Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

CHESAPEAKE-VIRGINIA BEACH ALUMNAE CHAPTER

lways striving to foster the bond of sisterhood, the chapter has flourished to a membership of over one hundred seventy members who continue to work diligently to magnify the Sorority’s programmatic thrusts in our communities. There has been a succession of presidents who have nourished and advanced the growth of the chapter: Constance Allen, Sadie Shaw, Alexis Colander, Nettie Faulcon, Helga Greenfield, Donna Graham-Elliott, Wanda Brockington, Cheryl Footman-Banks, Sharon Holloway, Eunice R. Crocker, Mary Williams, Sheryll Heard, Theresa Baker, and Andrenette Ingram. Nettie Faulcon ventured on to serve as the Eleventh South Atlantic Regional Director and currently serves as a member of the National Constitution & Bylaws Committee. Wanda Brockington has served as the co-chair of the National Arts and Letters Commission.

From its inception and throughout the 1980’s, the chapter created and implemented a myriad of programs to assist the communities we serve. One of the earliest it initiated was Mirror Mirror, a grant funded tutorial service focused on remedial educational assistance. At the beginning of the 1980’s, the chapter implemented a program, Yellow Brick Road, the objective of which was to mentor juveniles and to provide life skills group sessions. Moreover, during the period the chapter promoted voter awareness through the sponsoring of voter registration drives and vote-a-thons. It also provided tutorial services to local schools and coordinated and presented health screenings and fairs. Other initiatives included the chapter’s annual drive to provide food baskets and clothing donations to the needy and the sponsoring of a Kiddie Kotillion, a scholarship fundraiser, which resulted in several scholarships being awarded to students attending Norfolk State University. In 1983, the chapter hosted its first Founders Day of the Virginia Tidewater Cluster (VTC).

As the ensuing years of the 1990’s came, the chapter took several steps to expand its community involvement. In an effort to address some of the needs of the elderly, the chapter adopted a local nursing home and a Birthday Club was established. This program provided volunteer assistance, gifts, entertainment and monthly birthday celebrations for the residents of the nursing home. A program that the chapter undertook to prepare young ladies for the challenges of the future was the Rites of Passage. Additionally, the chapter offered a series of Black male conferences, which featured panels of African-Americans who facilitated discussions related to career choices and various other issues. For teen mothers needing a support network, the chapter formed the College Advisory Mentoring Program (CAMP). CAMP provided workshops regarding college preparation, financial aid, budgeting, parenting classes, and college tours for high school mothers interested in attending college as well as a scholarship to one of the graduating teens.

Tutorial services, health seminars, and voter registration drives were just a few of the programs that continued during this period. By linking with other organizations and public agencies, such as the Chesapeake Department of Social Services, local churches, schools, homeless shelters and battered women’s shelters, the chapter logged many additional volunteer hours, allowing chapter members the opportunity to make an impact on major programs such as the Welfare to Work Program, Census 2000, and the Adopt-a-Family Program.

In 1992 the chapter received an award from the South Atlantic Region for Outstanding Reclamation and Retention of Sorors from 1989 to 1991. The chapter hosted its second VTC Founders Day Celebration in 1996 and the Virginia Spring State Meeting in 2006. To promote academic achievement, the chapter highlights African American female high school honor graduates at the annual May Week celebration. At this time, it announces the recipients of the Allen-Skinner and Nettie D. Faulcon Scholarships. Moreover, it has effected the advancement of higher education opportunities not only through the awarding of several concurrent four – year scholarships, but also through the awarding of multiple book stipends, and the annual donation to the United Negro College Fund. Since 1999, the chapter has successfully sponsored eight biennial Jabberwock pageants that are cultural events as well as fundraisers that support its scholarship efforts.

The Chesapeake-Virginia Beach Alumnae Chapter entered the new millennium with a proud history that reflects its commitment to sisterhood, scholarship, and service. In this new century, the chapter re-committed itself to the ideals, missions, and initiatives of its illustrious sorority. Members greeted 2002 with the start of their chapter’s first Delta Academy and a partnership with the local chapter of the NAACP, which resulted in a far-reaching voter registration drive. In the first of a series of mental health and physical health issues to be addressed, the chapter sponsored a public forum on Clinical Depression. Since the beginning of the new millennium, the chapter has sponsored Home Ownership and Financial Fortitude workshops in line with the Sorority’s national initiatives. For its untiring efforts, the chapter has received public service awards from the Chesapeake Department of Social Service, the NAACP, and Census 2000. In addition, it is extremely proud to have the distinction of being a DREF (Delta Research Education Fund) Millennium Jewel Chapter. In 2009, the chapter was recognized and honored by the City of Chesapeake, Virginia for outstanding community service. In 2013, the chapter was the recipient of two awards at the sorority’s 51st National Convention: 1st place in the South Atlantic Region for exceptional programming in the area of Physical and Mental Health and 1st place for implementation and participation in the 2013 St. Jude Give Thanks Walk. In 2014, the chapter was the recipient of the NAACP Silver Lifetime Membership Award and successfully launched a charitable foundation. On January 17, 2015, the chapter hosted its third Founders Day Celebration for the Virginia Tidewater Cluster. Also in 2015, the chapter won third place under the national initiative – Delta Emergency Response Team program (D.E.R.T.), and The Violet Voice, the chapter’s first quarterly news journal, was published. In 2017, the chapter established its third program: an Annual Health Fair that focuses on a variety of community health concerns.

The chapter celebrated its 40th anniversary in March of 2018, with an anniversary and scholarship gala.  The event was a true celebration of our past, present, and future. Past chapter presidents and charter members were honored along with several community honorees.