Raleigh Alumnae Chapter Of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Celebrates 80 Years Of Serving Wake Co. Community
Raleigh, NC – The Raleigh Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated topped off a year of 80th Anniversary/May Week celebrations with a week of public activities that included a museum exhibit, a youth financial literacy recognition program, youth enrichment extravaganza and scholarship program, celebration luncheon and awards and founder’s wreath laying.
Members have recognized the public service organization throughout the year by showcasing past accomplishments such as a traveling library in the early years that took the world of reading to smaller communities. The chapter provided financial education to new homeowners who were part of Habitat for Humanity. It increased access to food for families in starving countries by purchasing livestock. Also, members fought for state and national causes through Delta Day at the State Capitol and Delta Days in the Nation’s Capital. Additionally, the chapter’s own DELTA Carousel program has enriched school-age children for 35 years.
A highlight of the 80th Anniversary/May Week celebration was a museum opening that attracted more than 130 people to the City of Raleigh (COR) Museum in downtown Raleigh on April 30, 2018. The museum featured a weeklong display of artifacts representing the Chapter’s history. The opening program revealed a quilt that told the story of the sorority chapter through T-Shirts donated by chapter members. The full display showed the chapter’s cultivated history and collaborations with the community through its mission of public service. Among the photographs, awards, programs and other items was a decades of old gowns worn in the chapter’s former Jabberwock pageant.
Also, as part of the celebration members had130 visitors to the North Carolina Museum of History African American Cultural Celebration write or draw their definition of community service on a cloth panel then attach it to a community quilt. The Chapter’s Economic Development Committee developed a financial literacy program for youth at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Raleigh that focused on money management.
Other public events were a luncheon with almost 200 participants featuring keynote speaker Brigadier General Clara L. Adams-Ender, United States Army, Retired. One of the national sorority’s honorary members, Adams-Ender was the first woman to receive her master’s degree in military arts and sciences from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Also, she was the first African American nurse corps officer to graduate from the United States Army War College.
Luncheon guests included past presidents of the chapter; Margaret Brazil, the granddaughter of Jimmie Bugg Middleton, a founder of the national sorority who helped charter the Raleigh Alumnae Chapter; Congressman David Price; N.C. Representative Yvonne Lewis Holley; Michelle Lanier on behalf of Governor Roy Cooper; Wake County Commissioner James West; and City Council Member Corey Branch.
More than 150 members of the sorority gathered for worship service on May 7, 2018 at Martin Street Baptist Church in Raleigh then joined in with 100 additional people from the community for an extravaganza celebrating the sorority’s educational programs and scholarship presentations.
Finally, on Monday, May 7, 2018, 65 people gathered at Raleigh’s Mount Hope Cemetery for a wreath laying ceremony that honored Sorority Founder Jimmie Bugg Middleton, recognizing her work in helping charter the Raleigh Alumnae Chapter.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, was founded on January 13, 1913 at Howard University by 22 college-educated, African American women whose focus was on education and assistance to people in need. Since then, more than 250,000 women have become members of this public service organization. Today, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. has 1,000 collegiate and alumnae chapters nationally and internationally, including the Raleigh Alumnae Chapter.
About the Raleigh Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
The Raleigh Alumnae Chapter was chartered on May 7, 1938 as the Alpha Zeta Sigma chapter by 29 Sorority members, including Mrs. Jimmie Bugg Middleton, one of the sorority’s founders.
Today, there are 360 members in the Raleigh Alumnae Chapter. Since its establishment, the chapter has conducted programs that align with the Sorority’s Five-Point Programmatic Thrust of Economic Development, Educational Development, International Awareness and Involvement, Physical and Mental Health, and Political Awareness and Involvement. Programs have included health fairs, financial workshops, mentoring, DELTA Carousel program (the chapter’s idea), two national programs Delta Academy and Delta GEMS and Traveling Fun BINGO (at retirement and nursing homes).
Also, the chapter has collected non-perishable food and personal hygiene items locally and nationally for South Africa and conducted a mobile library. Also, the Raleigh Alumnae Chapter has promoted small businesses through its Black Business of the Month recognition. Additionally, the Raleigh chapter provides community agency grants and college scholarships through its annual Scholarship Gala.
“Chapter members are excited to share our 80-year history of public service and sisterhood with the Raleigh community,” said Angela Hatton, Chapter president. “We want the exhibit to educate the public about the Sorority and increase their participation in our community service programs and activities.”
To learn more about the Raleigh Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, visit raleighdst,org.