Providing alumni with the opportunity to give back and get more involved with their alma mater, Oklahoma Christian University’s Homeward Pride, a competition within Alumni Relations, announced this year’s winners on March 31.
Delta Gamma Sigma took first place in this year’s competition, while second and third place went to Chi Lambda Phi and Theta Theta Theta, respectively.
Each year, the social clubs on campus choose a passion project, which the money from the alumni goes toward. The purpose of the competition is to encourage the social service clubs on campus to reach out and reconnect with their alumni. However, alumni funds can also be given to specific clubs or Oklahoma Christian funds in general.
Annual Giving Coordinator Aimee Furrie said she encourages graduates to give back to their alma mater as it will increase Oklahoma Christian’s ranking in “US News & World Report.”
“A higher ranking means more partnership opportunities for faculty and students, more grant dollars for academic and service projects and a higher valued degree for our grads,” Furrie said.
Furrie said alumni should get involved, because the Oklahoma Christian experience reaches far beyond four years of school.
“Once you are an Eagle, you are an Eagle for life,” Furrie said. “For our awesome grads, there are several avenues in which they get involved—Homeward and Homeward Pride is one great route.”
Delta won the competition in 2014 and 2017, with Psi Epsilon winning in 2015 and 2016. Furrie said these are not only wins for the social clubs, but also for Oklahoma Christian as well.
“Supporting Kingdom-building projects across campus and cultivating relationships between fellow Eagles is a win on its own” Furrie said.
In November, the clubs hosted Giving Tuesday, the first event of the Homeward Pride campaign. Giving Tuesday is set aside to contact the alumni and inform them of the upcoming events, specifically Homeward Pride, and inform them of the individual clubs’ well being and progress.
Homeward Pride officially beings during with the spring semester and lasts two months, with clubs contacting their alumni. Clubs compete to see who can get the most alumni to give back to their former club.
“My role as an officer is to encourage Iota alumni to give back and encourage them, hopefully, to give back to our Iota mission award that we started last year,” Iota Kappa Phi Alumni Director Casey Lind said.
Iota’s missions project this year is to send one of their members on a mission trip over the summer. According to Lind, Iota contacted their alumni this year through Facebook, text and email.
“Since our club is only 10 years old, most of our alumni are millennials, we figured a text might be better than a phone call,” Lind said.
Lind said her club set aside Giving Tuesday and another day this spring to text and reach out to alumni.
“I have really enjoyed contacting the alumni,” Lind said. “It is fun to see what Iota has been in the personality of the women who have made it what it is now.”
Lind said Iota used the hype and excitement of the club’s Spring Sing victory earlier this spring to encourage alumni to give back.
“It is something tangible they can see – encourage them to give back to God, and this organization and Oklahoma Christian in general,” Lind said. “Whichever club has the largest monetary amount given by alumni during Homeward Pride gets money. If you get at least 50 new grad givers, every club gets $500.”
Below are the passion projects for each social service club on the Oklahoma Christian campus:
Alpha Gamma Omega — Alpha Knights Treasury
Chi Lambda Phi — Adam Langford Scholarship
Delta Gamma Sigma — Delta Scholarship
Gamma Rho — Gamma Service Award
Iota Kappa Phi — Iota Mission Award
Kappa Sigma Tau — Welcome Home Kits for International Students
Phi Omega Nu — Community Garden
Pi Zeta Phi — HonduraServe
Psi Epsilon — Psi Samurai Scholarship
Tri-Theta — John Thompson Scholarship.
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