The Northeast Region Website Launched!

>> Thursday, September 2, 2010

Greetings Sorors,

On Wednesday, September 1st, the redesign of the Northeast Region's website was launched! You may now visit www.sgrhoneregion.org OR www.sgrhoneregion.com to view the site. Check it out and provide feedback using the Contact Form on the "Contact Us" Page. We will continue making improvements and adjustments throughout the sorority year so be sure to check the site often. The new password for the Sigma Download Center will be given post the Area Meetings so it is OKAY to continue using the old password until further notice.

Also be sure to linger on the home page and listen to our very own Soror Diomara Delvalle (Spring 2010) as she performs "On Fire to Serve" a piece she wrote just for the Northeast Region!

Enjoy!




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Our very own Hero!

>> Monday, August 30, 2010

One of Sigma Gamma Rho's several national service projects is the National Bone Marrow Donor Program. Established in 1992, this initiative was developed to address and reduce the number of African American deaths due to a lack of sufficient numbers of race appropriate bone marrow donors. Chapters throughout the country have hosted Bone Marrow Donor Drives in effort to raise money, awareness, and the number of registrants in national registries like the DKMS Americas Bone Marrow registry . One such event in New Haven, CT yielded miraculous results.

Here's the story in Soror Owen's own words...


NERS: Where did you donate? Was it a chapter event?

The closest participating donation center is in New York City, at Ney York Presbyterian Hospital. That is where the donation occurred, on August 10, 2010.
Last May, the chapters of Iota Chi Sigma, Sigma Beta, and Sigma Gamma participated in the NAACP Health Fair at the New Haven Field House, in Connecticut. Our goal of the day was to spread awareness of the National Marrow Donor Program, and encourage people to join the registry. As a national program of our sorority, and knowing the critical need for minority donors, I felt obligated and honored to join the registry. Interestingly enough, only a year later I was called as a possible match for a patient in need of a transplant.


NERS: How did they notify you that you were a match?

I received a call in early May of this year from a NMDP (National Marrow Donor Program) representative who explained to me that I was a possible match for a man who was suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The only details that I received about the patient were his gender and the disease he had. The representative explained the details of the type of donation the patient’s doctor was requesting and that there was also 6 other possible donors. After a lengthy conversation on the donation process and what would be required of me, I was asked if I’d like to continue on with further testing. After I had agreed, I was told that the cheek sample that was sent in when I joined the registry would be used for further testing in locating a more secure match for the patient. After about 4 weeks, I was notified in June that I was a complete match for the patient, and the process for donation began.


NERS: In detail. How did you feel after you were notified?

The first thing I did after I received the news of my donation is to call my mother. She was so happy that I was going to participate in one of the most selfless acts she’s witnessed. Originally, I hadn’t thought of the impact that my possible donation would have on others until I began to receive calls from my family members and friends, telling me just how much this meant to them. At that time, I was both anxious and excited because I realized just how important my participation would be for the patient and his health.


NERS: Tell me about the process of donating.

The first part of the donation begins with much testing of the cheek sample that was sent in when I joined the registry. After I was notified that I was an exact match for the patient, I had to send in blood samples, in which I went to a nearby laboratory where they drew the tubes of blood. A few weeks before the donation, I needed a full physical with blood work, x-rays, and an electrocardiogram (ECG), to ensure that I was healthy enough to donate. Once the results proved that I was healthy enough to proceed, the actual process of the donation began.


There are two types of marrow donation that many people are unaware of. The most common form of donation is the Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC) donation, which is done 75% of the time. The other, more invasive is the Marrow donation, which is only done 25% of the time, and requires surgery. This surgery occurs in the hip bone, where majority of the marrow is formed. It is up to the patient’s doctor which procedure would be done, depending on the needs of the patient. The same cells that are taken from the marrow donation can also be retrieved through the blood stream with a PBSC donation. The patient I donated for required the PBSC donation. This form of donation requires the donor to have a needle placed in each of your arms (I had two needles in one arm). Blood is removed from one needle, sent through a machine that separates the platelets, blood stem cells, white blood cells, plasma, and red blood cells. The machine spins the blood, separating the parts into layers, and the plasma and red blood cells are returned to the donor through the other arm after being warmed. This procedure lasts anywhere from five to eight hours, and can take up to two days.


