Sigma Gamma Rho sorority to celebrate 100 years with day of service, swim clinic in Indy

Divine 9 sorority Sigma Gamma Rho is set to hold its Centennial Celebration in Indianapolis this week.

Indianapolis is where it all began for Sigma Gamma Rho, one of the sororities in the National Pan-Hellenic Council, or historically Black sororities and fraternities, nicknamed "The Divine 9." Founded at Butler University in 1922, Sigma Gamma Rho is the only sorority in the Divine 9 founded in the Midwest, said Rasheeda Liberty, International Grand Basileus of the organization said.

Liberty said dedication to empowering women, the security and safety of children and the fact that the seven founding members all studied education — making Sigma Gamma Rho a hallmark for educators — remain the heart and soul of the sorority.

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“Our principles are sisterhood, scholarship and service,” Liberty said, “and so our thrust is mainly community impact.”

What started out as a small, historically Black sorority at a PWI — or predominantly white institution — has grown internationally, with over 500 chapters worldwide, Liberty said. 

Liberty said Sigma Gamma Rho has been planning for their Centennial Celebration for seven years. Taking place July 12-17, current sorority membership and affiliates aim to uplift the community with seven events across the city, including community workshops, a swimming clinic and a Day of Service.

Kicking off the celebrations on July 12 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Butler University will host Thee Homecoming, open to the public, where a monument honoring the seven founding members of Sigma Gamma Rho will be revealed. Liberty said the monument comes just months after the founding members were awarded honorary doctorates by the university.

Sorority members and affiliates will also be digging up a time capsule and replacing it with a new one, which will be opened again every 25 years.

SWIM 1922 clinic aims to decrease drowning rates

The Centennial’s signature event is the SWIM 1922 clinic, held in partnership with U.S. Swimming. Liberty said the clinic aims to help teach younger children who lack access to a community pool or lessons on how to swim.

“It’s about the security and safety of youth,” Liberty said. “So when we think about swimming, swimming is the only sport that actually has dual benefits, meaning that it will keep you healthy but it will also save your life.”

Liberty said Sigma Gamma Rho began this initiative in 2012 due to the fact that Black children in underrepresented and non-affluent neighborhoods tend to drown at higher rates due to a lack or resources such as pools and not having access to learn how to swim, according to the CDC.

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“One of the things that we're focused on to take our project bigger is creating those pools in those communities,” she said, “where they can have free services and children can be exposed to water and learn how to swim now.”

Liberty said the sorority has been in partnership with U.S.A. Swimming for 10 years and has developed four Olympic swimmers, including Natalie Hinds, who medaled at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and Maritza McClendon, the first Puerto Rican woman of African descent to join the U.S. Olympic swim team.

The clinic will be held July 13 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the IUPUI Natatorium. The clinic is open to the public and parents can register their children at sgrho100.org/registration.

Serving the community

Sorority members and affiliates will place an emphasis on uplifting the community as part of their Greater Impact on Indianapolis by partnering with several local nonprofit organizations during Wednesday's Impact Day and Day of Service events, said Angela White-Randolph, Centennial Day of Service Chair for Sigma Gamma Rho, Inc.

"We invited the community to join us," she said. "But 1,600 registered volunteers are from our sorority organization, our affiliates, our friends."

Volunteers perform acts of service with nonprofit organizations such as making no-sew blankets for children in local hospitals in partnership with March of Dimes and working in food pantries with Flanner House and the Boys & Girls Club of Indianapolis.

"We will be interacting and helping the staff with items such as outdoor activities," White-Randolph said, "whether it be painting, whether it be gardening, whether it be cleanup or helping build things that they might need."

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White-Randolph said international chapters of Sigma Gamma Rho will be coming into Indianapolis to celebrate and join in the Impact Day as well as members from each of the other Divine 9 sororities and fraternities across the country.

“We have our business sessions, our own business meetings,” Liberty said, “but we also have a workshop Wednesday where we talk about community impact, and those are community workshops that are open to the public.”

The community workshops, taking place July 13, will include various topics such as financial health, mental wellness, entrepreneurship and career planning, Liberty said. On July 14, Sigma Gamma Rho will hold a Political Action Forum where they will discuss human trafficking.

Learn more about the Sigma Gamma Rho Centennial Celebration

Additional events for the Centennial Celebration include a block party, a Step Show, a 5K run/walk and the Rhoer Debutant Showcase. Although most of the events are free and open to the public, Liberty said there would be some activities reserved for organization members only.

A full schedule of events can be found at sgrho100.org.

Contact IndyStar reporter Chloe McGowan at CWilkersonMcGowan@gannett.com. Follow her Twitter: @chloe_mcgowanxx.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Sigma Gamma Rho to hold Centennial celebration in Indianapolis