Omega Phi Alpha () is an American national

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...

sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...

. It was founded in at

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on ...

, Ohio. Omega Phi Alpha, also known as OPhiA, currently has twenty nine active chapters in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, as well as two prospective new chapters and one interest group.

History

In 1953, several female students at

expressed an interest in having an organization like the national service fraternity

Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a coeducational service fraternity. It is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of over 25,0 ...

which was active on their campus. The brothers of the ''Zeta Kappa'' ''chapter'' Alpha Phi Omega changed their plans to form a second fraternity and instead helped establish a new service sorority at Bowling Green State University. The two groups were to be alike in objectives—friendship, leadership, and service. A similar name—Omega Phi Alpha—was chosen for the sorority. Just as the Alpha Phi Omega chapter was limited to former

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...

, the Omega Phi Alpha sorority was originally limited to former Girl Scouts and

Campfire Girls Camp Fire, formerly Camp Fire USA and originally Camp Fire Girls of America, is a co-ed youth development organization. Camp Fire was the first nonsectarian, multicultural organization for girls in America. It is gender inclusive, and its prog ...

. The national sorority removed this limitation in . The sisters helped establish two more Omega Phi Alpha chapters at

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

in 1958 and the

University of Bridgeport The University of Bridgeport (UB) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin University; it retain its own n ...

in . However, these chapters operated independently and were not incorporated as a national sorority. In early 1966, the Bowling Green sorority received a letter indicating that the other two had merged to create a national sorority and invited them to join. However, the new national group had not registered legally. Upon learning this, Omega Phi Alpha at Bowling Green registered and invited the two groups to affiliate with it. The three groups met at a national convention at Bowling Green, Ohio in 1967. On June 15, 1967, the groups agreed to consolidate as a national sorority and laid the foundations for what is currently Omega Phi Alpha. They also decided that Bowling Green was the ''Alpha chapter.'' ''The''

became the ''Beta chapter'', and Eastern Michigan was named the ''Gamma chapter''. The ''Alpha'', ''Beta'', and ''Gamma chapters'' were the only chapters until the ''Delta chapter'' was formed in . Other chapter were added through ''Alpha Upsilon chapter'' at

University of Tennessee Knoxville The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

in 2022. Omega Phi Alpha has nine districts of active chapters. Each district is encouraged to meet once a year and is required to hold a district summit in the convention off-year, which includes service projects, workshops, and sisterhood activities.

Symbols

The chevron and the bee are Omega Phi Alpha's symbols. Its flower is the yellow rose, chose to represent friendship. The sorority's colors are dark blue, gold, and light blue. Omega Phi Alpha has two badges: one for active members and the other for alumna. The active badge is a diamond with concave sides. The alumna badge is round and features a rose. On top of the circle is a chevron with the sorority's name.

Purpose

The purpose of Omega Phi Alpha reads as follows: :The purpose and goals of this sorority shall be to assemble its members in the fellowship of Omega Phi Alpha, to develop friendship, leadership, and cooperation by promoting service to the university community, to the community at large, to the members of the sorority, and the nations of the world.

Activities

Omega Phi Alpha has a diverse, flexible service program that allows each member to contribute to the world around her. Many chapters have ongoing projects that they have worked with for years.

Six areas of service

1. Permanent Project

The permanent project is

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

. Mental health service projects are defined as any project that improves the well-being of others, and these projects are typically hands-on projects such as playing with kids in an afterschool program, playing

Bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** Bi ...

at a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...

, or serving meals at a

soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center, is a place where food is offered to the Hunger, hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price (such as via coin donations upon visiting). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoo ...

2. President's Project

Each year at the Omega Phi Alpha National Convention, the national president of Omega Phi Alpha presents the cause she feels is worthy of being the focus of OPA service nationwide. Past president's projects prior to 2002 include the environment, terminal illness, AIDS awareness and education, domestic violence, "

Just Say No "Just Say No" was an advertising campaign prevalent during the 1980s and early 1990s as a part of the U.S.-led war on drugs, aiming to discourage children from engaging in illegal recreational drug use by offering various ways of saying ''no' ...

To Drugs", handicapped children, nursing, ecology, heart disease, children, the elderly, head injury prevention,

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

, and internal organization key points. The president's projects by year include: :* 1968–1969:

Mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

:* 1970–1971:

Ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

:* 1973–1974:

Elderly Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

:* 1974–1975:

Muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...

:* 1977–1978:

Heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

:* 1979–1980:

International Year of the Child UNESCO proclaimed 1979 as the International Year of the Child.

