Ruby Fund Message
Happy Founders’ Day, Sisters!
As we celebrate 123 years of sisterhood, we honor our Founders and the lives they led as confident, strong, and devoted women to themselves and Alpha Omicron Pi. As we think about the courage and determination that each of our Founders exemplified, we reflect on the strength that it takes to ask for a helping hand in dire times of need. Fittingly so, Stella was the first unofficial recipient of the Ruby Fund.
Even as the strong and independent woman that she was, she found herself looking to her sisters for support, and because she knew she could count on AOll – she did so unafraid.
In 1946, International President Dorothy Dean, asked 10 fellow AOII sisters to contribute $100 each to a fellow a sister who had become very ill and was living without basic necessities. This outreach of unconditional love, joined with the wish to support a sister in dire need, was the beginning of what would evolve into the Ruby Fund. What a legacy those first 10 sisters left us.
A past Ruby Fund recipient recently contacted the Foundation, asking how she can give back to the sisterhood that did so much for her years ago. This sister’s story is one of both physical and mental abuse, divorce, and bankruptcy, all while raising three small children. This sister shared that she had often thought of the best way to say thank-you and now, she was reaching out to do just that. Not only was she in a financial place where she could begin to give through the Foundation, she wanted to share her story and inspire current and future sisters to not be afraid to count on your sisters.
To date, more than one million dollars have been granted to sisters like Stella since the inception of the Ruby Fund. Your donation to the Ruby Fund ensures that sisters in personal crisis receive financial support in their most vulnerable times. As AOII sisters, we are there to uplift one another and build strong, confident leaders, while striving to inspire ambition. When you give to the Ruby Fund, you do just that.
Fraternally,
Serena Bell, Chairwoman, Beta Gamma (Michigan State U)
Laura Plummer, Alpha Delta (U of Alabama)
Allison Bassett, Theta Omega (Northern Arizona U)
Samantha Buente, Chi Lambda (U of Evansville)
Vicki Menna, Theta Pi (Wagner College)
Kandy Bernskoetter, Board Liaison, Sigma (U of California, Berkeley)