GUIDING THE WAY FOR THOSE WHO Come
Next
OUR HISTORY
Building on a Legacy
We got our start back in 1873 in Oxford, Mississippi at the Lewis School for Girls. It was the holiday break and everyone was home with their families except three young women:
Anna, Mary and Eva.
OUR FOUNDERS
They were stuck at school because of a pandemic in their hometown and impassable roads. Even though they didn’t have their loved ones around, they had each other.
So they decided to make it official, founding what they called a “club of mutual helpfulness” whose purpose was to “do good.”
Over that holiday break, our three founding sisters formed the foundation for our Fraternity, deciding on the anchor badge and Initiation, writing our constitution, and choosing the letters Delta Gamma to stand for “do good.”
OUR INSPIRATION
Women of Character
Delta Gamma's sisterhood continues to inspire women through the values that were built into what we call Article II of our very first Constitution:
LIVE DELTA GAMMA
Sisters live out these values each day in their own way.
Here are some examples.
Friendship is essential.
What makes Delta Gamma so special is that the relationships our members build go deeper than the traditional friendship.
The bonds are unwavering. The support systems that are cultivated are strong and last a lifetime. At each new member’s Initiation, she promises to be there for her sisters in every high and low of life.
Chapters regularly hold sisterhood events, where women are given the opportunity to socialize and focus on friendship and fun. On a deeper level, chapters hold “fireside chats” and "DG Dialogues" where women can really create deep and meaningful friendships through intentional conversations.
In light of COVID-19 creating a world where so much of our connecting is being done through virtual means, the Delta Gamma Pen Pal program was created. It serves to connect sisters offline. It is a great way to foster lasting relationships that can span generations, chapters, and geographic location. Through letters exchanged between sisters, we strive to further the bonds of sisterhood. As a Delta Gamma Pen Pal, sisters are randomly paired with two DG sisters with whom they exchange written letters sent through snail mail.
Whether together or apart, a Delta Gamma woman is never alone.
As a whole, Delta Gamma makes it easy to prioritize academics, as well as have a study abroad experience and be a member.
Thousands of sisters grow through their travel experiences and share their journeys and findings with other sisters. And from the financial side, when initiated collegians leave campus for academic pursuits, like studying abroad or co-op, they’re considered Excused Status, and pay reduced dues and fees.
DGs have many opportunities to immerse themselves in new cultures on the home front too. For example, we love that Sofia Perez, Eta Upsilon-Drexel, hosted a Venezuelan cultural immersion program to introduce her chapter to her family’s culture. Becca and Annie, members of Epsilon Phi-Loyola, chartered the Women in STEM club on their campus, Loyola’s first STEM student group. Examples like this are alive in our chapters across the U.S. and Canada!
Delta Gamma is committed to creating an equitable and inclusive environment for all women who believe in our shared values.
This commitment includes our service and philanthropic efforts to provide aid to the visually impaired community, as well as taking measures to eliminate barriers to inclusion and access to membership in our organization. If those are also personal priorities for you, we would love for you to be a part of our sisterhood.
Our popular Hope Serving trips shine a spotlight on social responsibility.
Hope Serving is a service learning experience that offers Delta Gammas the opportunity to develop as leaders on a local, regional and (inter)national level. These trips encourages learning and critical thinking through hands-on service, community involvement and civic and social justice education.
Delta Gamma doesn’t force a woman to change, but she will grow and develop as a collegiate member in more ways than she thought were possible.
Across the world, Delta Gamma women are leaders in their organizations and communities — and those leadership skills are formed beginning right here within our collegiate chapters. The best qualities of character are strengthened at DG Institute each summer. Delta Gamma Institute and Lewis Institute. Leaders from all collegiate chapters take part in this leadership event focused on personal/professional development and leadership skills. They explore values congruence, identify their strengths, discuss conflict resolution and develop an action plan for returning to their chapters and leading adaptive change.
Delta Gamma Fraternity is committed to cultivating an inclusive and equitable environment and experience for our members, potential new members and communities. In our membership selection processes and in the life-long membership experience, Delta Gamma Fraternity and its members do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, color, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, physical disability or other protected identities. Membership is open to all individuals who identify as women and who have a sincere desire to uphold our shared values, as outlined in Article II. We resolve to eliminate inequities and address behaviors that do not align with our values.