CIRCLE OF SISTERHOOD

[SWTXBelle]

A new initiative of the National Panhellenic Council - promoting education of women, here and abroad. From an e-mail sent to APH presidents:

"In mid-1800s America, women stood together for the right to attend college and thus began the sorority movement. Thanks to the struggles our Founders endured for a college education, we have reaped the benefits.

Yet today, 70% of out-of-school youth around the world are girls, and sadly 7% of the world’s population has a college education.

The Circle of Sisterhood Foundation was established in 2010 to leverage the collective wisdom and influence of sorority women to support entities around the world that remove educational barriers for girls and women, uplifting them from poverty and oppression. Imagine the power of over 5 million college-educated women working together on this important mission.

Studies show educating women and girls is the first step toward addressing poverty, oppression, injustice and inequality across the globe. Educated women:

• Earn 25 percent more income, and when women earn an income, they reinvest 90% into their families, breaking the poverty cycle
• Are less likely to become victims of human trafficking
• Are three times less likely to contract HIV
• Are more likely to pursue a trade or start a business
• Have children who are 40% more likely to live past the age of 5
• Have smaller, healthier families

The Circle of Sisterhood is a collaborative effort by sorority women who are committed to addressing humanitarian concerns facing women and girls in America and abroad. We are inviting you and your Alumnae Panhellenic to join us--and more than 85 College Panhellenics to date--in tackling the issues women face--issues like poverty, illiteracy, forced prostitution, trafficking of young girls, sex-selective abortion, HIV and brutal oppression.


While these seem like impossible issues, we KNOW education can help. Therefore, we seek to provide support to entities that remove barries to education for girls and women, including those which teach a trade as a means to earn income.

And we acknowledge issues within our own borders as well. One in five American children lives in poverty, and less than 40% of the U.S. population graduates from college. Therefore, we endeavor to help girls in our country receive a quality education.

We believe our efforts will not only serve to uplift women from poverty and oppression but have a simultaneous impact on undergraduates and alumnae by engaging them in meaningful work aligned with our shared values of leadership, service and education.

With endorsement of the National Panhellenic Conference, we have over 85 College Panhellenics supporting our efforts through fundraising initiatives on their campuses. And that number grows every day. Won’t you partner with a College Panhellenic near you or begin your own fundraising campaign? We can only do this with the help of the alumnae community as well; every contribution and fundraising effort counts!"