Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.® to Present Over $1.6 Million to HBCU Presidents During Black History Month

CHICAGO, Jan. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (AKA), in partnership with the Educational Advancement Foundation (EAF), is pleased to announce the establishment of the AKA-HBCU Endowment Fund. The fund was created on behalf of the nation's oldest historically African-American sorority in an effort to assist in the financial stability of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Over the course of the next four years, AKA-HBCU Endowment Fund has pledged to distribute $10 million in financial support to 96 accredited institutions. On February 28, 2019, presidents from 32 of the participating HBCUs will receive the first installment of the endowment gift in the amount of $50,000 at the Alpha Kappa Alpha International Headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.

"As an HBCU graduate and someone who has dedicated my life's work to the HBCU community, I personally know that the financial challenges of many institutions have an impact on student enrollment, retention and graduation rates," said Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. International President Dr. Glenda Glover. "Implementing an endowment fund is a critical need and has been a priority for my administration since I took office last year. Alpha Kappa Alpha's 111-year history is deeply interwoven into the history of HBCUs and therefore it is imperative that we continue to invest in these treasured institutions."  

The endowment fund is one of many components of Alpha Kappa Alpha's international platform under Dr. Glover's leadership whose focus is Exemplifying Excellence Through Sustainable Service. The fund falls under the organization's target HBCU for Life: A Call to Action, which aims to promote HBCUs by encouraging students to attend and matriculate through these institutions as a sustainability measure.

Presidents from the 32 HBCUs that will join Dr. Glover and sorority leadership during the Black History Month program represent: Albany State University, Alcorn State University, American Baptist College, Bennett College for Women, Chicago State University, Coppin State University, Fayetteville State University, Florida Memorial University, Fort Valley State University, Grambling State University, Harris-Stowe State University, Le Moyne-Owen College, Lincoln University, Livingstone College, Miles College, Mississippi Valley State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University, Philander Smith College, Savannah State University, Shaw University, South Carolina State University, Southern University at New Orleans, St. Augustine's University, Stillman College, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Voorhees College, West Virginia State University, Wilberforce University, Wiley College, Paul Quinn College and Edward Waters College.

The program will include a tour of the recently renovated Ivy Center International Headquarters in the historic Hyde Park neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.

In further commemoration of Black History Month, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the Educational Advancement Foundation encourage education advocates globally to support the advancement of America's HBCUs, which have served as a cornerstone in the Black community since 1837. In partnership with EAF, Alpha Kappa Alpha hopes to leave a lasting legacy for the next generation of leaders through the AKA-HBCU Endowment Fund. On September 17, 2018, Alpha Kappa Alpha achieved a record-breaking, single-day goal of raising over $1.2 million to support its $10 million goal in providing support to the nation's HBCUs. For more information about the endowment or to contribute to the Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation, visit www.AKAEAF.org.

About Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (AKA) is an international service organization that was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1908. It is the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African-American college-educated women. Alpha Kappa Alpha is comprised of nearly 300,000 members in more than 1,000 graduate and undergraduate chapters in the United States, Liberia, the Bahamas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Germany, South Korea, Bermuda, Japan, Canada, South Africa and the Middle East. Led by International President Glenda Glover, Ph.D., JD, CPA, Alpha Kappa Alpha is often hailed as "America's premier Greek-letter organization for African-American women." For more information on Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and its programs, visit AKA1908.com.

About Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation 
The Educational Advancement Foundation was founded in 1980 by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, an organization with a rich and distinguished history of service that spans more than a century. Creating the Educational Advancement Foundation was the method by which Alpha Kappa Alpha sought to ensure that there would always be support for education, its oldest program of service. Today, the Foundation, a financially strong and viable organization, is a powerful tool for good, pooling the resources of others who share this vision of providing a perpetual source of support for education. For more information on Educational Advancement Foundation and its programs, visit www.AKAEAF.org.

SOURCE Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

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