Committee Corner

Emergency Response Team

In May, members of Richland County Alumnae’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) and Physical and Mental Health (PMH) Committee collaborated to celebrate Women’s Health and Mental Health Month. The celebration included two weeks of mindful moments which consisted of Meditation Monday, Tai Chi Tuesday, Zumba on Wellness Wednesday ,Thankful Thursday, and Family Time Friday. The celebration concluded with a 90 minute “Taking Care of YOU~ A Wellness and Caregivers Support” forum on Saturday, May 15, 2021, via Zoom. This free forum was open to the public and included a 5 minute body-scan meditation, conversations around caregiver support and the importance of recognizing fatigue. The expert panel included Dr. Annette Brown, Founder/CEO of Premier Counseling LLC Janay Price, and Owner/Psychotherapist at Ctrl-Shift-Balance Mental Wellness Shayla Peterson. These professionals offered strategies to prevent caregiver’s burnout, and tips to promote self-care. We received positive feedback from the approximately 30 attendees to confirm this event was needed and appreciated!

Membership Services

Richland County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated 2020 -2021 Honorees

DELTA of the Year

Dr. Shanee Moore

Committee of the Year

“Information/Communications and Technology Committee”

Information and Communication Chairs Jada Hubbard and Crystal Tart Technology Chairs Danielle Cooper and Vyce Johnson

Program of the Year

“Ready, Set, Go”: The Black Women and Girls Conference

International Festival

International Awareness is one of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s Five Point Programmatic Thrust, and on Saturday, June 5, 2021, members of the Richland County Alumnae (RCA) Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. supported the 26th Annual Columbia International Festival (CIF) held at the Columbia Fairgrounds, Columbia, SC. Dr. Raj Aluri, founder, established this festival to promote cultural diversity, realizing the strong role immigrants play within our community.

Although the festival was scaled back due to the pandemic, nearly 100 world cultures were represented. With over 60 international vendors, an international bazaar allowed participants to shop for authentic clothing, jewelry, arts, and crafts. Sixteen countries established an international food court, selling foreign cuisines from around the world. Overall about 8000 people and families came out to enjoy this wonderful cultural event.

Although the Richland County Alumnae Chapter did not officially participate in the event this year, fifteen chapter members served as volunteers to engage the international community with building better communities and promoting positive race relations. Volunteers served as greeters, distributed masks, registration assistants, gate attendants, and food service assistants. Whatever the task, volunteers from our chapter supported the event with smiles and sweet spirits. The World comes together when we put aside differences, appreciating each other for our uniqueness; while realizing we’re all God’s children.

Fun was had by All��

Submitted by, Mamie Hayes Hartwell

Red Diamond Gala

The Red Diamond Gala is Richland County Alumnae Chapter’s signature fundraising event! Since its inception in 1995, this event has afforded the opportunity to provide over $200,000 in scholarships to deserving college and college-bound students.

Our 2021 Red Diamond Gala was a “Zoom’sational” virtual event! It was held on Friday, June 4th at 7pm via Zoom. Included with certain sponsorship levels was an opportunity to engage in an intimate meet & greet with Camm Wess, Season 18 finalist on NBC's The Voice. Camm was interviewed by RCA's own, Dr. Andress Carter-Sims, and participants were able to ask Camm questions about his life and career.

Once the Zoon'sational event began, we enjoyed the soulful sounds of Camm Wess, who shared some original music as well as his own renditions to songs made popular by the likes of John Legend and more. We ended the evening partying with none other than the phenomenal “She-Jay”, DJ T.O., whose performance was unmatched. The night highlighted the chapter’s mission and purpose of impacting the community through scholarship and service.

RCA is grateful for the many corporate sponsors and community partners that supported the chapter in its fundraising efforts. These generous contributions allow RCA to continue to provide programs that impact the service areas of Fairfield, Lexington, Richland, and Newberry Counties. The Red Diamond Scholarship Gala continues to be a dynamic event that helps RCA maintain its mission in serving others.