Over 10,000 Members Of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Coming To Charlotte For Biennial Conference

CHICAGO - April 22, 2014 - PRLog -- Chicago, Illinois – - April 22, 2014 - Over 10,000 members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority -- dressed in their signature pink and green colors -- will converge upon Charlotte, North Carolina from July 12-18 for its biennial conference.

Alpha Kappa Alpha is America's first Greek-letter organization founded by African-American college-educated women and is one of the world’s leading service organizations.

In addition to members from the United States and over 600 from Charlotte and the surrounding areas, those from as far as Germany, Japan, South Korea, and South Africa are expected to descend upon the Queen City. They will spend the week attending to the organization’s business and serving the community.

The weeklong conference will be held at the Charlotte Convention Center.

International President Carolyn House Stewart will preside over the weeklong event, whose theme is: “A Royal Celebration of Global Leadership and Timeless Service.”

It is the first time in Alpha Kappa Alpha’s 106-year history that the convention is being held in Charlotte – or the entire state of North Carolina.  Hosting the conference in Charlotte is in recognition of the city’s emergence as a major metropolis and convention hub.

Paralleling the Sorority's program theme, “Global Leadership Through Timeless Service,” the Sorority will host a Town Hall on Sunday, July 13 that is open to the public.  This event will feature a panel of leaders who will engage the audience on the issue of civil rights and voter rights.  The Sorority will also host a youth summit on Saturday, July 12, where members will facilitate a discussion and host activities geared toward addressing issues impacting young people. Another feature of the Conference will be a public meeting to be held on Sunday, July 13. Its purpose is to acquaint the area with the Sorority’s mission and impressive record of service on a local, regional, national and global arena. Awards will be presented to international leaders during this event, which is free and open to the public.

As an extension of the Sorority’s mission ‘to serve all mankind,’ the Sorority’s service project on July 12 will honor International Nelson Mandela Day. Members will tackle global hunger through a project with STOP HUNGER NOW where they will package meals and other vital necessities to be sent to rural global areas where there is a dire need. This service project is part of the STOP HUNGER NOW meal packaging program, which was created to give dedicated individuals the opportunity to participate in a hands-on international hunger relief program and to become educated, engaged advocates for the world’s poor and hungry. STOP HUNGER NOW is an organization that provides food and life saving aid to the world’s most vulnerable and aims to create a movement to end hunger. The Sorority is seeking 1,000 volunteers from the community to assist in packaging the meals that will be sent to global areas in need.

On Friday, July 11, on the eve of the official start of the conference, the Sorority’s Board of Directors will underscore its commitment to environmental sustainability by planting trees at Johnson C. Smith University. This initiative represents an outgrowth of a partnership the Sorority has with the Arbor Day Foundation.

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About Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Alpha Kappa Alpha boasts over 265,000 women in 985 chapters in the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, Germany, Bermuda, South Korea, the Bahamas, Japan and on the continent of Africa. All are bound by the Sorority’s commitment to serve all mankind. Its membership includes a wide array of outstanding luminaries who cross several disciplines and industries. Among its high-profile members are Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia; poets Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou, Dr. Mae Jemison, first woman of color to travel into space, actresses Phylicia Rashad, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys. Political leaders that are members include Congresswomen Sheila Jackson Lee, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Terri Sewell and Frederica Wilson. The late civil rights champions Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks and Septima Poinsette Clark were also members. Attorney Carolyn House Stewart is the 27th International President. Under her leadership, in 2013, members volunteered 1.4 million hours of service in communities all over the globe. For more information, log on to www.aka1908.com.

About Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Charlotte area host chapters:

Alpha Kappa Alpha serves the Charlotte area and surrounding cities/communities through 20 chapters. Of this total, there are13 graduate chapters, which are located in Charlotte, Concord, Gastonia, Salisbury, Winston Salem, Greensboro, Asheville, Hickory, Durham, Hillsborough North Carolina. Two chapters from Danville, Va, and Chesterfield, Va., are also serving as hostess chapters.  The seven undergraduate chapters are at Johnson C. Smith University, the University of NC-Charlotte, Queens College, Davidson College, Livingstone College, Appalachian State University and Western Carolina University. The chapters serve the communities through a wide range of programs including the Emerging Young Leaders (EYL™), which focuses on imparting valuable life lessons to elementary school-aged girls. Chapters also provide scholarships to college-bound students, sponsor reading programs for elementary school students and for afterschool tutorial programs for middle school students. The chapters also sponsor canned food drives, health fairs, volunteer at women’s shelters, promote voter registration drives and hold voter education forums. They also organize an Entrepreneur’s Conference to promote Economic Security.  All totaled, members donated thousands of hours and dollars to programs that benefit residents through North Carolina and Virginia.  The hostess chapters are part of Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Mid-Atlantic Region. Linda H. Gilliam of Richmond, Va., is the Regional Director.