Circle of Sisterhood
In 2018, IU Southeast Panhellenic Council adopted Circle of Sisterhood as our philanthropy.
If you are a new student at IU Southeast, make sure to swing by Panhellenic's table at orientation and enter to win a Circle of Sisterhood shirt--we give one away at every orientation!
The Cause
For too many girls and women around the world, access to quality education is often limited. Two-thirds of all illiterate adults in the world are female, and not even seven percent of the world's population has a college degree. Education is an answer to many of the global issues related to women--poverty, oppression, misogyny, brutality. Ultimately, more and more educated girls will mean stronger and healthier villages, communities, and entire countries.
"One study after another has shown that educating girls is one of the most effective ways to fight poverty. Schooling is often a precondition for girls and women to stand up against injustice, and for women to be integrated into the economy. Until women are numerate and literate, it is difficult for them to start businesses or contribute meaningfully to their economies." (Half the Sky)
Quality schooling is the great emancipator from poverty and despair and will provide a better life for a woman and her family. The Circle of Sisterhood exists today to help make that better life possible for women and girls around the globe, through education.
"One study after another has shown that educating girls is one of the most effective ways to fight poverty. Schooling is often a precondition for girls and women to stand up against injustice, and for women to be integrated into the economy. Until women are numerate and literate, it is difficult for them to start businesses or contribute meaningfully to their economies." (Half the Sky)
Quality schooling is the great emancipator from poverty and despair and will provide a better life for a woman and her family. The Circle of Sisterhood exists today to help make that better life possible for women and girls around the globe, through education.
Why Sorority Women
Most sororities were founded in the 19th century in response to the very real obstacles to women achieving a college education. Sorority founders bonded together fiercely to fight for their right to higher education. Today, more than 160 years later--and millions strong--we vow to continue the legacy of our founders by standing together again to help girls and women go to school around the world.
Without education, girls and women all over the world are unable to reach their full potential. Sorority women are fortunate to have the one thing that will help most women out of poverty--an education. As such, we have a responsibility to those less fortunate.
Since the Circle of Sisterhood's formation in 2010, individual alumnae and sorority communities on college campuses across North America have engages in this global humanitarian effort to remove barriers to education for girls in the developing world. This movement by sorority women has impacted women and girls in 24 countries on four continents in seven years.
The Circle of Sisterhood is a mechanism by which all sorority women can stand together across affiliation, age, color, and creed to make a difference in the lives of millions of girls and women. Collectively, we can do much more than we could as individuals or individual groups.
One person can make a small difference. But as a community of millions of educated women, our collective efforts will be transforming for generations to come.
Without education, girls and women all over the world are unable to reach their full potential. Sorority women are fortunate to have the one thing that will help most women out of poverty--an education. As such, we have a responsibility to those less fortunate.
Since the Circle of Sisterhood's formation in 2010, individual alumnae and sorority communities on college campuses across North America have engages in this global humanitarian effort to remove barriers to education for girls in the developing world. This movement by sorority women has impacted women and girls in 24 countries on four continents in seven years.
The Circle of Sisterhood is a mechanism by which all sorority women can stand together across affiliation, age, color, and creed to make a difference in the lives of millions of girls and women. Collectively, we can do much more than we could as individuals or individual groups.
One person can make a small difference. But as a community of millions of educated women, our collective efforts will be transforming for generations to come.