Hawai'i sorority marks 25 years
By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer
College freshman Jessica Portley is a tad closer to her goal of earning a justice administration degree, thanks to a group of women devoted to helping Hawai'i's African-American students.
Lambda Chi Omega's anniversary features three days of events:
Scholarship winners The following high school seniors are Lambda Chi Omega's 2003 scholarship recipients: Rebecca Brown, Pearl City High; Elizabeth Daniels, Campbell High; Adrianne Dudley, Radford High; Portia Fontes, Kailua High; Davinia Yalimaiwai, McKinley High; and William Halmon, Radford High. The students will be presented with their scholarships at the Emerald Ball on April 26.
Portley, 18, of Mililani, was one of five high school seniors who received a scholarship last year at the Emerald Ball, an annual fund-raiser for the Lambda Chi Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, an organization that focuses on promoting education, health services and the advancement of human and civil rights.
Celebration
This year, the ball will be one of several events celebrating the chapter's 25th anniversary, with festivities planned April 25-27.
"I think it's great that they have a whole ball as a fund-raiser to give back to young African American students in the community," said Portley, a student at Hawai'i Pacific University and an aspiring lawyer.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. is the oldest Greek-letter organization established in the United States by and for African-American women. The sorority has since extended its services "to all mankind," said Hawai'i chapter president Barbara Perry.
The Chicago-based sorority, started in 1908 by women attending Howard University in Washington, D.C., has a membership of 150,000 women in more than 900 chapters worldwide.
The Hawai'i chapter, chartered March 24, 1978, has 37 active members.
In addition to providing scholarships to local high school seniors, Lambda Chi Omega members also mentor teenage girls at Leilehua High School; participate in college fairs with informational booths on predominantly black colleges and universities; and feed homeless people at the Institute for Human Services, among other things.
"We do one really big thing each year, which is promoting and advocating for the protection and safety of the children through our annual Buckle Up America Keiki Car Seat Safety Program at Ala Moana Center in November," said Gwen Johnson, a former chapter president and chairwoman of the 25th anniversary committee.
Members donate car seats to parents in need through the state Health Department, Johnson said.
Lambda Chi Omega is among several Greek-letter organizations that cater to Hawai'i's African American community.
Others include the Hawai'i chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta and Zeta Phi Beta sororities and the Alpha Phi Alpha, Omega Psi Phi, Phi Beta Sigma and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternities.
Reach Zenaida Serrano Espanol at zespanol@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8174.
