It’s Memory Walk time again. Please join Team Wood and walk to end Alzheimer’s Disease. Team Wood walks in honor of Soror Doris V. Wood and all other sorors and families who experience Alzheimer’s Disease. Doris was initiated in Chi Chapter in 1945 which represents 65 years in Delta. Participating in the Memory Walk raises money for research. It does make a difference! Soror Wood continues to thrive as well as she does because the research helps those who take care of her to learn about the disease and do the very best they can with her care.
Please join the team. Get some donations. Walk on Sunday, October 17th and enjoy the fun, fellowship and exercise. Here are the details:
Where: Michael Carroll Stadium at IUPUI Downtown Indianapolis
When: Sunday, October 17, 2010
Registration 12:30 pm
Walk begins at 1:30pm
Length: 1 Mile and 5K Routes available along the canal
Mark your calendars and save the date of April 17, 2010 for this years Race for Cure!
This year Team DST has a goal to raise $850.00 dollars and to have 85 participants (at a minimum) in this years race. Invite your friends, family, and co-workers to join us in this exciting event! This year Komen is going ‘green’ and all who register online will have their race items shipped to them at no additional cost.
Don’t delay register today!
One in eight women will be stricken with breast cancer in her lifetime and the more we raise, the more the Indianapolis Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure can give back to fund vital breast cancer education, screening and treatment programs in our own community and support the national search for a cure. The greatest risk factors for breast cancer are being female and growing older. Breast cancer knows no boundary, be it age, gender, socio-economic status or geographic location. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. That’s one in eight within your company, school and organization! The key to survival is early detection. Three simple steps for early detection are regular mammograms, clinical exam and breast self-exam. And, remember cancer affects more than just the patient; friends and family need support too.
Breast Cancer Fact
Breast cancer death rates among African American women increased 1.6% annually from 1975 – 1991 and declined thereafter. However, the decrease was larger in women under age 50 (1.9% per year) than in women aged 50 and older (1.1%). The steady decline in female breast cancer mortality since 1991 has been attributed to improvements in both early detection and treatment. However, there has been a notable divergence between long-term breast cancer mortality rates for white and African American women. (American Cancer Society (ACS) Cancer Facts in African Americans)
IAC partnered with the Indianapolis Urban League for this years’ World AIDS Day 2009. The program was held Tuesday, December 1, 2009 from 6pm-9pm at the Urban League 777 Indiana Ave., Indianapolis, Indiana. Sorors volunteered at the registration table and assisted with the candlelight vigil.
About the Day
World AIDS Day is observed every year on December 1st. The World Health Organization established World AIDS Day in 1988. World AIDS Day provides governments, national AIDS programs, faith organizations, community organizations, and individuals with an opportunity to raise awareness and focus attention on the global AIDS epidemic.
The Facts
Over a million Americans are estimated to be living with HIV. Worldwide an estimated 33 million people are living with HIV.
~From the United States Department of Health & Human Services
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Indianapolis Alumnae Chapter held “Delta Speaks to Teens” as part of their mental health awareness month activities on November 21, 2009 at Crispus Attucks Medical Magnet School, located at 1140 Dr. Martin Luther King.. The keynote speaker was Kemba Smith the young woman whose case garnered national attention and was granted clemency after serving 6.5 years of a 24.5 years sentence in federal prison by former President Bill Clinton in December 2000.
During that time the Sorority lobbied for Smith’s release and for changes in laws requiring mandatory minimum sentencing for first time non-violent drug offenders. Delta Sigma Theta made significant contributions to the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund which assisted with defending Kemba Smith after her family’s financial resources were exhausted. In 2005 Delta Sigma Theta gifted 1 million dollars to the Legal Defense Fund.
Smith shared her story and addressed concerns of dozens of Indianapolis youth. Her story begins when after graduating from high school in 1989 and entering college she got involved with a drug dealer who was a major figure in a crack cocaine ring, drawing her in the middle of his life with physical, mental and emotional abuse. Today, Smith is a wife, mother, advocate, soon to be author and subject of a movie, produced by Rainforest Films (Stomp the Yard, Obsessed, This Christmas) about her life. Her story has been featured on CNN, Nightline, CourtTV, The Early Morning Show and numerous national print publications. For more information on Kemba Smith, visit www.kembasmithfoundation.org.
November 21, 2009 was a very busy Day for the Indianapolis Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Deltas were stretched from Martin Luther King Jr. Street to North Michigan Road. The Chapter held four events that day including the “Delta Speaks to Teens” session with Kemba Smith, the Red Carpet Event featuring the movie “Precious”, and it’s subsequent Delta Dialogue program in partnership with Light of the World Christian Church. In the midst of that Sorors remained dedicated to servicing the senior citizens at the Springfield Health Care Center and assisting in the food pantry at the Gene B. Glick Neighborhood Center. IAC will celebrate it’s 85 year anniversary in January 2010 as the Chapter has contributed to the Indianapolis and Central Indiana community since 1925.
