I have a confession to make. I’m a sorority girl. Not the drunken, passive, I-joined-so-I-always-had-a-party-to-go-to sorority girl. The kind that wanted to have a true sisterhood of women, the kind that ended up finding friends for life, i.e., even 15 years after graduating from college.
Going back to my campus last fall and seeing so many old friends rekindled friendships that I’ve been nurturing on Facebook and brought me back to the cameraderie of our college years. You’re reminded frequently as a student that you’re an Alpha Phi for life. Not just those 4 years.
One thing I’ve always liked about our philanthropy, the Alpha Phi Foundation, is that it includes a special fund for sisters in need, the Forget Me Not Fund. If you hit difficult times — the sudden death of a parent or spouse, a difficult and expensive treatment for illness, a natural disaster — you can apply to the fund for a one-time grant. Because Alpha Phi, and your sisters, will always be there for you, as a collegiate or an alum. I’ve always like that part of our Foundation, and when I found out that there’s been so much demands for grants that they ran out of funds last year, I offered to help promote the fund to my fellow Phis through the latest blog I’ve agreed to write for, the Mizzou A Phi blog.
Note: This website was taken down in 2017. The posts I wrote for the blog are no longer available to link to, so I have included the full text below, removing links where necessary.
The Forget Me Not Fund
We get bombarded by a lot of requests for donations these days. The phone rings with requests from a variety of organizations, and even within Alpha Phi, there are requests for helping Omicron, paying your International dues, and donating to the Alpha Phi Foundation. So why should this request — to donate to the Forget Me Not Fund — be any different?
- The Forget Me Not Fund is for sisters in need. These one-time grants allow sisters who have dealt with personal tragedy, like illness or the death of a parent, or have hit financial difficulty, to pay the bills and move forward. As one recipient put it, “This generous gift has begun to put my life back on track.”
- The needs of our sisters are still greater than our funding capacity. The Forget Me Not Fund was depleted by the end of the 2010-2011 fiscal year last month. Through the middle of June, over $90,000 had been granted to 35 collegiate and 24 alumnae members — and there were still 22 pending applications that had not been granted.
- Sisters in nearby Joplin are in need. The tornadoes that struck Joplin, Missouri and Tuscaloosa, Alabama affected many Alpha Phis, some even from Omicron. One request in June was from a Theta Lambda/Central Missouri member whose family home was destroyed in Joplin, and other Phis are still taking stock of everything they lost in those storms.
Forget Me Not grants range from $500 to $2400 and are designed to provide aid to sisters facing serious health problems, natural disasters, or other crises. Applications are accepted throughout the year, and grants are made until the annual budget is depleted.
By making a gift to the Forget Me Not Fund, however large or small, you will make it possible for other Alpha Phis to heal, rebuild, and renew their hope in the future. You will ensure they are not forgotten.
To make your gift, you can apply online; be sure to type “Forget Me Not Fund” in the Special Comments box near the end of the form. Donations are also accepted by phone (call 847-316-8947) and by mail to the Alpha Phi Foundation at 1930 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201.