University of Maryland
The Alpha Phi Foundation
Our Mission
Advancing women’s lives through the power of philanthropy.
Our Vision
As a preeminent philanthropic organization, Alpha Phi Foundation is recognized for the strength of our endowment and for innovation in cultivating and sustaining donor participation. We strive to be philanthropy-of-choice among our members, with every Alpha Phi supporting the Foundation.
Did You Know?
More women die than men of heart disease each year
Heart disease kills one in three women
It is the leading cause of death of American women
Red Dress is the national symbol for women’s heart disease awareness
Wear Red Day is the first Friday of February
The Alpha Phi Foundation gives to four different funds, which include the Scholarship Foundation, Leadership and Education Fund, Forget Me Not Fund and Heart to Heart Fund. The Scholarship foundation awards about $150,000 in scholarships to nearly 75 undergraduate and graduate members each year. The Leadership and Education Fund support leadership training and education programs. For example, every year Alpha Phi holds leadership conferences during the summer, which our own sisters have been chosen to attend in the past. The Forget Me Not Fund helps Alpha Phi’s in times of need. After Hurricane Katrina, gifts and money were donated to Alpha Phi alumnae in need. The Heart to Heart Fund donates money to research and educational programs that support the improvement of Women’s Heart Health.
History
In 1956, Alpha Phi was one of the first women's fraternities to establish a Foundation. Demonstrating the philanthropic spirit of love and charity intended by our Founders, the Foundation was created as a trust to award grants specifically for scholarship and cardiac aid. One of the Foundation’s giving circles is named after founder Clara Bradley Burdette, who was also a philanthropist and funded a maternity wing at Pasadena Hospital in 1904. Her prime objective in life was developing better opportunities for women, and one of her personal mottos was to "live a life of purpose."
Today, the original priorities of Alpha Phi Foundation remain. The Foundation’s mission is "advancing women's lives through the power of philanthropy". It is well known and respected internationally as a prominent philanthropic leader for the Greek community. Our Foundation completed a ten million dollar campaign for leadership in 2010, the largest in National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) history. It also receives nearly one million dollars annually from collegiate chapters that host evening galas, heart walks and campus-wide talent shows.
Why Women’s Heart Health?
In 1946, Alpha Phis gathered at Convention in Quebec – the hot topic: adopting an international philanthropic cause. During World War II, countless philanthropy projects were successful at the international level. “…Wartime projects were very successful and had given us an idea of what we could do as a unified whole,” wrote Catherine Wilson Storment, the first cardiac aid chairman, in the 1947 Winter Quarterly.
Now the question became: “What would Alpha Phi do in peacetime?”
At that time, rheumatic fever – a disease that causes serious, debilitating damage to the heart – was a leading killer of school age children in the United States. Alpha Phi wanted to help these children, but it also wanted freedom to contribute money and service to other programs. Cardiac aid fit the bill – chapters and members were able to donate funds and service to various educational and research projects.
During the next few decades, modern antibiotic therapy sharply reduced mortality and cases of rheumatic fever became rare. Heart disease became the #1 killer of women in North America, and Alpha Phi Foundation thought it fitting that an organization of women help fight it.
© Copyright 2016 Alpha Phi Delta Zeta Chapter