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| Our History and Focus - The Alpha Phi Foundation |
History
Alpha Phi Foundation, founded in 1956, is one of the oldest Greek foundations for women. It was set up as a trust – its purpose was to award grants from scholarship and cardiac aid funds. Today, two original priorities remain: to encourage and recognize superior scholarship and to support women's cardiac health. The Foundation also funds programs that provide leadership and educational opportunities, educate women about philanthropy and assist members in need.
Why Cardiac Care?
In 1946, Alpha Phis gathered at Convention in Quebec – the hot topic: adopting an international philanthropic cause. During World War II, countless philanthropy projects were successful at the international level. " —Wartime projects were very successful and had given us an idea of what we could do as a unified whole," wrote Catherine Wilson Storment, the first cardiac aid chairman, in the 1947 Winter Quarterly.
Now the question became: "What would Alpha Phi do in peacetime?"
At that time, rheumatic fever – a disease that causes serious, debilitating damage to the heart – was a leading killer of school age children in the United States. Alpha Phi wanted to help these children, but it also wanted freedom to contribute money and service to
other programs. Cardiac aid fit the bill – chapters and members were able to donate funds and service to various educational and research projects.
During the next few decades, modern antibiotic therapy sharply reduced mortality and cases of rheumatic fever became rare. Heart disease became the #1 killer of women in North America, and Alpha Phi Foundation thought it fitting that an organization of women help fight it.
Since 1946, Alpha Phi has donated more than $1 million to support cardiac health initiative.
Alpha Phi Foundation |
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How the Epsilon Chi Chapter Participates
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Through fundraising and participating in other Greek organizations' philanthropy events, Alpha Phi helps support many charity groups around the nation. Our own Alpha Phi Foundation supports leadership programs for Alpha Phi women as well as Cardiac Care through the American Heart Association. Each year we hold our Alpha Phi Slam-n-Jam basketball tournament for the Cal Poly fraternities to participate in, who help fundraise for the Foundation.
We annually participate in the SLO and Atascadero sections of "Fill the Boot" as well. (Picture Above.) This event allows our girls team together with the county firemen to collect donations from cars as they drive by to "fill the boot" with money for Muscular Dystrophy.
This year our chapter, along with most other Alpha Phi chapters, will be holding a Red Dress Gala in honor of supporting research for heart disease - the number one killer of women in North America. We as a chapter will be supporting research and donations for this cause by supporting our own women in our lives: our mothers, sisters, and friends - as it will be held as the dinner event at our Parent's Weekend 2009. Please check out our Red Dress Gala page to check out our most recent and most successful event- our Red Dress Gala 2008!
 Click here to learn more about the Alpha Phi Foundation and Cardiac Care
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