Monday, April 29, 2019

Alumnae Panhellenic Success Story: Northern Nevada Alumnae Panhellenic Welcome Program

NPC recently spoke with representatives of the Northern Nevada Alumnae Panhellenic Association (NNAP) located near Reno, Nevada, about the programs they hold throughout the year. Here's what they shared: 

NPC: What topics does your Alumnae Panhellenic typically highlight during the year for programming? 
NNAP: We have a Welcome Ceremony every May to welcome graduating sorority members into alumnae status. We hold an International Badge Day luncheon and invite collegians to the luncheon as well. Starting in 2020, we will be adding a scholarship component to the luncheon and we will be giving out one or two scholarships at the luncheon. We host multiple Sorority 101 events in the spring and summer for young women graduating high school and their parents to inform them of the benefits of sorority membership in college. We hold a minimum of two sisterhood events a year, and we provide outreach to other Panhellenic groups.

NPC: What do these events look like?
NNAP: We will hold the Welcome Ceremony one of the sorority houses near the University of Nevada-Reno campus. We expect 25-30 graduates as well as 10-15 alumnae to attend.

The International Badge Day Luncheon grows every year and this year we hosted approximately 60 sorority members. We are hoping for 75-85 attendees next year. It is held at a local event space.  

Sorority 101 will take place at some of the high schools and another location to be determined during the summer. We have been doing this event for several years.  


Our two sisterhood events this year were a Halloween-themed Bunco event, where we brought items for Lexie’s Gift, a local nonprofit (see below). We recently held an arts and crafts themed-event at our local “Board & Brush,” which is a place where you create wooden signs and artwork for your home.  




Finally, we hold an annual membership party in the summer where we come together to socialize, plan for the upcoming year and celebrate our sisterhoods. It is also a time when we collect dues and encourage membership in the Northern Nevada Alumnae Panhellenic (NNAP)!  

We also have continued our book club. They meet every other month at the homes of the members.

NPC: How does your Alumnae Panhellenic promote and support programming opportunities? Why is programming a priority for your Alumnae Panhellenic?
NNAP: We have an extensive email list that includes delegates and members and we promote our events through our meetings and emails. Programming has always been a priority for NNAP as we realize we are bigger than our individual sorority membership and it is a wonderful way to get to know so many sorority women in our community. 

NPC: What else would you like to share with fellow Alumnae Panhellenics about your events and programming?
NNAP: We have continued to be involved in our local community and supporting other women through various community entities, one of which is Lexie’s Gift. Lexie’s Gift provides clothing, school supplies and other items that students and young adults in the Northern Nevada area need. NNAP members regularly volunteer here and we just finished working with Lexie’s Prom Closet during the months of January-March, where prom dresses, shoes, accessories and tuxedos/suits were provided, free of cost, to any high school student in the area.  

We also support the individual sorority’s philanthropies by attending events held throughout the year. It is just another example of “women supporting women” in the Northern Nevada area!

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Setting Better Expectations About What to Expect During Recruitment

The following is a guest post from Colleen Fowkes, James Madison University, class of 2020.


This past fall, the College Panhellenic at James Madison University decided to try the Potential New Member Orientation Program (PNMO) from LaunchPoint and the National Panhellenic Conference to help better educate potential new members about what to expect during recruitment. 

As the vice president of recruitment-elect at the time, I found the PNMO program to be extremely beneficial because potential new members were able to learn about the recruitment process prior to beginning recruitment. 

The week (or weeks) of recruitment can be very hectic; therefore, I find it extremely beneficial to educate women in advance about the goals and expectations of the recruitment process. I personally reviewed the PNMO program before we had potential new members experience it, and I believe it summed up the importance and concepts of recruitment in a well-detailed manner. 

We also liked that potential new members were able to access this hour-long program through the same program they use to register for recruitment. During recruitment, there seemed to be much less confusion among potential new members on the terminology, expectations and process itself. 



This program benefited the College Panhellenic community by making our job easier before recruitment even began, and benefited potential new members by giving clear expectations of the recruitment process and experience.


About Potential New Member Orientation (PNMO)
The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) has partnered with LaunchPoint to offer Potential New Member Orientation (PNMO), a program designed to improve a potential new member’s experience with joining a sorority. This online, self-paced educational tool provides consistent recruitment education and a continuing recruitment resource to potential new members as well as a time-saving opportunity for fraternity/sorority advisors. 

PNMO covers many topics, including an overview of fraternity and sorority life, terms and definitions, an explanation of Panhellenic recruitment, benefits of membership and the sorority experience and more. 
For more information, visit the LaunchPoint website or 
email info@launchpointconsulting.com.

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

A Message From the NPC Chairman: Empowering women and girls to be leaders

On March 15, I had the opportunity to participate in a program at the United Nations where sorority women were poised to have conversations with global leaders addressing the very real, and sometimes dangerous, issues facing women in communities around the globe. The program, “Mentoring and Inspiring Women and Girls to be Future Leaders,” was co-sponsored by Delta Zeta and the International Federation for Peace and Sustainable Development (IFPSD) and its president, Sally Kader.

IFPSD, a nonprofit organization in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, seeks to promote and reinforce the UN’s commitment to international peace, security and justice through educational programs, public relations and community outreach initiatives.

The program was held in New York City in conjunction with the United Nation’s 63rd Commission on the Status of Women. It featured keynote speaker Jenni Luke, a Delta Zeta alumna and CEO of Step Up, a nonprofit organization that works with high school girls in after-school and weekend programs to become confident, college-bound, career-focused and ready to join the next generation of professional women. Luke challenged the participants to think beyond what their current ideas of mentorship are in order to come away from the discussion with new concepts they could take forward into their daily lives.

Other speakers included the Honorable Maudline Castico, minister for labour, empowerment, elders, women and children, United Republic of Tanzania; Lazarous Kapambwe, permanent representative of Zambia to the United Nations; Modest Jonathan Mero, permanent representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations; and Christy Phillips-Brown, Delta Zeta national president.

Following the panel presentation, the young women in attendance were encouraged to ask questions, which generated discussion on how to address the underlying social systematic structures when it comes to social capital and how to create allies in the transnational spaces. Other questions included: What advice would you give to politically empowered youth to ensure the girls around them remain confident? What steps can we take to make sure women and girls from different ethnic backgrounds are included in mentoring and have a seat at the table? Talk about being empowered. I have no doubt the young women in the room will be future leaders, and this program gave them the opportunity to hear and share ideas on ways to empower women as global citizens.


Pictured outside the UN event (left to right): NPC Chairman Carole Jones,
Delta Zeta National President Christy Phillips-Brown and
NPC CEO Dani Weatherford

What a powerful partnership Delta Zeta has built with IFPSD and President Kader. Their efforts certainly support NPC’s advocacy efforts to instill good citizenship and service in women in order to improve both campus communities and local, state and federal communities. I was honored to be invited to attend this unique opportunity to advocate for the empowerment of women and girls, and I thank our Delta Zeta friends for their outreach. Other guests attending the program were Dani Weatherford, NPC CEO, and Ginny Carroll, Circle of Sisterhood executive director.

If you'd like to know more about this program, I've included a link to the program video. 


You can watch the program, “Mentoring and Inspiring Women and Girls to be Future Leaders,” as co-sponsored by Delta Zeta and the International Federation for Peace and Sustainable Development. View the event video from UN Web TV (75 minutes).

Interfraternally,





Carole J. Jones
NPC Chairman 2017-19