Tau Omega Chaptr May2023 Celebratng 98Years Tau Omega “Where Legends Are Made”
From the Desk of Madam Basileus Gree%ngs Sorors of Tau Omega Chapter! Welcome to the month of May and Happy Mother’s Day! This month we celebrate our chapter’s 98th Anniversary. Our 98 years of service in Harlem have been iconic and should be celebrated. Our history is eloquently outlined in our chapter history book, “ The Legacy of the PaceseMers of Tau Omega Chapter.” Tau Omega’s 1st President was a concert pianist and professor of music – Soror Sonoma Talley. We were the 14th Graduate Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. – comprised of the Best of The Best - Black Excellence. Today we con%nue to create and build our legacy as we strive to posi%vely change the lives of the community we serve. Congratula*ons Tau Omega and Happy 98th Anniversary. For the May Chapter Mee%ng, I am asking all former Basilei to come prepared to open our chapter mee%ng with a historic march – in the order of years of service. We will proudly be represen%ng all of former Basilei who have have brought us this far by FAITH since 1925. I encourage all members to make sure you have your personal copy of our Chapter history book; and if you would like to purchase, please direct all inquiries to Soror Doris R. Conner our chapter Historian and former Basileus. I am excited to report the CEO of Ronald McDonald House has extended a great opportunity to collaborate with the House in the NYC area. A few Tau Omega members and the Cluster III Basilei recently joined me in a tour and meet & greet. We are now at the point where we are ready to meet with CEO Ruth Brown to discuss specific volunteer opportuni%es. There is a tremendous unmet need to broaden the diversity of the Ronald McDonald House and increase awareness of the services that are available for our communi%es across NYC. Please stay tuned – more to come. As we work on our service projects con%nue to reflect on our 5 A’s Awareness * Alignment * Accountability * Agility * Apprecia*on Sisterly, MB 917-405-3818 MichelleHardy805@gmail. com Of=ice Hours Mondays: 8AM-9:30AM Tuesday: 7PM-8:30PM
TAU OMEGA CHAPTER ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INCORPORATED CHAPTER MEETING Saturday, May 20, 2023 AGENDA Call to Order Medita%on - Chaplain Soror Chris%ne Dudley Minutes Correc%on April Mee%ng Soror Tracy Graham Correspondence/NewsleMer Soror Wynter Thomas Basileus Report/ Remarks Soror Michelle B. Hardy CommiMee Reports Programs Soror Lisa Penzellna Membership Soror Melissa Forde Finance Sorors Kim Eatman/Karen Myrie/ LaShawn Parker Charitable Trust – Obligatory Soror Michelle Huff EllioM June Chapter Retreat Sorors Wynter Thomas and Daidria Grayson Pink Ice Soror BriMany Williams and Tala Russell Founders’ Day – Cluster III Soror Valerie Henderson Publica%on Rela%ons/Social Media Soror Khadijah Davis Strengthening Our Sisterhood Sorors Nia Medder/Bianca Pierre-Louis Graduate Advisory Council Soror Dorinda Hazell-Ford Lambda Members- at -Large Sorors Choddie Bryant/Nikki Grant Unfinished Business New Business Adjournment
Greetngs Sorors! Good Day Sorors, Have you decided which ini%a%ve is for you? We need your help and ideas to execute Madam Supreme’s vision. Please join one of the six commiMees. Strengthen our Sisterhood commiAee: Sorors Day of worship will be on Sunday, May 21, 2023, at Canaan Bap%st Church of Christ located at 132 W 116th Street, NY followed by brunch at The Fox Harlem (prefix menu) courtesy of Soror Charisse Marshall & family. The service begins at 10:00 am. We will assemble at 9:45 am. If you are planning to aMend the brunch please RSVP to Soror Tracy McNeill at [email protected]. AKA Soror Squads: 20 squads have been created. Have you joined a Soror squad? Empower our Families commiAee: Are par%cipa%ng in the Hope in Harlem Wellness Fair on Saturday, May 13, 2023, from 1-4pm – 1912 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd, NY, NY. They will also be par%cipa%ng in the NAMI Walk NYC on Saturday, May 20, 2023, from 11 am to 2 pm. A Flyer has been created and placed on mobilize and