A check for $30,000 changed hands Wednesday night in the Swearingen auditorium, as the USC chapter of Circle of Sisterhood celebrated the conclusion of their fundraising campaign to raise money for a school in an impoverished district of Nicaragua.
Circle of Sisterhood founder Ginny Carroll was in attendance and applauded enthusiastically as Sorority Council was presented with the Panhellenic Excellence Award.
For months, Sorority Council had worked hard to raise money. Fourth-year marketing and management student Paige Jones was initially worried about achieving the goal, but she said she still confident that it could be accomplished.
“It took a lot of dedication from the committee. There’s about 25 members on the committee, and it took their passion and their hard work to make it a success,” Jones said.
Jones, a member of Alpha Chi Omega, served as the president of Sorority Council and personally handed Carroll a huge check representing the money raised. Later in the evening, she and the other 25 council members accepted the College Panhellenic Excellence Award, adding USC to a list of 32 colleges nationwide to have been granted the honor.
“It’s really important to me that everyone knows it’s not just Sorority Council that’s being rewarded," Jones said. "It’s our entire community because we wouldn’t be a community without all 3,500 of us, and every individual member should feel proud and should feel a sense of this award, not just Sorority Council because it really is an entire community at work."
Outside the auditorium, a poster and a cardboard display relayed Circle of Sisterhood's mission: to educate young women the world over. A large poster posed the question, "What does education mean to you?" Children's responses included answers like, “A chance to make a difference,” “Opening new opportunities” and “Education means a better life."
Throughout the evening, Carroll spoke on the plight of young women in developing nations, emphasizing the importance of providing them with an education.
“It’s amazing what they’ve accomplished, and they’re literally going to transform a small community in Nicaragua," Carroll said. "They’re going to give them a school. That’s huge. It’s going to put that community on the map."
As part of a cultural exchange in partnership with the new school, 14 sorority members will be leaving for Nicaragua in May, an experience Carroll touted as life-changing.
“Basically, you stay with a host family, and you see what the community is like that you’re building the school in," said second year public health student Katie Kennedy, one of the women traveling to Nicaragua. "We will volunteer in the community and see the girls who will be going to the school and meeting with their families and just kind of getting the feel of what it’s like to be a woman in their society."
After this initial success, Jones said she hopes Sorority Council will continue to raise money for Circle of Sisterhood in 2017 and 2018.