Circle of Sisterhood
A Letter to PNMs
Dear PNMs,
My name is Megan Williams and I am the Vice President of Philanthropy for Georgia Tech’s Collegiate Panhellenic Council. I’m thrilled that you have chosen to participate in recruitment to see what our community has to offer!
One of the most prominent aspects of the Greek experience is Philanthropy. Each chapter supports its own non-profit organizations that align with its national philanthropy (you can read about those here). In addition to this, all chapters are united in their support for Georgia Tech’s CPC philanthropy, Circle of Sisterhood. Circle of Sisterhood is an international foundation that champions female development by eliminating barriers to girls’ education around the world. Many of these barriers are things that we are fortunate enough to not consider in our daily lives.
These barriers include and are not limited to:
Lack of facilities
Lack of educational resources
Shortage of educational staff
Food insecurity
Financial instability
Challenges with menstruation
Need for childcare services
Cultural stigmas
Mental and physical health
It was founded on the basis that there is a great need worldwide for female access to education and sorority women have the power to fill this need. We have a committee that is open to all CPC women where we fundraise and spread our message on campus. Once you hopefully join our community, you are welcome to apply to join in Fall 2024. The application will be shared with your chapters during the second week of classes.
The foundation offers a grant program and a school build program to alleviate these barriers in communities worldwide. Please look below to learn more about these programs and how Georgia Tech has contributed.
-Megan Williams
School Build Program
The school build program is the opportunity for CPC communities to raise money to fund the construction of a school. Every school is guaranteed to have at least 50% of its students be females and since its foundation, Circle of Sisterhood has built 41 schools. We partner with an external organization that facilitates the logistics of the construction in addition to relations with the receiving community. It is ensured that the community will have enough teachers, staff, and resources to maintain the school after it is built. The funding CPC community also has the option to send members to the building site and help with the construction while being immersed in the culture through amazing activities and learning experiences.
In 2018, Georgia Tech sent 18 sorority women to the village of Sass-Mak in Senegal for a school build. You can view more about this here. Most recently, we’re excited to announce the school build that Georgia Tech funded in Cantón La Soledad, Guatemala is now complete! This new school will provide 67 children with an adequate school structure that will allow them to learn and grow. We are grateful for our partnership with buildOn who oversaw the entirety of the project, the Guatemala community who came together and contributed 501 volunteer work days to build the new school, and the Georgia Tech Panhellenic Community members for their nonstop support and fundraising efforts. You can read more here.
Grant Program
A smaller financial commitment that CPC communities can select to fund is a grant. These grants are awarded to other nonprofits whose mission aligns with that of Circle of Sisterhood. Once an organization is pre-approved to receive a grant, CPC communities can select from those available to fund a $10,000 grant.
In 2020, we funded a grant that was donated to the MoonCatcher Project, an organization that helps keep girls in school while they are experiencing their period. Many girls do not have access to feminine hygiene products, which prevents them from attending school during menstruation. The MoonCatcher Project provides the supplies for and teaches women how to use something called a MoonCatcher Kit, which consists of reusable pads, waterproof bags, a calendar, a care tag, and a carrying bag. These are designed to be portable and reusable so girls can discreetly take them to school and not have to worry about running out of supplies. The MoonCatcher project also partners with local sewing cooperatives to produce these kits, so jobs are created and funded for women in the community. Our grant has provided 3,200 kits for women in Malawi, 2,000 kits for women in Kenya, and 1,500 kits for women in Uganda. If you are interested in learning more about the MoonCatcher project, please check out their website here.
This year in 2024, we had the privilege of funding a grant for Her Future Coalition (HFC). This is an India-based non-profit organization whose mission is to break the cycle of exploitation, poverty and gender violence by providing education and holistic support to survivors of trafficking, child marriage, rape and other forms of severe gender-based violence, as well as girls at high risk. The funds will provide six months of vocational education and holistic support services to 50 survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and high-risk girls and women. HFC provides long-term and intensive support, because that's what it takes to get girls and young women out of situations where they are powerless and vulnerable. HFC offers shelter, education, and economic independence programs, which include vocational training, remedial education and life skills training. Through counseling, sisterhood, and consistently showing up, HFC helps girls move from a place of trauma, hopelessness, and disassociation from their bodies to a place of healing, resilience, and promise. To read more about HFC's mission, visit their website here.
Our Efforts
Red Rose Project
Each year around Valentine’s Day, CPC and IFC team up to raise money for our philanthropies with the Red Rose Project. We open up our order form to send roses to members of the Georgia Tech community. Senders can attach a small message to the roses and have the option to send them anonymously! They are then delivered to chapter houses, for greek recipients, and to common locations on campus, for non-greek recipients. It is an event that the whole campus looks forward to and is a really great way to show appreciation to your friends, significant others, or secret crushes! In 2024, we raised almost $4,000!
Holiday Market
Towards the end of the Fall semester with many holidays on the horizon, we host a marketplace for all of campus to come shop. Our vendors are all local female entrepreneurs who have any sort of small business or side hustle that they want to showcase. We found this event to be a great way to support females on campus in their entrepreneurial efforts. It’s also a great opportunity for students to support small businesses and shop for presents. The first Holiday Market was in 2020 and we’ve been hosting it annually since then!
Want to help?
Educate yourself! Order Half the Sky, the book that inspired Ginny Carroll to found The Circle of Sisterhood Foundation and help women globally pursue an education!
To help us fundraise for our next school build you can donate to our Venmo account or participate in one of our fundraisers!
Venmo: @gatechcos