all our social media plaqorms. Build our Economic Wealth commiAee: currently working on a poten%al educa%onal plaqorm. They are looking to conduct a survey regarding the Sister Circles to see which area the chapter wants to focus on. As a reminder Sister Circles are accountability groups designed to help set and achieve personal savings, inves%ng, Enhance our Environment had a successful Earth Day 2023 event on Saturday, April 22, 2023 @ St. Nicholas Park Plaza 135th Street & St. Nicholas Avenue. Advocate for Social Jus*ce commiAee: –A candidate forum is scheduled for the end of May. A Flyer will be created placed on mobilize and all our social media plaqorms. UpliJ our Local Community commiAee: We will be par%cipa%ng in the AIDS Walk on Sunday, May 21st, 2023. Flyer has been posted to mobilize and all of our social media plaqorms. We have surpassed the $5,000 goal. We are currently at $5,400 and coun%ng. Respecqully SubmiMed, Soror Lisa Penzellna 1st An%-Basileus Program Chairman
Greetngs Sorors! The Membership CommiMee is in the process of crea%ng a new chapter directory. It is very important we have all Sorors upload their informa%on using the Google doc link in Mobilize. Please provide a photo, school/ini%a%on year, and any special talents that you would consider using as part of the chapter (i.e graphic design, edi%ng, fundraising, sponsorships, etc). If you have changed your address and have not updated it on the Corporate website, please use the Google doc to update the chapter with your current address (Please note: You will s%ll need to update your address on the AKA1908.com website in order for it change with corporate). Sorors, we do not want to leave your informa%on out or have incorrect informa%on listed. Please upload all requested informa%on. If you need assistance, please see me at chapter mee%ng. Sisterly reminder: If you would like to invite a guest to chapter mee%ng, you may use the same chapter mee%ng link sent from the Tech CommiMee. All guests must provide proof of membership upon arrival. Sisterly, Soror Melissa Forde 2nd-An% Basileus Membership Chair [email protected]
May 14, 2023 May 2023 Report The Side Hustles 101 Seminar was held virtually on February 28, 2023. with 112 in attendance. A very lively discussion was had with our three panelists- Nneoma Okorie, Digital Content Creator, Kwaw Amos, Owner - Gotham Winery and Shantelle Dockett, Co-Owner- Wasted Wives , along with Soror Terri Lowe acting as our Moderator for the evening. The goal of the event was to inform and inspire our attendees to consider earning additional income via Side Hustles of their very own. Overall Guest Event Rating was 4.86 (1= Poor, 5=Excellent) with 35 respondents Positive Feedback - Event was well organized; Lovely event; Insightful & informative; It was a great webinar; The panelists were great; Loved the presenters; Enjoyed the wine portion; Thorough & Informative Suggested Improvements - Take Questions from the registrants prior to the event; Expected more “how to” based on the fyer; Wider range of entrepreneurs; Include an educator as a panelist; Provide contact info for the panelists; More time for questions; More specifcs- marketing strategies, LLC set-up, etc; Add a fnance expert to the panel Details & feedback from the Side Hustles 101 Seminar- February 28, 2023 Age Range of Guests per survey 18-24 4 guests 25-34 16 guests 35-44 11 guests 45-54 3 guests 55-64 1 guest Organization Affiliation Non-D9 Members 31 AKA- Non-Chapter 4 Overall Member Event Rating was 4.86 (1= Poor, 5=Excellent) with 7 respondents Positive Feedback - Great Program; Program was Excellent; More Events on Side Hustles; Host posed very pertinent questions Suggested Improvements - Hosting; More time allotted for questions from audience; Reach out to Soror Nicaila Matthews Okome, creator of Side Hustle Pro podcast & a 2007 Tau Omega Initiate A special thanks to Soror LaChante Robertson & Khadijah Davis for obtaining our panelists. We also want to thanks Sorors Keisha Jones & Tia Graham for capturing the great photos of the event. See just a few on the next page.
