President’s Message
Welcome to The Omega Omega Chapter, “The House that Ethel Built”! On December 10, 1926, the visionary founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, Mrs. Ethel Hedgemon Lyle, and 21 other phenomenal members chartered the Omega Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha’s 24th graduate chapter, in the City of Brotherly Love. For the past 98 years, The Omega Omega Chapter has provided Supreme Service to the Philadelphia Community.
Over the years, our community efforts have addressed vocational and post-secondary education, reading literacy, financial literacy, economic empowerment and generational wealth building, STEM/STEAM, health disparities, the arts, civil rights, youth mentoring, empowering the Black family, keeping the bond alive between incarcerated mothers and their children, and voter engagement.
In 1994, Mrs. Bessie W. Session, Omega Omega Chapter’s 23rd President, instituted our first Annual Day of Sharing to recognize and provide financial assistance to Philadelphia-area organizations whose missions and values aligned with the sorority’s. In 2014, we began our partnership with The 1926 Foundation, Incorporated. Since the inception of the Annual Day of Sharing, we have awarded over $1 million in community grants and scholarships to deserving grassroots organizations and graduating high school students.
Always at the forefront, with startup funding provided by former Pennsylvania State Senator LeAnna Washington, the Omega Omega Chapter hosted its first HBCU College Tour in 2000. Between 2000 and 2019, over 700 Philadelphia area high school students benefitted from visiting college campuses from Pennsylvania to Louisiana. Over 90% of the students participating in the tour matriculated at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
You will find members of the Omega Omega Chapter working professionally in academia, the arts, education, finance, healthcare, hospitality, law enforcement / legal, local, state, and federal government, and STEAM/STEM. We proudly wear our colors in the City of Brotherly Love (and Sisterly Affection).
Under the administration of President and CEO, Mrs. Danette Anthony Reed, Alpha Kappa Alpha, is working to address childhood food insecurity with our CHIPP program, develop future leaders, decrease our carbon footprint by air by planting trees and recycling, and engaging in civic engagement by registering and educating voters. As we SOAR into 100 years of serving the Philadelphia, The Omega Omega Chapter remains committed to making a difference in the lives of youth and families and collaborating with like-minded organizations.
Best Regards,
Ruth Marcus-Sturgis
President
About us
Omega Omega Chapter
Since our chartering in 1926 by the founder of our illustrious sorority, Ethel Hedgemon Lyle, we have served the Philadelphia area with a variety of award winning projects and programs. Omega Omega Chapter serves as a graduate chapter to our national organization and the North Atlantic Region.