For four days before the donation, I was required to receive a shot of Filgrastim. This medicine is used to make the bones in the body produce a higher number of blood stem cells and force them into the blood stream. For the first day, I had to travel to Yale New Haven Hospital to receive the first dose to ensure that I wouldn’t have an allergic reaction to the medicine. For the next three days, a registered nurse came to my home to administer the dosage. As a result of the medicine, I felt fatigue and mild muscle and bone pain, due to the cells reproducing at a much faster rate. The day before the donation, I was able to stay in a hotel very close to NY Presbyterian because the donation began at 8 am the next morning.

On the day of the donation, I received another dose of the Filgrastim. After allowing the medicine to travel throughout my body, the donation began. As with any PBSC donation, I received needles in both arms, initially, but because my right arm was having trouble producing blood, I had both needles in one arm. My blood pressure was monitored frequently, and I was treated extremely well. The nurse let me know that I could have any meal I wanted, and each station had a personal television. My parents joined me, so they were excited to see the entire donation. My donation took about six hours.


It took about a week to fully recover from the Filgrastim in my system. I received calls from the NMDP representative as well as the nurse from NY Presbyterian. I felt a bit fatigued, had muscle and bone pain, and a bit of a headache. But other than those very minimal side effects, I felt great!

The National Marrow Donor Program made sure that the expenses (meals during travel, gas, parking) acquired during the entire process would be reimbursed. The hotel stay, as well as any doctor’s visits and hospital time was paid for through the program and the patient.


NERS: Did you get to meet your match or have any contact with them?

Unfortunately, as a donor, you do not get to meet your match. The most you are told is the disease in which they are suffering and their gender. The patient received my donation within 48 hours and I had absolutely no clue where he was. The nurse even mentioned that he could be in the very hospital I was in but neither her or myself knew. Interestingly enough, a year after the donation, upon the patient’s request, we are able to communicate. I was able to express to the NMDP representative that I would love to correspond with him if he chose.


NERS: How does it feel to be a hero?

I don’t necessarily believe in myself as a hero, but a person contributing and adding to the life of someone else. I understand that to many, I could be considered a hero, but what I did was my way of paying it forward. I can only hope that if I was in the same situation as the person I donated to, someone will come to my aid.


I never questioned whether or not I would donate, if it would hurt, or anything of the sort. Every time I was asked, by the representative, if I would continue, I thought of the patient and his family. The procedure and side effects that I’ve endured was nothing compared to the pain, worry, and concern of the patient and his family.

NERS: What would you say to encourage others to become registered donors?

The only thing I could say to encourage others would be to imagine yourself, a family member, or someone close to you going through the process of having to find a donor. There are no guarantees, and any hope is better than no hope at all. Unfortunately, there aren’t many minority donors on the registry. This shortage means that there are thousands of patients desperately waiting for a donor match. With just a quick swab of your cheek, you can potentially save someone’s life. I can only believe that if I was so willing to do this for someone else, someone would be more than willing to do the same for me, or my family.


Dear Soror Shanice Owens,


On behalf of the Northeast Region I commend you for being an outstanding human being and Soror! You are a beacon of light and we are all very proud of you. Well done!


Soror Akintobi
Northeast Region Epistoleus

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Smaller groups, great chances

>> Thursday, August 26, 2010

Forming a tight bond with your chapter sorors seems autonomic in Sigma Gamma Rho. Members naturally gravitate towards each other and are bound by the common goal of making a positive impact on the world around them. Our founders depended on that same bond to support each other through the making of what would be an international sisterhood. Today, large universities around the world are tapping into the benefits of organizations that are based on a lifelong bond. As many students, that attend large universities, struggle to find a niche and a sense of belonging among their peers, chapters of National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations offer a unique opportunity to network and develop leadership skills.

This article discusses the opportunities that NPHC organizations provide and features Soror White's comments and a description of Operation Big Book Bag one of our National Service Initiatives.

Smaller groups, great chances

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Operation Big Book Bag: Serving the Richmond Community

>> Wednesday, August 25, 2010


The Iota Sigma Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. has served the Richmond, Virginia community for over 75 years. This summer was no exception. On August 23rd the members of Iota Sigma including their affiliates, the Rhoer Club and Philos, collaborated with the Northside YMCA (the first predominantly African American YMCA in Richmond) for Operation Big Book Bag.

