Page 22 - 1920 May - To Dragma

TO PRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 207

ALUMNA FORUM

T H E Committee on National Alumna? Work makes the following sugges-
tions and asks f o r your discussion and consideration. A d d your opinion so
that a decision can be made which w i l l be satisfactory to you.

What do you know about "Scholarships f o r Children"? Write to the Chil-
dren's Bureau, U . S. Department of Labor, Washington, D . C , for pamphlets.

What are the possibilities for Child Welfare W o r k i n your community?
What about a house f u n d for our newer chapters who are starting to own
their own houses? Could we help raise such a loan f u n d ?

* +*

Since the last report in February, contributions have been received f r o m Eta,
Lambda, and Upsilon to cover the expense of sending the magazine to their
alumna;. The committee appreciates their cooperation.

Only fifty-eight o f the fourteen hundred copies of November issue were re-
turned as undeliverable. H e l p to improve this record by reporting your change
of address to the Grand Secretary. Remember the Directory appears as the
September number.

* **

As to Americanization or child adoption, the social agencies, such as State
Charities A i d Associations, etc., have much better permanent machinery f o r
carrying out the necessary investigations and follow-up work.

Can we narrow ourselves down to one activity, as alumna? work? Can we
not decide on two or three things, and thus hold the interest of our alumna?
body, f o r that is one of the chief aims o f national alumna? work to unite our
members for a definite purpose? The m a j o r i t y of our alumna? chapters are
doing individual charity work, but all o f i t must necessarily be determined by
local needs and interests. I n addition we should have some work o f broader
national scope, which w i l l unite us a l l .

The first suggestion is to help our National Vocational Guidance Committee,
which is m a k i n g such a splendid start under the chairmanship of M a r y Daniel-
son. This would mean to have a local Vocational Guidance Committee as a
part o f each alumna: chapter, which would work with the national committee
and the chairman o f which should ally herself w i t h the similar committee of
the local branch of the Association of Collegiate A l u m n x , thus not only work-
ing for Alpha Omicron Pi's interests, but with a big national movement. There
are many cases of isolated alumnre, who are l i v i n g where there are no branches
of the A . C. A . The alumna? officer should write to them and ask that one at
least j o i n the A . C. A . vocational guidance committee, i f possible, and keep in
touch with the chairman of our committee.

The suggestion of a Scholarship F u n d as alumna? w o r k has been made.
Some oppose because they have felt that we were n a r r o w i n g our interests to
our own fraternity or because individual chapters are doing this in their own
colleges. Could we, as a f r a t e r n i t y make a contribution towards higher educa-
tion f o r women as a whole and thereby j u s t i f y our existence as a f r a t e r n i t y by
providing a graduate scholarship of $500 to be awarded possibly every second
year through the Association o f Collegiate Alumna?? T h i s might be awarded
specifically to a student (whether belonging to A O I I or not) preparing herself
f o r work in some Social Welfare W o r k or Americanization or some field to be
determined by a committee. By awarding the scholarship through the A . C. A.,
the standard of requirements would be on a par w i t h those required f o r the
others, awarded through this organization.