The Omega House Corporation Board hopes this finds you and your families safe, healthy and staying warm during this cold weather. We’re happy to report that despite record low temperatures, our House had continuous power and water during the past week’s storms. Improvisations were necessary in food prep as most of the staff couldn’t make it to work, but everyone kept a positive attitude and good sense of humor to make it through.
This edition of the quarterly newsletter provides updates on the Chapter’s activities, the introduction of our “Outstanding Omega” media campaign and a final wrap-up of our very successful Centennial Capital Campaign.
Chapter Update
by Brit Sauer, Chapter Advisor
The Fall 2020 semester looked different than I think any of us could have imagined. The Chapter held every Monday night chapter meeting via Zoom, and held their annual Red Dress Gala and initiation ceremony virtually. It may sound like a drag, but the Chapter worked extremely hard to make it an exciting and successful semester. Keep reading to find out how…
I am most excited to announce that we have elected our first Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Omega Executive Board. Riya Kale will be serving in this position with two directors serving under her, the Director of Diversity and the Director of Community Engagement. There will also be a DEI committee who will assist this department with programming, outreach and integration into our other departments.
Despite most events being virtual, the Chapter was able to host three chapter-wide events in person, utilizing outdoor venues, social distancing, mask and sanitization policies, and ride share services instead of our standard bus transportation. These are some photos from the Fall Formal:
They also hosted pop-up events around town to encourage sisters to safely see each other, like paddle boarding, trips to Zilker park, food trucks at the house and tabs at coffee shops where they could enjoy studying or hanging outside.
The virtual Red Dress Gala had nearly 200 members in attendance and raised right around $18,500. It included Dr. Rachel Bond, a guest speaker from the Association of Black Cardiologists, a virtual auction and entertainment from Esther’s Follies in Austin.
While the House remains closed to non-housed members, the girls living in the House have done an excellent job of maintaining a safe and enjoyable home. While unable to host the annual alumni trick-or-treat event, they were still able to come together for the annual House Girl Holiday Dinner.
This semester we have begun to offer a grab-and-go Mexican Lunch for all non-housed members one day a week and as you can imagine, the girls are loving it!
We are all looking forward to the day where we can invite in members, friends, guests and especially the new pledge class, but for now we will prioritize the health and safety of our members and their friends and families. Thank you for your continuous support and encouragement.
by the Omega HCB Social Media CommitteeHello from the newly formed, Social Media Committee: Vivvi Britton, Ashley Jennings, and Bonnie McCarty. We’ve taken over Instagram (@utalphaphi_alum) and Facebook (“Alpha Phi – Omega Chapter”) and we are planning some exciting new content for you. During the Centennial festivities of last year, we had the privilege of speaking with Omegas of all ages and learning their stories. Though we’ve all always known there is something special about our sisters, it didn’t really hit us until we heard story after story about their successes post college. There are women among us who, after leaving 2005 University Ave., went on to be trailblazers, trend setters, and mold breakers. So, it is our goal for this new year to highlight some of our outstanding sisters. But we need your help. Send us your nominees!
We are looking for a variety of women to highlight. Ideal candidates might be…
- Founders, CEOs and executives of companies, who are breaking the glass ceiling
- STEM professionals, who are paving the way for women in technology
- Healthcare professionals, who are driving innovation in medicine, leading research, or on the frontlines of COVID-19
- Humanitarians and/or community organizers, who are working to solve some of world’s biggest problems
- Civil Servants, who are making our communities better and safer
- Athletes, who are elevating women in sports and breaking barriers
If you have a sister in mind, please submit her name HERE. Please fill out one form per nominee. Self-nominations are 100% welcome.
We really look forward to kicking off this campaign and sharing our “Outstanding Omegas” with you on social media throughout the year!
by Karen Farabee, Capital Campaign Co-Chair
This show of support allowed the House Board to complete the decor updates for the bedrooms last Summer, while other funds in hand are earmarked for the renovation of the Entry Garden/front exterior to begin Summer 2021. These projects will be complete with the bedroom furniture replacement to begin as future pledged amounts begin to be received.
With such an historic home, nothing remains static and our House will require ongoing care, updating and maintenance in future years. Typically, yearly maintenance is funded by the current membership dues/fees and is managed by the House Corporation. Future capital campaigns may be necessary for large-scale undertakings but our updated and enhanced House is soon to be a gorgeous reflection of our sisterhood for the “Next 100 Years!”
The House Corporation Board is planning to host an unveiling of the new Entry Garden and a celebration of our donors, possibly in Fall 2021. Watch this newsletter or Omega’s social media for details in the coming months.
Many thanks to our sisters for being such an integral part of this vital renovation and improvement project for 2005 University Avenue. We know our founding members would be very proud of our sisterhood today for maintaining their legacy of love and commitment to Omega.
In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to us at UTAlphaPhiHCB@gmail.com with any comments or questions. Stay connected with your alum sisters through Facebook and Instagram via the links below. To see some of your wonderful sisters in the Chapter now, follow the Chapter account on Instagram HERE and Facebook HERE.
And be sure to check out our updated Omega alumnae website at: https://texasalphaphialum.com/. As always, thank you for your continued support of our Chapter!