HR0153 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0153 LRB100 11547 MST 22135 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to recognize the 40th anniversary of the Glen Ellyn Area Alumnae Chapter (GEAAC) of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. on February 18, 2017; and

WHEREAS, GEAAC is a group of college educated women who hold various careers, and who work together as an organization to enrich the lives of others; they have awarded hundreds of college scholarships to deserving young men and women seeking to further their education; they have provided countless hours of community service, using their collective talents and resources to provide free programs, assistance, and services throughout the western suburbs of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, GEAAC was conceived over brown bag lunches at Irving School in Maywood in 1976; it was chartered in January of 1977 by 24 women and now has over 250 members; it serves the western suburbs of Chicago, including towns in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Will, and DeKalb counties; and

WHEREAS, During the early years, some of GEAAC's public service projects included, food baskets for families in need at Thanksgiving and Christmas, weekly story hour at Loyola's Children's Hospital, serving and assisting in shelters, Toy Disco, assistance at the Baptist Nursing Home, book drives, compiling and submitting lists of African-American books to public schools, and contributions to the DuPage County NAACP; and

WHEREAS, The first major fundraiser for GEAAC was a talent competition in 1979 known as Miss Jabberwock; over the years programs, outreach, and community partnerships have been expanded to help meet the needs of the community, including hosting the Mental Health Resource Fair and community discussions at Riveredge Hospital; and

WHEREAS, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. was founded on January 13, 1913 as a non-profit organization whose purpose is to provide assistance and support through established programs in local communities throughout the world; a sisterhood of more than 300,000 predominately Black college-educated women; it currently has over 1,000 chapters located in the United States, England, Japan, Germany, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the Republic of Korea; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the 40th anniversary of the Glen Ellyn Area Alumnae Chapter (GEAAC) of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and we wish them many more successful years; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to GEAAC as an expression of our esteem and respect.