Operation Big Book Bag is an international service initiative where “sorority members make available, to selected facilities across the nation, book-bags, notebooks, writing and drawing paper, pencils and pens, dictionaries, thesauri, rulers, glue, construction paper, textbooks, encyclopedia, typewriters, computers and many other needed school items.(www.sgrho1922.org, 2010)

The Iota Sigma Chapter provided 75 children with book-bags filled with school supplies for the upcoming school year. Additional supplies were donated to the teachers of Richmond Public Schools. Members of Iota Sigma chapter also volunteered 12 hours to assist with “back to school” shopping with the children of the Northside YMCA and the Brighter Beginnings Programs. Truly adopting the sorority-wide community service theme, “On Fire to Serve”, the members of the Iota Sigma Chapter have pledged to continue their support to the Northside YMCA and the Brighter Beginnings Program throughout the school year.

Well done Sorors!

Submitted by Soror Trina B. Davis, Iota Sigma Chapter
Edited by Soror Shola Akintobi, NER Epistoleus

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Obituary Of Soror Alyce Boyd-Stewart

>> Wednesday, August 18, 2010


Alyce Juanita Boyd-Stewart entered into her eternal rest on August 15, 2010 at the age of 70. She was born in Gadsden, Alabama, on July 19, 1940 and was the eighth child of Horace M. and Everlee Vinson, both of whom pre-deceased her in 1969. Alyce was also pre-deceased by a sister Dorothy and brothers Charles and Terry, all of whom she dearly loved.

She completed her early education in the public school system of Akron, Ohio and went on to earn her bachelors degree from Empire State College, her masters degree in Public Administration, and her Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the University of Baltimore.
Alyce spent her career fighting for the rights of children and the down trodden. She was a tireless civil rights advocate who travel the country addressing the concerns of youth, nurses, and farmers. Her positions included teaching at Kent State University and working for the Cincinnati Human Relation Commission. She worked at the Dept of Health, Education and Welfare, the Dept of Health and Human Services, the Dept of Transportation, and the Dept of Agriculture.

What we shall all miss and long remember was Alyce’s skills in the kitchen. Her fried fish, macaroni and cheese, and sweet potato pies were all the rage. No one can deny her skills or presume skills at Bid-Wisk and the all out wars she raged on the scrabble board. She was a skilled debater with an endless supply of creatable facts that boggled the mind. She came fully loaded and with a wit to match. How could we but love her as you planned our next attack. She was a mother, a wife, a daughter, a friend. And for you who did not know her, yours is truly the lost.

Now we have gathered here to say good-by to someone we love dearly.We are here to express our loss to someone we hate to lose. We are here to try to pull back our beloved Alyce as she passes through that distance door. But Alyce with a loving smile looks back upon her friends and love ones and says; now it’s your turn to go forth and do great things.

Alyce leaves to mourn a husband Edward Stewart of Raleigh, NC, sons Timothy Boyd (Cheryl) of Fort Worth, Texas, and Carl Boyd (Leala) of Sanford, NC and her daughters Debra Boyd-Seale (John) of Bolingbrook, ILL and Kathy Boyd (Mike) of Indianhead, MD. As well as her brothers Robert (Audrey) of Philadelphia, PA, Horace of Colorado Springs, CO., David, Michael, and Leroy (Brenda), all of Akron, OH. She leaves her sister Rose Marie of Lexington, KY. In addition to a host of other relatives and friends.

The family will receive friends and relatives on Friday, August 20th at 10:00 a.m.
followed by a memorial service at 11:00.Service to be held at the St. Matthew African Methodist Episcopal Church located at 1629 Bennett Street in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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The NER mourns the loss of Soror Alyce Boyd-Stewart

>> Tuesday, August 17, 2010


It is with a heavy heart that the Northeast Region mourns the loss of our Legal Advisor Soror Alyce Boyd-Stewart. A tireless force with a spirit of ethical responsibility and a commitment to our beloved sisterhood, Soror Boyd-Stewart will be missed. Please note the family requests donations to the American Cancer Society in her name in lieu of flowers. Please lift the family up in prayer. Information regarding the Omega Rho service is forthcoming.

Sisterly,
Soror Vanetta Cheeks Reeder
NER Syntaktes 2010-2012

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Sisterhood is (still) powerful for Sigma Gamma Rho sorority

>> Saturday, July 31, 2010

Additional coverage of the 2010 Boule in the Examiner!

Sisterhood is (still) powerful for Sigma Gamma Rho sorority

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