Service Work & Philanthropy

Service

Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation

Founded in 1960, Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation is a 501(c)3 charitable and educational tax-exempt organization, independent from the Fraternity, whose mission is to link members with resources to help them reach their fullest potential and to make a difference in the world. Created by Thetas for Thetas, Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation is dedicated to raising money for scholarships, educational and leadership grants, and financial hardship grants for our Kappa Alpha Theta members.

Awarding more than $1 million annually, what began as a means of raising funds to support the philanthropic and educational opportunities for members of the Fraternity continues today as a pillar of support for its individual members, chapters, and the Fraternity at large.

The Zeta Mu chapter supports Theta Foundation through our annual fundraisers by sharing a portion of our proceeds with Theta Foundation. In return, Theta Foundation supports the Fraternity, helping to make the Fraternity's educational and leadership programs possible through an annual grant. Theta Foundation's vision is to one day be able to give every Theta the opportunity to make a difference. For this reason, the Fraternity and its members recognize the importance of supporting Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation in promoting our values of highest scholarship and widest influence for good.

The Friendship Fund

The Friendship Fund provides gifts to Thetas experiencing extreme financial hardship due to serious or terminal illness, job loss, natural disaster, and other devastating occurrences. Two members write on the behalf of a sister, and the Friendship Fund committee determines the award amount. The requesters remain anonymous, and all records are confidential.

CASA

Theta's national philanthropy is CASA, which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates. CASA is a group of trained community volunteers appointed by a judge to speak up for abused and neglected children in court. With the information provided by CASA volunteers, judges are able to make informed and timely decisions as to what is best for the child so these children still have a chance at the best childhood possible. Every year, CASA volunteers help approximately 280,000 abused or neglected children find safe and permanent homes. To learn more about CASA please visit the CASA national website.

Theta college and alumnae chapters help CASA by raising money for CASA programs, providing office support, organizing fundraisers for toys or items for CASA children, and by becoming CASA volunteers themselves. In 1990, the U.S. Congress encouraged the expansion of CASA with passage of the Victims of Child Abuse Act. Today more than 900 CASA programs are in operation, with 62,000 women and men serving as CASA volunteers.

National CASA has received support from the Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation since 1989. Since selecting CASA as our philanthropy, we continue to provide funds for a variety of projects, including start-up grants and a public awareness video.

Philanthropy

COVID-19 Community Service

We have been in the midst of unprecedented times with COVID-19. Our traditional efforts and events to help our community have been cancelled in an effort to keep both our sisters and our community members safe. However, as a chapter we still value helping our community and as such have come up with creative ways to virtually raise money for causes we are passionate about. During IAP 2021, we partnered with MIT fraternity Phi Beta Epsilon to raise over $7000 dollars for the Greater Boston Food Bank, combating rising food insecurity as a result of the pandemic. We accomplished this by hosting a virtual 5k, having fun and getting outside even if we did so from locations all around the world.

Cake Pops for CASA

Every spring, our sisters sell delicious cake pops in MIT's Student Center and Lobby 10. Baking and decorating cake pops is extremely time-intensive, yet creative and fun. It's a great way for sisters to donate their time, while spending time with each other. All the proceeds go to Theta’s National Philanthropy partner CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates, which is an organization that positively impacts the lives of many foster children.

Grill-Off

Grill-off is our chapter's spring philanthropy event. Each year, we choose a different charity to support that is important to our sisters, such as organizations like the ALS Association and the American Cancer Society. Student organizations can form teams to raise money in the initial fundraising stage. Those who raise the most money are given ingredients of their choosing and a grill to compete for who can sell the most burgers.

CASA Gala

CASA Gala is our chapter's new signature philanthropy event. Boston's Kappa Alpha Theta chapters unite to host an evening full of fun, food and entertainment. The event draws in guests that come to enjoy the performances by fantastic student groups and support CASA. The CASA Gala is an inspirational night that brings together important Boston figures, CASA advocates, donors, and children.

Finals Care Packages

Thetas help their classmates and friends by selling care packages in MIT's Lobby 10. For only a few dollars, any member of the MIT community can order a care package—consisting of snacks, school supplies, and stress relievers—to be delivered to a friend on campus. Finals care packages raise at least $700 for CASA every year.

Service is a huge part of Kappa Alpha Theta. We come together to support our national philanthropies (CASA, Friendship Fund, and Theta Foundation), as well service organizations in the Boston area. Each month we hold a philanthropy or service event—we think it’s a great way to spend time with each other while learning more about the MIT and Boston community. Thetas believe it’s incredibly important to take a break from school to put time back into the community. Beyond supporting our national philanthropies, we also volunteer our time as FPOP counselors, Orientation captains, and CityDays Leaders. We lead almost every service group on campus, including Camp Kesem, Global Poverty Initiative (GPI), and Habitat for Humanity to name a few.

Service takes a different shape for every sister—some volunteer at the Greater Boston Food Bank, teach classes to local youth through MIT's ESP mentoring program, participate in Relay for Life, or support Fenway Park. While we love to volunteer as a chapter, individual sisters have even coordinated Typhoon Haiyan and Hurricane Katrina relief efforts with MIT community.

With the support of 130 sisters, we can make almost any service idea happen! Sisters have done everything from judging middle school science fair projects to putting together DNA Lego Kits to send to local schools.

Each semester, we aim to complete over 500 hours of community service as a chapter. Join us!