Delta Speaks to Teens: Depression, Abuse, Self-Esteem
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. will host a Mental Health Awareness Program for youth in Indianapolis featuring Speaker and Activist Kemba Smith Pradia. The event will be held at Crispus Attucks Medical Magnet School at 9:00am and guests are encouraged to bring a non-perishable canned-good.
Kemba Smith was sentenced to 24.5 years in federal prison after being convicted as a first time non-violent drug offender. During that time the Sorority lobbied for Smith’s release and made significant contributions to the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund which assisted with defending Kemba Smith after her family’s financial resources were exhausted. In 2005 Delta Sigma Theta gifted 1 million dollars to the Legal Defense Fund.
(left to right) Julianne Malveaux, Honorary Chair Delta Social Action Commission; Marcia Fudge, Chair Delta Social Action Commission; Theodore Shaw, LDF Director-Counsel and President; Louise Rice, National President Delta Sigma Theta Sorority; Elaine R. Jones, LDF President and Director-Counsel Emeritus; Gladys Vaughn, Co-Chair DeltaSocial Action Commission; and Kemba Smith, President Kemba Smith Foundation. (Photo by Marvin T. Jones)
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. has pledged a million dollars to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) to support its voting rights work. The gift will mark the 40th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Sorority President Louise Rice presented the gift to LDF Director-Counsel and President Theodore M. Shaw on May 17th, the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark case argued by LDF founding Director-Counsel Thurgood Marshall before the U.S. Supreme Court. The gift was presented at the Delta headquarters in Washington, DC and awarded in the name of Shaw’s predecessor and Delta member Elaine R. Jones.
“This is an extension of our commitment to support social change that empowers the African American community. What better recipient than an organization with a stellar track record like LDF’s,” said Dr. Rice. “We recognize the role that LDF has played in the passage of the Voting Rights Act and their ongoing efforts to protect voting rights for disfranchised communities. LDF helps change lives and this requires resources. We also challenge other organizations to support this important work.”
“This generous gift embodies the strength, leadership and spirit of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority,” said Shaw. “We are eternally grateful and will make our appreciation complete by working harder on behalf of our community.”
Kemba Smith was featured on “Unflappable Today” hosted by Carolyn Mosby-Williams. Mosby-Williams is the author of “Unflappable”, co-written by veteran journalist Lisa D. DeNeal. “Unflappable” is an autobiography of the first 40 years of Mosby-Williams life. The blogtalkradio show features topics about challenges we all face in our lives and how we can remain unflappable under the pressures, challenges and unexpected turns that life may take. This show may be of particular interest to women who find themselves juggling career, marriage, motherhood and finding the right balance.
You can listen to the show by using the flash player below or by clicking here.
In the Spirit of Thanksgiving Community Service
You are also invited to join IAC as we prepare Thanksgiving baskets for families in need this holiday season. We ask that all volunteers, and the participants of the youth event bring a non-perishable food item. The items will be donated to the food pantry of the Fay Biccard Glick Neighborhood Center. Thanksgiving Turkeys are also welcome!
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – On Sunday, October 11, 2009 IAC Sorors joined with family and friends to make TEAM WOOD. TEAM WOOD walked and raised approximately $2,850.00 in support of Soror Doris V. Wood, mother of Soror Anita Wood Gaillard. This was the first time the family has participated in the walk, and IAC, with family and friends to were there to help make a difference and find a cure for Alzheimer’s. Congratulations to all participants. Enjoy the photo slideshow below:
Memory Walk, a walk to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association will take place in Indianapolis at the Michael A. Carroll Track and Soccer Statium on IUPUI Campus on Sunday, October 11, 2009, Registration 12:30, walk 1:30 (1 and 3 mile courses).
Please joinTEAM WOOD to raise money in support of Soror Doris V. Wood, mother of Soror Anita Wood Gaillard. This is the first time the family has participated in the walk, and IAC is joining with family and friends to help make a difference and find a cure for Alzheimer’s. Please join our team, set a goal for raising money and, join us in the walk.
Lose to Win! Family Healthy Lifestyle Weight and Nutrition Challenge is a national weight loss initiative for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. As African American women, we are uniquely positioned to impact not only our own well being, but the well being of our families and communities. We will include family members, friends or a close held buddy in the challenge to lose weight, eat healthier and positively impact our lives.
