Virginia Leadership Fellows Project
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated
South Atlantic Region
“Sankofa: Extending Delta’s Fortitude”
March 25, 2014
The purpose and identified need for the Virginia Fellows projects are to heighten awareness
around and support the need to “Reclaim our Community.” All Sorors in the State of Virginia,
via local chapters, will be asked to participate.
Sankofa means we must go back and reclaim our past so we can move forward- so we
understand why and how we came to be who we are today. The symbol of Sankofa is that of a
bird whose head is faced in the opposite direction of its body. This emphasizes the fact that
even though the bird is advancing, it periodically makes it a point to examine/return to its past,
given this is the only way for one to have a better future.
The State of Virginia Fellows consists of 20 members:
Tonja Ancrum
Theresa Baker
Beverly Booker
Loreisha Cooper
Anna M. Gee
*Co-Chairs
Tarah C. Johnson*
Joann Lewis-Nixon
Brittany Lowery
Joyce Massenburg
Danielle Miles
Cassandra Murphy*
Kyleah Parsons
DeMia P. Pressley*
Natonya Robinson-Williams
Latroyal Smith
Stacey Towns
Monique White
Thomila Wilson
Mara M. Winters
Cassandra Wright
Each person presents with a unique opportunity to contribute to the team via empowerment,
active participation, sharing of unique ideas, and experiences with Sorors in other parts of the
world.
Sankofa Project
VA Leadership Fellows
Part I: Project Design
Who- The intended audience:
 Students at international schools and/or in international communities, specifically Haiti
and Ethiopia.
What- The task(s) at hand:
 The Virginia Fellows Projects are designed to live the concept of “Sankofa,” while
enriching the lives of children in a select region of Africa and Haiti. The projects also
have two unique focuses.
o Fall project:
 Collection of monetary donations to support the purchase of school
uniforms
 Collection of school supplies and non-perishable healthy snacks
 All donations will go to benefit the new Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Incorporated Elementary School in a remote village in
Cherette, Haiti. The Cherette campus school bears the name of our
24th National President, Cynthia Marie Butler McIntyre and is in
collaboration with WEI- Water and Education International. To
help put the location of the school in perspective, the campus is
located 96 miles Port au Prince.
o Spring Project:
 Collection of dolls for young girls in Ethiopia.
 Two villages have been identified in Ethiopia where two Alpha Eta
Chapter, Virginia State University Sorors reside and work. With
such close contacts, our sorority will be able to track the impact of
our donations and get reliable updates over time.
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The two Virginia Fellows projects support the Five Point Thrust Program for DST:
o International Awareness & Involvement
 Haiti is located between Cuba and Puerto Rico. Africa is located south of
Europe and between the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Ethiopia,
specifically, is in east-central Africa.
o Educational Development
 The literacy rate is just over 50% and higher for boys than girls. With the
shortage of educational supplies, this project will assist in helping to
provide resources that will help mobilize and enhance the focus of
education.
 Many of the children in Ethiopia work to support their families and less
than half are still enrolled in school by 5th grade. The majority of families
live in rural areas with little to no access to games and children’s resources
as we know them in the United States. Dolls will help the young girls
build on their self-esteem and dream of who they can become.
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Economic Development
 Given the amount of poverty in each of the identified regions of the world,
any resources we can donate though the “Sankofa” Project will help the
groups expand its ability to do more for more. If the project is selected as
a Regional or National project, we will contribute to the economic growth
of the organizations we serve many times over and from one year to the
next.
Physical & Mental Health
 Education and positive development of the self-esteem of children
contributes to their overall physical and mental health. When children are
in school, they are generally safer and learning in a loving and caring
environment. With our group’s focus on education, self-esteem, and
providing healthy foods and snacks, we are indeed promoting better
physical and mental health.
Political Awareness & Involvement
 Anything you do that involves partnerships with groups and organizations
outside of your own tends to be political in nature. The amount of
collaborative work, negotiation, time, and energy that go into ensuring the
success of projects geared at helping people, especially in varying regions
of the world, takes a lot of politicking. For our group, this involves
identifying people resources locally, nationally, and internationally, in
addition to business resources that can aid in shipping and other logistics
to the end user.
When- Time-frame for execution:
 October 2013 (Launch) to March 2014 (Culminate)
o October, November & December- DST School in Haiti
o January, February, and March- Village Project in Ethiopia
o February 22, 2014
 Pictures and project updates/reports due
 Fellows will acknowledge all participating chapters at the Spring
State meeting
Where- Place of activities and execution:
 Statewide with individual chapter-level implementation
 Two state touch-points- Founders Day, if approved, and Spring State Meeting
How- Logistics
 Sell projects and seek buy-in from chapter presidents.
o Provide implementation handouts that can be used to execute Virginia Fellows
“Projects/Recipes in a Box.” Chapters may decide to complete one or both
projects.
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Collaborate with chapter presidents to access contact information for each chapter’s
International Awareness & Involvement (IAI) chairperson(s) or the chapter president’s
point of contact (POC) for the same.
Conference with IAI chairpersons and/or POC to describe projects and seek support for
implementation.
Partner with Founders Day host/region leadership - if approved- for a Founders Day
touch-point. This touch-point can also serve as a collection point for the Fall ProjectDST school in Haiti.
Partner with the State Meeting host chapter/region leadership- if approved- for a spring
touch-point if necessary.
Part II: Project Execution
Who- Participants:
 The Sankofa Project was blessed to have support from individual chapters, as well as
area-wide collaborations.
 Chapter participants include:
o Charlottesville Alumnae
o Denbigh Alumnae
o Fairfax County Alumnae
o Fredericksburg Area Alumnae
o Henrico Alumnae
o Lawrenceville Alumnae
o Lynchburg Alumnae
o Newport News Alumnae
o Northern Virginia Alumnae
o Petersburg Alumnae
o Portsmouth Alumnae
o Richmond Alumnae
o Roanoke Alumnae
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Area-wide collaborations:
o Hampton Roads Area participants:
 Chesapeake-Virginia Beach Alumnae Chapter
 Denbigh Alumnae
 Franklin Tri-County Alumnae Chapter
 Norfolk Alumnae Chapter
 Petersburg Alumnae Chapter
 Portsmouth Alumnae Chapter
 Smithfield Alumnae Chapter
 Suffolk Alumnae Chapter
 Virginia Beach Alumnae Chapter
o Northern Virginia Area Wide Founders Day participants:
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Fairfax County Alumnae Chapter
Fredericksburg Area Alumnae
Loudoun County Alumnae Chapter
Northern Virginia Alumnae Chapter
Prince William County Alumnae Chapter
What- Collections:
o Chapters continue to report their collections
o Over $4,000 donated for the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated
Elementary School
o Over 200 dolls collected for Andinet International School in Ethiopia
o Multiple boxes of school supplies donated
When- Time-frame for execution:
 October 2013 (Launch) to May 2014 (Culminate)
 Upon implementation, some chapters decided to extend collections and end this program
at the end of the sorority year
Where- Place of activities and execution:
 Statewide with individual chapter-level implementation
 Area-wide programs
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