Chapter Philanthropy
Indianapolis Suburban Alumnae Chapter
We support the Sigma Sigma Sigma National Philanthropic and the Foundation, as well as various other charitable organizations.
Since that modest start over 60 years ago, Tri Sigma has granted over 3 million dollars to continue the work of Sigmas Serving Children. Beginning June 2016, we expanded Sigma Serves Children to form a national partnership with the March of Dimes. From polio to prematurity, the March of Dimes and Tri Sigma have a shared vision of serving children by focusing on research and prevention. To complement the continued success of the Robbie Page Memorial Fund, a committee was appointed in 2014 to identify a national philanthropic partner. The shared history of both Robbie Page Memorial and March of Dimes aligned our efforts to enhance children’s health. Having March of Dimes as an additional philanthropic partner gives Tri Sigmas across the United States a natural opportunity for engagement within their own community – something our membership has been requesting for over a decade.
March of Dimes - Signature Chefs Auction:
Our Indianapolis alumnae chapter supports the March of Dimes by volunteering every year at the “March of Dimes Signature Chef’s Auction & Gala”. Proceeds from the gala and auction help to fund:
- Free virtual NICU support program for families
- Virtual prenatal programs for moms-to-be
- COVID-19 interventions and support for moms and babies
- Programs that promote health equity for moms and babies and directly combat racial disparities in maternal and child health
- Educational programs, including live Facebook panel discussions, to get info into the hands of moms and families
- Necessary supplies for expectant mothers including blood pressure cuffs and masks and so much more!
The Chefs Auction & Gala evening begins with a tasting of Indianapolis's most desirable cuisine, prepared and served by culinary master from top local restaurants. This extraordinary tasting ensemble gives way to a seated program and live auction, offering an opportunity to bid on unique experience packages.
https://signaturechefs.marchofdimes.org/Event.aspx?EventId=21373
Chapter Contact: Lindsey Williams - ljwilliams20@gmail.com
March of Dimes - Stork's Nest:
In 2021 the Indianapolis alumnae chapter will be partnering with Zeta Phi Beta Sorority to host a “baby shower” that will benefit the Stork’s Nest. All items donated at the baby shower will go to Zeta Phi Beta’s Stork’s Nest “closet” which they make available to new mothers. Donations can include “anything baby” and useful to new moms.
Stork’s Nest is a cooperative project of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and the March of Dimes Foundation, for more than forty years, Stork’s Nest aims to increase the number of women receiving early and regular prenatal care in an effort to prevent cases of low birth-weight, premature births and infant deaths. The first Stork’s Nest was launched in 1971 by Epsilon Zeta chapter of Atlanta, Georgia. It was one of many educational and service projects of Better Infant Births (BIB), a highly successful program sponsored by the Fulton-Dekalb-Clayton Chapter of the March of Dimes. The program was so successful that Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. adopted Stork’s Nest in 1972 as its national project. The first Nest to open after it was adopted as Zeta’s national project was by Lambda Zeta chapter in Houston, Texas. Stork’s Nest is a jointly owned trademark of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and March of Dimes Foundation and can only be implemented by these two organizations. There are more than 80 Stork’s Nests throughout the country.
The program is designed to promote prenatal care participation and encourage healthy behaviors during pregnancy through two components-incentives and education. Stork’s Nest clients “earn” points toward incentives such as maternity or baby care items though a variety of positive, health-promoting activities: attending prenatal visits, participating in prenatal education classes, stopping at-risk behaviors such as smoking cigarettes and consuming alcoholic beverages, reducing stress, etc.
https://zphib1920.org/storks-nest/
Chapter Contact: Michelle Harrold - Michelle.Harrold@trimedx.com
Family Promise of Hendricks County:
Family Promise provides residential housing for 4 families experiencing homelessness in Hendricks County. Family Advocates provide intense, individualized case management to help them take the necessary steps toward lasting stability. Their capacity is 4 families at a time, usually staying with us for 2-3 months before moving into their own home. In addition to housing families, Family Promise assists 20-30 families each month with intense stability services. These families receive rapid-rehousing and homelessness prevention to stabilize quickly.
