Pi Beta Phi Fraternity was founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, on April 28, 1867, as I. C. Sorosis. Pi Beta Phi was the first national secret college society of women to be modeled after the Greek-letter fraternities of men. During a time when few women were admitted to colleges and universities, Pi Beta Phi created a feeling of unity among pioneering women
Philanthropy
Pi Beta Phi was the first sorority to have a national philanthropy, The Settlement School, which is now the Arrowmont School for the Arts and Crafts. Pi Phi’s have focused on removing the barrier of illiteracy for the past 100 years, and our efforts and achievements in this area have grown tremendously. We are proud to partner with First Book, an organization which provides children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. First Book has provided more than 40 million new books to children in need in hundreds of communities nationwide.
Locally, we have dedicated ourselves to making philanthropy and community service an essential aspect of Pi Phi. In the spring of 2007 we began a weekly community service project with the Polinsky Children’s Center Foundation, an emergency center for abused and neglected kids. Every Friday a small group of Pi Phi’s visits the center to read to and do activities with the children. In the fall we are all extremely excited to start a new tradition at SDSU with our new philanthropy, Arrow Jam.
Arrow Jam
Arrow Jam is an exciting and fun lip-synching and dance competition incorporating all aspects of contemporary pop-culture.Fraternities coached by Pi Phi’s put together compilations of music videos, sitcoms, movies, commercials, etc. and perform their “skit” in a creative, and most of all, comical manner.This year’s Arrow Jam was hosted at San DiegoStateUniversity’s Open Air Theatre on November 17, 2007.The event was a huge success that raised over $5,000 that was donated to the San Diego Wild Fires.
CAR Program
On March 2, 2008, in Honor of Pi Beta Phi's National Day of Literacy as well as Read Across America Day (Dr. Seuss's Birthday), Pi Phi's began the Champions are Readers (CAR) program at a local elementary school. Located in the San DiegoSchool District, our chapter is volunteered at a low income elementary school, Andrew Jackson Elementary, in which Pi Phi's volunteered in all five of the 3rd grade classrooms. With about 3 members working in each class, this reading program consisted of fun reading activities, donating brand new books, promoting literacy, and even hosted an awards ceremony at the end of the program! Eileen Moreno, principle of Jackson Elementary School kindly stated, "The children looked so proud this morning wearing the beautiful medals that they earned." Pi Phi's main goal is to improve reading skills, instill life long love of reading, and to promote family literacy, one school at a time.
First Book
In June 2007, Pi Beta Phi teamed up with First Book, a non-profit organization that provides children from low-income families the chance to read and own their first books. First Book provides an ongoing supply of new books to children participating in community-based mentoring, tutoring, and family literacy programs, as well as playing a critical role in transforming the quality of preschool and after-school programs nationwide. First Book was founded in 1992, and has distributed more than 50 million books to children in more than 3,000 communities in the United States and Canada. Aspects of Pi Beta Phi’s partnership with First Book include The Literacy Site and Speed Read. Above is a picture of our Speed Read during Parent weekend. We raised over $200 that will be donated to First Book.
Check out the First Book Website! http://www.pibetaphi.org/pibetaphi/literacy.aspx?id=436
Fraternity Philanthropy Involvement
Each year Pi Beta Phi is required to participate in fraternity philanthropies in addition to their own. The most recent community service event Pi Phi attended was Derby Days hosted by the gentlemen of Sigma Chi. This week of events was a compilation of physical, mental, and teamwork abilities in which Pi Phi's won first place!
Scholarship
Pi Beta Phi values scholarship and intellectual excellence and implements programs to motivate, encourage, and assist its members in achieving academic success. In the fall of 2006 Pi Beta Phi was ranked number two out of the Panhellenic sororities at SDSU, and our fall 2006 Pledge Class earned the highest New Member GPA.
Pi Beta Phi was the first sorority to have a national philanthropy, The Settlement School, which is now the Arrowmont School for the Arts and Crafts. Pi Phi’s have focused on removing the barrier of illiteracy for the past 100 years, and our efforts and achievements in this area have grown tremendously. We are proud to partner with First Book, an organization which provides children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. First Book has provided more than 40 million new books to children in need in hundreds of communities nationwide.
