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The Alpha Phi Foundation
was formed by the women of
Alpha Phi International
Fraternity (a women's sorority) to
support women and others in need,
and to express the philanthropic
spirit intended by the Founders.
The Foundation's mission is to
support programs that emphasize
women's cardiac health, to provide
educational and leadership
opportunities , to encourage and
recognize superior scholarship, to
educate women about the value of
philanthropy, and to assist
women in need.
The Alpha Phi Foundation is
supported by generous gifts from
Alpha Phis and their friends.
History
Alpha Phi Foundation, founded
in 1956, is one of the oldest
Greek foundations for women. It
was set up as a trust its
purpose was to award grants from
scholarship and cardiac aid funds.
Today, two original priorities
remain: to encourage and recognize
superior
scholarship and to support
womens cardiac health. The
Foundation also funds programs
that provide
leadership and educational
opportunities, educate women about
philanthropy and assist
members in need.
Why Cardiac Care?
In 1946, Alpha Phis gathered at
Convention in Quebec the hot
topic: adopting an
international philanthropic
cause. During World War II,
countless philanthropy projects
were successful at the
international level.
"...Wartime projects were very
successful and had given us an
idea of what we could do as a
unified whole," wrote Catherine
Wilson Storment, the first cardiac
aid chairman, in the 1947 Winter
Quarterly.
Now the question became: "What
would Alpha Phi do in peacetime?"
At that time,
rheumatic fever a disease
that causes serious,
debilitating damage to the
heart was a leading killer of
school age children in the United
States. Alpha Phi wanted to help
these children, but it also wanted
freedom to contribute money and
service to other programs. Cardiac
aid fit the bill chapters and
members were able to donate funds
and service to various educational
and research projects.
During the next few decades,
modern
antibiotic therapy sharply
reduced mortality and cases of
rheumatic fever became rare.
Heart disease became the #1 killer
of women in North America, and
Alpha Phi Foundation thought it
fitting that an organization of
women help fight it.
Since 1946, Alpha Phi has
donated more than $1 million to
support cardiac health
initiative.
The Cardiac Care Award
The Alpha Phi Foundation
Cardiac Care Award helps to fund
research and
educational programs that
support women's
cardiac health. As a result of
these efforts,
health care professionals and
women everywhere are learning more
about the causes,
prevention and
treatment of heart disease
the number one killer of women.
Each spring, the Foundation
accepts applications for the
Cardiac Care Award. Typically
the foundation relies on members
to nominate organizations for the
award, but organizations are also
encourage to self-nominate.