The Family Promise Resource Center serves as a vibrant hub where those experiencing homelessness and poverty in Hendricks County can access affordable housing, childcare, transportation, employment assistance and life skills to achieve stability. It is open for those struggling to shower, do laundry, and access computers and phones. The Center provides an address for our families and a central location where children are picked up for school.
https://familypromisehendrickscounty.org/
Chapter Contacts: Lindsey Williams - ljwilliams20@gmail.com and Maggie Archibald may.m7180@gmail.com
Brooke’s Place – Camp Healing Tree:
In Central Indiana, there is only one place for a young grieving boy or girl to find ongoing comfort and support…a place to tell personal stories and share memories…above all, a place to heal. It’s Brooke's Place. Children, teens, young adults and their families find friends at Brooke's Place who share their pain, friends they can lean on, and friends they can trust with their most personal feelings. It is truly a place where kids help kids! Brooke's Place provides support groups, therapy services and community education to empower children, teens, young adults and their families to thrive in the midst of grief.
Brooke’s Place for Grieving Young People was founded on the belief that every young person deserves the opportunity to grieve in a supportive, understanding and nurturing environment. Brooke's Place gives young people and their families a safe place to express and explore their grief by offering diverse peer support programs using professionally trained facilitators and volunteers.
In 1998, licensed family therapist, Pamela J. Wright, recognized that large numbers of grieving children were unsupported. There were too few existing service providers coupled with an overwhelming number of children and families needing grief support services. Four years earlier, on the cold, wet night of October 31, 1994, American Eagle Flight #4184 crashed in a field in Roselawn, Indiana, killing all those aboard. Among those who died in this tragic accident was Thomas H. Wright, a DowElanco (now known as Dow AgroSciences) executive from Indianapolis. As a family friend of the Wrights, Pam observed first-hand the tragedy’s impact on the Wright’s two children. Brooke, age 13 at the time of her father's death, benefited in the early months of her grief process from existing short-term bereavement services while Brent, a college senior, had no college-age support groups available. Keenly aware of the need for on-going support for Tom’s children and others like them, Pam prompted the initial discussion and effort to develop a grieving center in Indianapolis. Later, Brooke was asked to lend her name to the organization in tribute to her courageous grief journey. On April 15, 1999, 41 were in attendance on the very first program night at Brooke’s Place. Since the inception of grief support groups at Brooke’s Place, more than 16,000 children and their families have been supported.
https://www.brookesplace.org/index.php/about-brooke-s-place/brooke-s-place-mission
https://www.brookesplace.org/images/pdf/2020/2019-Year-Review.pdf
Chapter Contact: Amanda Armstrong – amanda.armstrong@trimedx.com
Free The Girls (Bra Collection):
Currently 27 million men, women and children are being held as slaves around the world—more today than in any other time in history. 80% of those slaves are women and girls–many of them victims of sex trafficking. There are a number of amazing organizations that are helping to rescue these women out of a life of prostitution, but what happens after they are rescued? Many aftercare providers are doing great work in providing comprehensive rehabilitation and educational opportunities to survivors, but often their resources are limited.
By partnering with established after-care facilities, Free The Girls provides an opportunity for sex trafficking survivors to earn a living selling second-hand clothing while going to school, getting healthy, and caring for their families. Selling clothes allows them to work as much or as little as their school schedule permits. The women in the program receive their starting inventory as a donation, and are then able to buy additional inventory from Free The Girls for below wholesale value to help maintain their competitive edge in the marketplace. Revenue from inventory sales helps subsidize overseas program costs.
Second-hand clothing is a profitable market in many countries around the world. Bras are sought after items. Some of the girls in the program are making 5x the minimum wage in their community by selling bras! And even better, bras provide an opportunity for these women to work with other women, since they have a history of being abused and used by men.
Free The Girls launched its first pilot program in Mozambique in 2011 after co-founders Dave Terpstra and Kimba Langas envisioned a unique model to provide safe economic opportunity for victims of sex trafficking. They wanted to answer the question, "What are these women being rescued to?" There's an interesting story you can read here about A Man with an Umbrella, which sparked something simple that became extraordinary. In February 2012, Free The Girls was featured in a 3-part series of stories by CNN’s Freedom Project. The response was amazing, with an outpouring of support from all over the world! We were able to ship over 30,000 bras to Mozambique and increase the amount of women in our program there from 3 to 24. CNN then aired a 30-minute follow-up documentary on Free The Girls in February 2013 called “Mozambique or Bust”. The media exposure introduced us to new partners, and they launched pilot programs with after-care providers in Uganda and El Salvador–increasing the total number of women we have served to 60. To date they’ve collected over 600,000 new and gently used bras from women all over the world, and have recently launched an additional program in Costa Rica!
Chapter Contact: Michelle Harrold - Michelle.Harrold@trimedx.com
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