networking opportunities, career strategy, and whether or not our panelists watch the TV show, Greek.

The day kicked off with the Phi Sig Marketplace – an hour long opportunity devoted to networking. Each chapter was provided with a table to display information about their events and to sell t-shirts or other fundraising items. Next, Mary Elizabeth welcomed everyone and the women from Zeta Omicron performed the SPHINX ceremony.

This year, we presented two awards, one of which was brand new. Each year, we honor an alumnae sister who excels in sorority and community service with the Helen Berkowitz award. Past recipients include Kim Hildred (Gamma Epsilon), Nancy Hay (Beta Rho), Diane Spatz (Nu) and many others. This year’s honored recipient was Jess Pomraning (Gamma Gamma). We also started a new tradition this year. We felt it was important to also honor outstanding collegians in our region and so we debuted a new award, the Outstanding Philadelphia Area Collegian Sister Award. We received outstanding nominations and Mary Elizabeth read each one aloud. We are so proud to have awarded this year’s plaque to Laura Ferro (Nu).

And of course, we also made sure to remember to uphold our founders’ ideals. Our community service project was a toiletry drive which benefited Family House in West Philadelphia. In addition, we raised $689 for the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation between raffle tickets and pin sales. Unique Impressions will also graciously donate a portion of their proceeds to the Foundation. Finally, we debuted a new T-shirt as a chapter fundraiser and sold 31 shirts!

Founders' Day Campaign

First, the quiz...

Which Phi Sig Founder:

...graduated from high school at age 11?
...became a textile designer and an interior designer?
...worked as a hospital volunteer and was bilingual?
...was the first founder to pass away?
...aspired to be a dancer/actress?
...wrote most of the Fraternity's ritual?

Whether or not you remember all their names and achievements, I know you remember our Founders' collective vision...the advancement of womanhood. You embrace it every time you act with sisterhood in mind. Nothing can separate us!

So now, the question...

Will you continue the tradition you began last Founders' Day by joining our second annual Founders' Day Campaign? This important effort is raising gifts of $19.13 or more to directly benefit the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation's ACHIEVE leadership initiative and educational grants. The contribution you made last year helped raise nearly $20,000 - an amount that far exceeded our highest expectations!

Our Zeta Tau Chapter Archon, Julie, tells what ACHIEVE meant for her this past year:

"This series of workshops definitely helped me focus on techniques to develop and implement chapter objectives. We worked on an action plan for our standards board to monitor chapter morale and oversee activities. We also established a "24-hour rule," meaning if there is disagreement or tension, sisters allow themselves 24 hours to think through their thoughts and ideas rather than instantly reacting..."

This Loyola University Chicago senior has helped double her chapter size in two years, with 90 sisters and tons of positive response from members, Headquarters and their host campus. And, Julie is just one of our collegiate chapter leaders who benefited from the program. Some 750 collegiate sisters participated in ACHIEVE last year alone. Wow!

Joining the 2008 Founders' Day Campaign by November 26th will put a tax-deductible gift to work immediately to fund the ACHIEVE leadership module and educational grants for deserving sisters. We need YOU if we hope to reach this year's goal to increase donors and dollars by 10%. It's easy to do right now... (1) find the answers to our Founders' Day quiz and (2) tell us your answer to our Founders' Day question!