Read This Courtesy of the AOII Foundation!
Alpha Omicron Pi was founded on January 2, 1897. Because that date presented difficulties in gathering members for celebrations due to the holiday season, Founders’ Day was officially changed to December 8, at the 1921 convention. That date coincides with the birthday of Founder Stella George Stern Perry. Early on, the AOII founders cautioned that Founders’ Day was not intended to honor them, but to be a time to stop and measure how closely the fraternity had come in actively performing the tasks each member had accepted when she was initiated into Alpha Omicron Pi.
Nearby alumnae and collegiate chapters often join together in these celebrations. At the close of each Founders’ Day celebration, sisters traditionally join hands around the room and sing the “Epsilon Chapter Song.” The lyrics are, “Alpha Omicron Pi, Friends as the years go by, Loving sisters are we, Loyal forever, Alpha to thee.”