Donor Profiles
A 'GOLD'-en Opportunity
One sister's inspirational story on why she's joined Phi Sig's new GOLD Program
AT A TIME WHEN SARAH GOMEZ has every reason to say “no” to fundraisers (even the most worthy ones), she happily admits she couldn’t help saying “yes” to joining the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation’s new GOLD 
Program for young alumnae.
She’s a new mom, so there are all those baby expenses to manage. On top of that, shortly after having the baby, she got laid off from her job as an insurance-defense attorney with a Chicago-based firm that, like many businesses, has been struggling to weather the economic downturn.
But after just one meeting with GOLD’s sister liaison Missy Ricketts, Sarah felt so strongly about the value of the GOLD program that she was hooked – and signed right up.
“I give $40 a month – and I wish I could give more,” says Sarah, former archon and membership recruitment chair of our Epsilon Alpha Chapter at Illinois State University, where she graduated in 1999 before going to law school. “I really liked what I heard when I learned about GOLD.”
An easy way to reconnect
GOLD (for “Graduates of the Last Decade”) is geared to sisters just like Sarah – young alumnae who loved their Phi Sig college experience and are already very familiar with the dynamic philanthropic outreach our Foundation has performed in recent years.
Like other sisters of her generation, Sarah has personally witnessed a direct connection between contributing funds to our Foundation and Phi Sig’s ability to donate to important causes such as preventing kidney disease, promoting the miracle of life through organ donation and transplantation, supporting the high-profile U.S. Transplant Games, and providing grants and scholarships to academically talented and financially strapped students. (That last item - giving a helping hand to our most promising young sisters - particularly resonated with Sarah.)
Like many alumnae, Sarah has wanted to reconnect with Phi Sig in some way – but either didn’t have time or a chance to figure out how.
GOLD gave her that opportunity.
'It can lead to other things...'
“You don’t mean to lose touch after graduation, but it happens,” Sarah explains. “So being able to meet with Missy was worth it to me for many reasons – not just because I really enjoyed hearing how progressive and proactive we’ve become as a sorority, but also because of the networking potential. It’s a good time to get reconnected with Phi Sig. GOLD can lead to other things.”
She’s right. As a result of Missy’s friendly, informative half-hour presentation on the state of Phi Sig and all the wonderful things GOLD is benefiting, Sarah became a GOLD donor. And, in so doing, she effectively reconnected with everything she’s always loved about our sisterhood. She has current contacts who can help her navigate various Fraternity services, connect with local alumnae or share information about upcoming service projects. She’s even more likely to network with sisters who may be able to help her find a job when she’s ready to return to the workforce. (In the meantime, she’s enjoying downtime with the baby.)
Bottom line: Sarah has once again become an active part of our sisterhood – enjoying the benefits of lifetime membership while feeling she’s doing her part to make Phi Sig great.
“I know a lot of sisters say this, but it’s true: Many of the things I’ve done in my life that I’m most proud of – well, I don’t know if I’d have done them without Phi Sigma Sigma,” the once-introverted Sarah explains. “To me, $40 is not a huge amount. Obviously, any amount you give makes a difference and is worth it. But this works with my budget and lifestyle. It goes on my credit card, it’s easy, and I feel good knowing I’ve done my part to help the sorority that helped me become the person I am today."
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Thanks, Sarah, for sharing your GOLD story! Diokete Hupsala!
Interested in learning more about GOLD? Would you like to set up your own personal conference with the GOLD Program Development Officer? Contact us at gold@phisigmasigma.org.