Honor AKA Community Service

Senate Resolution No. 1533 BY: Senator COMRIE COMMENDING Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Epsilon Pi Omega Chapter upon the occasion of hosting its Annual Community Charter Day Celebration, and paying tribute to this year's honorees on June 9, 2019 WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to commend those illustrious organizations within the State of New York whose focus and intent have made a substantial impact on the quality of life in their communities; and WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commend Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Epsilon Pi Omega Chapter upon the occasion of hosting its Annual Community Charter Day Celebration, and to pay tribute to this year's honorees on Sunday, June

9, 2019; and WHEREAS, This year's honorees include: Gary B. Clifton, Outstanding Community Leader, Recreational Inner-City Sports and Education program (R.I.S.E.); and St. Albans Congregational Church's Because We Care Food Pantry and Clothing Boutique, Excelsior Award for Outstanding Community Organization; and WHEREAS, In addition, college scholarships will be presented to several deserving graduating high school students who reside in Queens, New York; and WHEREAS, On January 15, 1908, Ethel Hedgeman and eight of her like-minded friends founded Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority, Incorporated at Howard University, a historically black university located in Washington, D.C.; the women created the support network to benefit not only themselves, but others through their talents and strengths; and WHEREAS, From the original group of nine women, AKA Sorority has grown into a force of more than 290,000 collegiate members and alumnae, constituting 1,007 chapters in 42 states, the District of Columbia, the US Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Germany, Liberia, South Korea, Japan, Canada, South Africa and the Middle East; and WHEREAS, For more than a century, AKA Sorority has remained true to its mission comprised of five basic tenets: to cultivate and encourage high scholastic and ethical standards, promote unity and friendship among college women, study and help alleviate problems concerning girls and women in order to improve their social stature, maintain a progressive interest in college life, and above all, be of Service to All Mankind; and WHEREAS, In 1950, 32 dynamic college-trained, professional women sought to perpetuate the traditions and ideals of AKA; their vision to improve the quality of life for the residents of the Queens community led them to form the Epsilon Pi Omega Chapter, which was chartered on

May 13, 1950, at the Springfield Gardens United Methodist Church; and WHEREAS, Over the years the Chapter's membership has increased from the original 32 charter members to over 100 active Sorors; in keeping with the sorority's tradition of promoting academic excellence and enriching the lives of college women, the Chapter chartered two undergraduate chapters, Nu Mu and Nu Psi for selected students in Queens; and WHEREAS, Since its inception, Epsilon Pi Omega has collaborated with a variety of governmental and community organizations to address the needs of residents of the Queens community through innovative programs and activities which focus on education, economic empowerment, health, the arts and the black family; and WHEREAS, Under the luminous leadership of President DeRosette Harrison, the success of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Epsilon Pi Omega Chapter is in direct correlation to the efforts of its dedicated members, whose involvement is, and always has been, characterized by an impressive commitment, an unbridled enthusiasm, and an uncompromising standard of excellence in all endeavors on behalf of the sorority and the population it serves; and WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that those organizations which enhance the well-being and vitality of their community and have shown a long and sustained commitment to excellence certainly have earned the recognition and applause of all the citizens of this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to commend Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Epsilon Pi Omega Chapter upon the occasion of hosting its Annual Community Charter Day Celebration, and to pay tribute to this year's honorees on June 9, 2019; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to DeRosette Harrison, President, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Epsilon Pi Omega Chapter.