Feature Story
The Alumni Brothers of the Gamma Psi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., – Saint Augustine’s University – Raleigh, North Carolina have come together in support of their Alma Mater and their dear fraternity.
What was a social reconnection that started with a handful of alumni brothers and peaked to over 20 alumni fraternity brothers on Zoom video conference calls – checking in on each other during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2019, has now evolved to a full fledge effort, organization, and commitment to the University, its students, and to their young college and campus Alpha brothers.
Seven alumni Alpha brothers making up the core team of this work, have committed themselves to a strategic, operational, financial, philanthropic, and fraternal ambition: To reunify more than 300 brothers over the next three years – spanning a lineage from 1948 to current – to educate over 75+ students over three years.
With one year into this journey, the brothers have reconnected nearly 50 alumni brothers spanning a lineage from 1954 to 2019. Nearly 20 of the alumni brothers have joined the National Alumni Association of the University for the first time and paid their alumni dues for the financial year 2020-21.
The President of National Alumni Association (NAA – SAU), Bro Dr. John Larkins, lauded the brothers in their efforts and welcomed the alliance as being created. As stated by Dr. Larkins, “we see this effort being extended to other organizations in forming new strategic alliances with the NAA for the scale benefit of the school”. Dr. Larkins, is also an Alumni Alpha – Gamma Psi Chapter 1963.
As part of its organizational design and structure, the brothers have aligned themselves across five (5) strategic pillars:
Pillar 1 – Reunification: To accurately locate, bring together, and retain 100 Alumni brothers a year, over three years – from March 1948 to present – reconnecting in the spirit of brotherhood with memories fond of college days swiftly passed;
Pillar 2 – Affiliation & Support – University and National Alumni Association: To enlist 100 brothers a year as active university alumni and stay connected in support of the University as a branded constituency;
Pillar 3 – Affiliation & Support – Undergraduate Chapter and College Brothers: To continue to build and further the aim, mission, and purpose of the fraternity in collaboration with the undergraduate campus and college brothers in keeping with approved General Fraternity and undergraduate chapter initiatives and programs;
Pillar 4 – Programs and Projects: To carefully plan and collaboratively undertake a series of near term, short term, and long term projects that will raise endowment(s) to benefit the undergraduate chapter, alumni brothers organization, the university, General Fraternity, and the community at-large;
Pillar 5 – Reclamation – General Fraternity: To reclaim 25 to 50 Gamma Psi Alumni brothers a year and to continue to build and further the purpose of the fraternity in collaboration with the General Fraternity’s reclamation program(s); and, in keeping with the approved initiatives and programs of local graduate / alumni chapters and the communities where alumni Gamma Psi brothers reside
“This is an innovative effort in what we are beginning to see as a value-add to alumni, community, national, and international structures of fraternities and sororities in fulfilling their commitments to the younger generation, their fraternities, their communities, the world, and the institutions that helped to make them,” as shared by one of the core team members. He added, “…we tend to see it as the building of valuable communities of Alphamen to address challenges of today and tomorrow”.
The flagship campaign of the alumni brothers is to educate 75+ students through direct scholarships and tuition shortfall assistance over the next three years. Additionally, particular emphasis is being paid in forming educational relationships that will foster institutional support in areas such as STEM (Science-Technology-Education-Maths) programs for the university and its students.
All of this heralded work is being led with the launch of a fundraiser campaign drive to raise over $225,000.00 by 2023 at which time Gamma Psi turns 75.
“My former Dean of Intake, may his soul rest iin peace will always tell us back in the day, that real pledging starts after you cross the burning sands'” said another core team brother. “Our efforts to raise $225k over three years is about reimagining pledging in a way that it benefits others”. “We are literally changing the definition of pledging in rallying brothers to pledge and pay towards the three year fundraising planned goals; which can be donated accordingly on the official website to meet our fundraising payment goals”, he went on to say further.
The Drive for 225k at 75 kicks off on Sunday, March 14, 2021 from 5pm to 7pm EST. Alumni and college brothers of Gamma Psi Chapter from around the world will join a planned Zoom conference call to mark the launch.
For more information, contact the brothers at reclamation@collegedays.org or visit the official website, www.collegedays.org
Donations for the Drive for 225k at 75 are being accepted now on the official website(s)
Gamma Psi – Saint Augustine’s Alumni Alphas
National Alumni Association – Saint Augustine’s University