May 14, 2023
May 14, 2023 Due to the difficulty of getting panelists for the originally planned Access to the Capital Event and after we took a closer look at the Soaring to Greater Heights Program Resource Guide, we would like to refocus our efforts a bit. The Guide outlines 3 areas of focus. Below are those 3 areas of focusSister Circles Sorors we need your help to provide you with the right panelists and/or other resources to enable the chapter’s Sister Circles to thrive. We want to increase our individual and collective financial acumen and enable you to meet your own personal financial goals/objectives. We have developed a short survey (6 minutes) to take the financial pulse of the chapter. We want to make sure we put together the right types of events to increase your knowledge and get you to where you want to go financially. Your responses are completely anonymous. The survey link will be posted in mobilize by Tuesday, May 16, 2023 and it will remain open until Tuesday, May 30, 2023. Black Dollar Days in June Sorors we need your help. Our charge as individual members is to spend $19.08 each during the month of June. The recommended weekly themes are: June 1-7: Restaurants June 8-14: Services (e.g. salons, dry cleaners, home maintenance, etc) June 15-21: Small independent Retail Businesses June 22-28: Major Retail Black-owned brands and Retailers But, ANY purchases throughout the month of June count as Black Dollars. We are putting together an easy way for you to log your purchases throughout the month. The method for logging your purchases will be posted to Mobilize so please an eye out for it on June 1. Support Women Entrepreneurs We have plans for a social media education campaign starting soon focused on educating the public on what access to capital or the lack thereof means for entrepreneurs, particularly black & women entrepreneurs, as well as providing entrepreneurs with resources on sources of capital. And, if possible, we will have a live forum in October for women entrepreneurs. October is National Women’s Small Business Month. Feel fee to send us an email at [email protected]. Thank You Madam Basileus and all Tau Omega Members for giving us this opportunity to serve. Sisterly, LaChante Robertson, Chair, & Sharon L. Bryant, Co-Chair Committee Members- Njeri Baker, Choddie Bryant, Khadijah Davis, Regina Fleming, Paula Fleshman, Tia Graham, Dorinda Haze"-Forde, Valerie Henderson, T. Hudson-Foster, Claudette James, Keisha Jones, Terri Lowe, Marissa Mack, Tracy McNei", Doris Mitche", Tnyetta Mitche", Maati Momplaisir-E"is, Althea Po"ard, Miche"e Strong Building Our Economic Wealth Initiative 2023 Budget v Actual Original Total Budget for Expenses $3,000 Extreme Couponing Seminar-Total Actual Expenses $587 Side Hustles 101- Total Actual Expenses $0 Remaining Total Budget for Expenses $2,413
From the Desk of May2023 Gree%ngs Members, At %mes, there is confusion regarding why The Charitable Trust no longer funds all of the Chapter’s programs. Well, it is because our programma%c missions are different. The Charitable Trust’s mission, established by Tau Omega Chapter, when the 501 (c ) (3) designa%on was sought at its incep%on is: Ø To receive and disburse funds to support the endeavors of community-based organiza%ons. Ø To encourage the growth of young people through mentoring and financial support of their educa%onal endeavors with the award of scholarships. Ø To receive cash, property, and securi%es by way of gis, bequest, or devise from any person, firm, trust, or corpora%on to be held, administered, and disposed of in accordance with the purposes of the Corpora%on. While the programs of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, depending upon the incumbent Supreme Basileus’ program thrust, may focus on specific programs in the generic areas of Health, Educa%on, Economic Development, The Arts, The Family and Global Issues. Through our fundraising collabora%ons, as stated in the Chapter bylaws, it enables The Charitable Trust to support community-based organiza%ons with annual dona%ons and award scholarships as well as support ac%vi%es geared towards mentoring and assis%ng young people in their educa%onal endeavors. Hopefully, this explana%on will help you to understand the areas that may lend itself to collabora%on and where our missions do not align. In Sisterhood and Service, Chairman Board of Trustees
AKAnnouncements Sorors Day of Worship Date: Sunday, May 21, 2023 Loca%on: Canaan Bap%st Church 132 W. 116th Street New York, NY 10026 Service begins at 10:00 a.m. Sorors, please assemble at 9:45 a.m. so that we can all sit together. Brunch will follow at The Fox Harlem. Please RSVP to Soror Tracy McNeill at [email protected] by Friday, May 19, 2023. **Please note: a monetary collec0on will be taken during chapter mee0ng. CHECKS AND CASH ONLY PLEASE**
Tau Omega Leadership Team Basileus Michelle B. Hardy 1st An* Basileus Lisa Penzellna 2nd An* Basileus Melissa Forde Grammateus Tracy Graham Pecunious Grammateus La’Shawn Pepsi Parker Tamiouchos Kim Eatman An*-Tamiouchos Karen Myrie Epistoleus Wynter Thomas Hodegos Fa%mah Barrie Philacter Tala Russell Parliamentarian Keisha Jones Ivy Leaf Reporter Khadijah Davis Graduate Advisors Lambda - Dorinda Hazell-Forde Omicron Theta - Doris B. Mitchell Members-at-large Nikki Grant Choddie Bryant Historian Doris Conner Chaplain Chris%ne Dudley
Standing CommiMees Execu*ve Michelle B. Hardy Programs Lisa Penzellna Membership Melissa Forde Finance Kim Eatman By- Laws Keisha Jones Leadership Development Andrea R. Webster Standards Andrea R. Webster Archives Cheryl Marius Nomina*ng Shatara Pell Fundraising Marisa Mack Tau Omega Charitable Trust Michelle Huff EllioM Housing C. Virginia Fields Scholarship Audrey Myers Sisterly Rela*ons Njeri Baker AKA Connec*ons TBD
Program Ini%a%ves Strengthen Our Sisterhood Nia Medder / Bianca Pierre-Louis Empower Our Families Jillian Thompson/ Leah Horton Build Our Economic Wealth LaChante Robertson/ Sharon Bryant Enhance Our Environment Tye Woodson- Craig/ Chelsea Mina Advocate For Social Jus*ce Effie McCartney-Donaldson/ Athena Moore UpliJ our Local Community Cheryl Marius/ Vickie Powell