Behind the Scenes of the Boston AOII Alumnae Chapter!
It’s been a busy year for the Boston Alumnae Chapter! In addition to the many social events we’ve held, there are many things that you may not have heard about.
- In December, our Alumnae Chapter adopted a family through Reach Beyond Domestic Violence and provided gifts for a boy and his mother to brighten their holiday season.
- Each semester, we provide the opportunity for parents of Delta (Tufts U.) collegiate members to purchase Exam Bags full of snacks and treats to get them through their finals. The proceeds from these bags are then donated to the AOII Foundation. Come to our International Potluck on April 24th and help prepare the bags for the Spring semester!
- We are teaming up again with the other Boston Alumnae Panhellenic member chapters to present a dues scholarship to a NPC collegiate member in the Boston area. Our own Jessica Snow (Tufts U.) received this scholarship in Spring 2009!
What can you do to help?
- Become a dues paying member of the alumnae chapter! Gone are the collegiate days of dues that are several hundred dollars a semester! Our dues are only $40/year ($24 if Life Loyal), and they entitle you to many benefits, including discounted pricing to Founder’s Day and exclusive access to tickets for our 2 Red Sox games. Member dues go towards such things as supporting the local collegiate dues scholarship and local philanthropies.
- Support our gift card program! Purchase gift cards for places that you frequent every day, and the Alumnae Chapter receives a percentage of your purchase. Visit Shop With Scrip to see all the companies that are offered. Place your order by February 25th, and they will be delivered to you at our next chapter event on March 4th.
- Come and cheer on the Red Sox with us! We’ve secured group tickets to games on April 21st and August 23rd. Dues paying members have access to an unlimited number of tickets at $30 each. Best of all, $2 of each ticket will support our international philanthropy, Arthritis Research. Not a dues paying member? You can purchase up to 4 tickets for each game at $35 each, with the additional $5 being a contribution to the AOII Foundation.
If you have any questions, or would like to participate in any of the opportunities mentioned above, please contact us at bostonaoii@gmail.com.
~ Lacey (Chi Delta – University of Colorado), Boston Alumnae Chapter President
International Badge Day is coming up!
“Fellowship, leadership, and a lifelong commitment to community service are the daily themes in the lives of sorority women—from our college members to alumnae.
On Monday, March 1, these women who number in the millions will celebrate International Badge Day during National Women’s History Month. On that day, all of us will honor our separate and distinct Greek affiliations by wearing our badges or letters.”
I’ll be honest, when among non-AOIIs, I am often guilty of trying to downplay my sorority membership and alum involvement. But on Badge Day, I wear my AOII pin with pride. I start off the day expecting strange looks from coworkers, and yes that has happened, but every year I usually find at least one coworker or acquaintance with a “hidden” sorority affiliation – and am always surprised by the great conversations that get started (and compliments) by wearing my badge.
I encourage all Boston AOIIs to wear their badges on March 1, feel free to come back and post a Badge Day story!
-Laurel, Programming Co-Chair
AOII Structure Overview
Some of you may be aware that AOII has been undergoing some major changes in its organizational structure over the past few years. New regional structure has been piloted in two Beta districts. According to a recent email from AOII Headquarters, “Our goal is to provide our membership with enhanced stability, while empowering our collegiate chapters to increase growth through fully-supported Alumnae Advisory Committees and strong alumnae chapters working in collaboration within their network to maintain lifelong bonds of friendship.”
As a quick overview, the following structure is being proposed:
Today we have 54 Network Specialists (NSs) who work directly with our collegiate and alumnae chapters. We currently utilize 32 Collegiate NSs, 13 Alumnae NSs, and 9 Beta Pilot NSs in addition to our 8 Colony Development NSs. Today’s NSs work with specifically assigned chapters in a generalist role. Our future state will continue to have a Colony Development NS working one-on-one with an assigned chapter; however, we will have 6-8 NSs assigned to each network. These NSs will have specific area of expertise (Recruitment, Leadership, Finance, and Alumnae) and will be deployed as needs and wants are identified. As subject matter experts in their network, they will also be proactive for their area of expertise and collaborate with similar NSs in other networks. We anticipate maintaining the same approximate number of NSs (54).
We will continue to keep you apprised of any further structural developments. Please let any of the Alumnae Executive Board members know if you have any questions or concerns, or if you’d like to receive the full text of the email message from HQ.
– Koren, Programming Co-Chair
Founders’ Day
Hi ladies! Thank you all very much for a successful Founders’ Day yesterday at Skipjack’s Restaurant! It was a wonderful opportunity to get together with our fellow alumnae and collegiate members. The alumnae chapter recognized Saquora Lowe-McLaurin with our Founders’ Day Rose Award, which includes a rose recognition pin and a special crown pearl honor badge. Saquora was recognized for her outstanding dedication to the Boston Alumnae Chapter and the community.
We’ll be posting lots of useful information this site, we hope it’s more useful than our last web home.
Looking forward to seeing you all at an upcoming event.
– Koren, Programming Co-Chair