:* 1980–1981: Hands across the ages - working with the elderly :* 1982–1983:

Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as simply Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, it was organized a ...

:* 1983–1984: National Head Injury Foundation :* 1984–1985: Alcohol awareness :* 1990–1991:

Environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

:* 1991–1992:

Cultural diversity Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural evolution. The term "cultural diversity" can also refer to having different cu ...

:* 1993–1994:

AIDS education HIV prevention refers to practices that aim to prevent the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV prevention practices may be undertaken by individuals to protect their own health and the health of those in their community, or may ...

:* 1995–1996:

Breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

:* 1996–1997:

Ronald McDonald House Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is an independent American nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to create, find, and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children. RMHC has a global network of c ...

:* 2002–2003:

:* 2003–2004:

Alcohol abuse Alcohol abuse encompasses a spectrum of unhealthy alcohol drinking behaviors, ranging from binge drinking to alcohol dependence, in extreme cases resulting in health problems for individuals and large scale social problems such as alcohol-relat ...

prevention/Alcohol AwarenessPast Nu Service Projects
/ref> :* 2004–2005: Support your

sisterhood Sisterhood may refer to: * Relating to sisters, female siblings Film * ''The Sisterhood'' (1988 film), an American film directed by Cirio H. Santiago * ''The Sisterhood'' (2004 film), an American film directed by David DeCoteau * ''Sisterhoo ...

:* 2005–2006:

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

:* 2006–2007:

Women's health Women's health differs from that of men in many unique ways. Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not mer ...

:* 2007–2008:

Domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

awarenessStudent Organization of the Week: Omega Phi Alpha
/ref> :* 2008–2009: Women's

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

awareness :* 2009–2010:

Literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

:* 2010–2011: Money management :* 2011–2012: Archiving OPA :* 2012–2013: Community inclusion :* 2013–2014: Empowering women in

STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

:* 2014–2015: Physical fitness and healthy living :* 2015–2016: Mental health matters :* 2016–2017: Chapter choice :* 2017–2018: Childhood obesity :* 2018–2019: Building two thousand bridges :* 2019–2020: Literacy :* 2020–2021: Food insecurity: hunger in America :* 2021-2022: Erasing racial and ethnic health disparities :* 2022-present: Protecting human rights

3. Service to the University Community

Sisters provide service within their university's community by volunteering at school events, holding stress relief classes, and random acts of kindness,

4. Service to the Community at Large

Sisters help the community at large by participating in local park clean-ups, food banks, tutoring at a local school, and volunteering at the Humane Society.

5. Service to the members of the sorority

Sisters provide service to the members of the sorority by supporting alumnae and internal strengthening.

6. Service to the nations of the world

To serve the nations of the world, sisters have raised funds for

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

, AIDS Awareness, diabetes awareness (

American Diabetes Association The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is a United States-based nonprofit that seeks to educate the public about diabetes and to help those affected by it through funding research to manage, cure and prevent diabetes (including type 1 diabetes, ...

), breast cancer awareness (

Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Susan G. Komen (formerly known as Susan G. Komen for the Cure; originally as The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; often simply as Komen) is a breast cancer organization in the United States. Komen focuses on patient navigation and advo ...

, among others).

Chapters

The active chapters of Omega Phi Alpha are in bold and the inactive chapters are in ''italic''.

Notes

Convention

Omega Phi Alpha holds a national convention every other year. The national conventions provide a forum for making sorority-wide decisions like aligning on a budget, electing national officers, or changing the national policies reflected in the constitution and by-laws. Each active chapter in good standing has two votes to use in deciding sorority issues. Active chapters that are not in good standing have only one vote. Some alumnae delegates represent each of OPA's four districts. For every three active votes, alumnae get one vote. OPA national convention locations include:

Alumnae groups

Omega Phi Alpha has seven regions of alumnae that are drawn on state lines and are based on the population distribution of OPA alumnae. The regions are Mid-Atlantic, Mid-South, Midwest, Northeast, South, Southeast, and West, Each alumnae region sends a specific number of delegates to OPhiA's National Convention every year; this number is based on the number of active votes possible at that year's Convention. Alumnae representation makes up 25% of the total representation at any given convention.

References

External links

''Bowling Green State University chapter'' website

''Texas A&M chapte''r website

''University of Florida chapter'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omega Phi Alpha Fraternities and sororities in the United States Service organizations based in the United States 1967 establishments in Ohio Student organizations established in 1967