Current Programs
Gifts of Hope
The National Kidney Foundation and the Kidney Foundation of Canada
Kidney disease continues to be a critical woman's health issue, which is why the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation supports the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) as our primary philanthropic endeavor. Since our selection of the NKF in 1971, we have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars, which promote basic and clinical research, education, and recruitment for its organ donor program, assistance for kidney transplants, patient and family support groups, and public education about kidney disease. With Foundation funding, the NKF has produced educational literature and media presentations, supported summer camps for children affected with kidney disease, funded medical research, and set up a toll-free hotline for those seeking information on kidney-related illnesses.
Since 2001, the Foundation has also supported the Kidney Foundation of Canada, to also assist those with the kidney disease and their families in Canada.
The National Kidney Foundation U.S. Transplant Games
Starting in June 2006, and every other year since, the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation has proudly served as a corporate sponsor of the Games. Presented every other year by the National Kidney Foundation, the Transplant Games draw over 7,000 participants from all over the country. The Games are an Olympic-style event for athletes who have received life-saving organ transplants of every type - kidney, liver, heart, lung, pancreas and bone marrow. Athletes compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in 12 different sports including track and field, swimming, tennis, basketball, cycling and golf. Athletes range in age from two to 85.
The goals of the Games are to increase public awareness of the critical need for organ donation, to demonstrate the success of transplantation, and to increase awareness in the transplant community on the benefits of fitness and well-being through transplant athletic programs.
Attending the Games was a remarkable and life changing experience. Meeting all the transplant recipients, donors, and donor families represent just a few of the many highlights. Our sisters were truly touched by the personal stories of triumph and love. Our sisters, who volunteered at the Games, wrote daily in our blog (a type of on-line journal). Please visit our blog to read the first hand accounts of our collegiate and alumnae sisters who experienced the Games.
Twin Ideals Fund
For over 90 years, the women of Phi Sigma Sigma have committed our lives to our founding sisters' twin ideals of the alleviation of world's pain and the brotherhood of man. After the September 11, 2001, attacks, the Foundation established a Twin Ideals Fund dedicated to serving the needs of disaster victims.
The Foundation activated this fund again to finance aid for the victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia in December of 2004. In light of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina to the Gulf Coast of the United States in August 2005, our twin ideals called Phi Sigma Sigma sisters to action once again, donating thousands of dollars to the American Red Cross. Again, our sisters stepped up to provide aid to those impacted by the Haiti earthquake in January 2010 by providing funds to the Clinton-Bush Foundation. In March of 2011 we aided those impacted by the earthquake/tsunami in Japan by supporting the Red Cross and Save the Children Foundation.
Developing Women Leaders
Since our founding in 1913, Phi Sigma Sigma has been dedicated to developing women leaders. Funding leadership development is just one way the Foundation works to achieve its vision of the advancement of womanhood through personal growth, intellectual development, and selfless giving.
Aspire.Challenge.Honor.Integrity.Engage.Value.Excellence
In 2006, the 1913 Society provided funds for the ACHIEVE program, which debuted for our collegians at the Regional Leadership Conferences in spring 2006.
ACHIEVE was designed to give leaders the tools they need to effect positive change - in their chapter, on their campus, and in their community. Our collegiate sisters are encouraged to explore their values and the core values of Phi Sigma Sigma, while also developing an awareness of the issues that challenge today's leaders. Sessions also focus on the importance of service and help our sisters network with leaders from other chapters.
ACHIEVE is a values-based programming initiative designed to support members' personal growth and development as leaders. The program focuses on four key values of fraternity membership - learning, service, friendship and leadership - and was created from a student development standpoint.
This initiative affords student leaders the opportunity to learn about themselves and one another in a safe environment. Participants also have the opportunity to explore their own values as they relate to Phi Sigma Sigma's core values (lifelong learning, inclusiveness, and leadership through service), become aware of issues and challenges they face as leaders, and create a network of support within the international and collegiate community of Phi Sigma Sigma.
ACHIEVE supports our belief that leadership is a process and not merely a position; that every member contributes to the success of each chapter and that positive change is the key to future success of Phi Sigma Sigma. This initiative is instrumental in developing lifelong transferable skills that our women will be able to apply to virtually any life situation.