Send Your Seniors Off Right

Xi Psi (Grand Valley State) Past President Halie Black with her father at graduation on April 26, 2014

This time of year Delta Zeta’s newsfeeds are filled with images of members in caps and gowns proudly clasping hard earned diplomas. We are so proud of the over 3,000 members who will transition from collegiate to alumnae members this spring. We also know that our chapters, both collegiate and alumnae, can help these women successfully make the transition beyond the college campus. It is our goal to help every Delta Zeta graduate stay engaged and connected to the sisterhood she joined for life.

What can we do to make sure Delta Zeta’s seniors are sent off right?

Update their Contact Information. Before those graduates receive their diploma, make sure they have updated their contact information. They can do it on www.deltazeta.org/member, or their collegiate chapter may make the update on Chapter Inc. Membership Menu – Actions- Edit Member Information. Please update their email addresses to their personal email addresses vs. their university email addresses.

Connect with Area and Local Alumnae Contacts. Be sure to provide your graduating members the contact information for the local alumnae group for where they will be living. You can find information on Delta Zeta’s Alumnae Areas and State Alumnae Chairmen on our website.

Keep them Updated on Chapter Happenings. The first few months after leaving campus can be hard. Make sure you keep your newly graduated alumnae connected to chapter happenings by including them on your alumnae communications from the start. Don’t let months, or years, go by before including them on official chapter communications to alumnae. Consider having your Alumnae Relations Chairman send a special message to them a few months after they graduate. This leads back to number 1 - making sure you have updated contact information!

Show Members How to Stay Engaged. Alumnae advisors and nearby alumnae chapter members are examples of women whose lives have continued to be enriched by staying involved within Delta Zeta. Consider asking these women to talk to your chapter members, especially your graduating seniors, about the many ways to stay involved with Delta Zeta.

Network Online. Encourage members to stay abreast of all the DZ happenings by following our national and local newsfeeds. It is easy to stay engaged via social media (Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/Pinterest) and finding connections to sisters is as simple as a click away!

What other ways do you connect recent graduates with Delta Zeta to make sure they stay engaged as alumnae?

Celebrate Earth Day with Delta Zeta!

Telling the Story of Delta Zeta Online

This spring, the Delta Zeta Foundation announced the launch of the Delta Zeta National Historical Museum and Headquarters Virtual Tour. The online tour brings to life the story of Delta Zeta – the women who have shaped that story from 1902 to the present, the foundation built first in the greater Miami University community, and the tomorrows of the Sorority’s future. Take the tour here.

Delta Zeta is pleased to open our virtual doors on the Sorority’s home, making our story available to anyone with Internet access. The tour fosters a deeper appreciation and respect for Delta Zeta and those who came before us. Understanding our story helps us move forward with a clear vision of purpose and pride into Delta Zeta’s future.

Each year, approximately 1,000 visitors make the journey to Oxford, Ohio, home of Miami University where Delta Zeta was founded in 1902, to tour the beautiful National Historical Museum and Headquarters, where the Sorority’s story is preserved for future generations to cherish and maintain. Our home is a commitment to tomorrow. It is an affirmation of the ideals and principles upon which the Sorority was founded and our belief in their continued value for those yet to come.

The virtual tour is made possible through a generous donation to the Delta Zeta Foundation by Jean Baughman Templeton, Eastern Michigan - Gamma Sigma, 2005 Woman of the Year. Jean dedicates the tour in honor of Norma Minch Andrisek, Baldwin Wallace (OH) - Gamma Alpha, Past National President, and Ruth Weider Patterson, Wittenberg (OH) - Beta Chi, Past Foundation President and Past National Officer, for their steadfast devotion to the preservation and presentation of Delta Zeta's history.

The Virtual Tour is part of Delta Zeta’s ongoing digitalization and preservation efforts of our archives. With the support of the Delta Zeta Foundation and generous donors, this historical initiative continues to move forward.

DZ Learn 2 Listen Week

We are once again in one of the most informational and fun weeks for Delta Zeta - Learn 2 Listen Week! As an organization that values the health field of speech and hearing, Delta Zeta is compelled to raise awareness on and off campus.

One in five American teenagers now suffers from some type of hearing loss, with an alarming increase of 31percent in the last decade alone, and approximately one-third of people over 65 years of age are affected by disabling hearing loss. What once was an issue faced by people later in life, hearing loss is now trending to negatively affect people in their early 30s and 40s as well. However, Delta Zetas are lucky to know that there are ways to prevent this issue and take care of our ears!

Through your interest and participation in Learn 2 Listen Week, you are impacting your community, friends and family. Whether you attend an event, listen to a lecture, or just have discussions about hearing loss, you are sharing your knowledge to help others protect their hearing now and in the future. Below are some ideas on how to get involved:

Collegiate Chapters

1. Set up a booth in the cafeteria where students can get a free hearing screening. Members working the booth will have posters talking about causes and prevention of hearing loss.

2. Host a lipreading table on campus. Students participate in pairs. Partner A lipreads a set of phrases, and Partner B writes them down. At the end you compare the original phrase to what was lipread.

3. Invite other sororities and fraternities to a night of Hearing Jeopardy. Charge a small entry fee for chapters to enter a gameshow style trivia game about all things speech and hearing. The winning team is awarded a prize or a donation to their philanthropy.

Alumnae Chapters

1. Host a silent auction to raise money for a national or local philanthropy. Those who attend will wear earplugs during the event to see the effects of hearing loss.

2. Create buttons for the alumnae chapter to wear during the week. The buttons will feature different facts about hearing loss to drum up questions from friends and co-workers. For an even bigger impact, partner with your local collegiate chapter and have them wear the buttons as well. They can distribute buttons on campus and encourage others to wear them during the week and help share what they just learned about hearing loss!

3. Host a speaker for the local collegiate chapter to present a session about the impact of hearing loss.

To learn more about hearing loss prevention, visit our national philanthropy partner the Starkey Hearing Foundation’s Listen Carefully and Sound Matters initiatives at www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org.

Additional information for chapters planning events can be found on our website. Delta Zeta’s Pinterest board has Follow Delta Zeta on Twitter with the hashtag #DZLearn2Listen. And watch our Facebook page for frequent updates and ways you can get involved in Learn to Listen Week.

Celebrate Our Delta Zeta Volunteers

Starting this Saturday, we will all say a huge “thank you” for all that volunteers do for Delta Zeta. Join us in celebrating National Volunteer Appreciation Week, April 5-12, 2014.

While a formal dinner or a presentation at the end of the year awards banquet are fantastic ideas for recognizing volunteers, this week we urge you to consider small gestures of gratitude that can mean the world to the Delta Zeta volunteer with whom you work. Here are some ideas:

·         Write a personalized thank-you note. Need some help? Here are two blog posts about writing a fool-proof thank you note and a charming thank you note.

·         Submit nominations for your advisors for any awards on campus such as a student organization advisor of the year award. Be sure to tell your advisor that you have submitted their name and share with them your letter of recommendation.

·         Consider sending a thank you to her family for sharing their wife/mom/daughter with you. We know it takes time to volunteer!

·         Post some public recognition for your volunteers via your website, Facebook page or Twitter.

·         Tell her in person! So often we don’t say how much we value each other face-to-face. Take the leap and share your thoughts.

Still need some ideas, check out our Volunteer Appreciation Ideas Board on Pinterest.

And for those volunteers who may be reading this,