Iota Phi Lambda
Encyclopedia
Iota Phi Lambda Sorority Inc. (IΦΛ) is the first African American
Greek-lettered business sorority established by African American business women. There are now more than 100 chapters with membership numbering more than 5,000 in 85 cities and the US Virgin Islands. Iota Phi Lambda is not an NPHC sorority and dual membership within Iota Phi Lambda Sorority and NPHC sororities is allowed.
there was the "Great Migration
" of blacks from the South to the Northern cities, seeking greater opportunities and a more tolerant society. These changes underscored the need for blacks to learn new skills. These skills, in turn, would hopefully ensure a better way of life for tens of thousands of blacks that had migrated northward.
via its national theme to celebrate and embrace America's public schools.
Black History Month
– Programs are designed to encourage youth and adults to understand the issues facing and faced by African Americans, to share ideas, reactions, and to recognize those African Americans who have historically impacted America.
Business Month – Iota's capstone programs occur throughout the month of April. Activities focus on efforts to stimulate interest in business education and to give recognition to those who have made outstanding achievements in the field of business.
Mahala S. Evans Award (Outstanding Sorority of the Year)
Career Exploration – Programs are designed to help broaden youths' awareness of and to assist in preparing them for the "world of work."
Tutorial Services – Members assist the educational system by providing remedial help for those with academic weaknesses, and work to eradicate illiteracy
.
Toys U Can't Return A Teen Pregnancy Prevention Project designed to help educate communities about teenage pregnancy
and develop effective action agendas for preventing children from having children.
Iota Mothers Career Assistance Program (IM-CAP) – Program designed to provide outreach services to meet the needs of teens (ages 11–19) and disadvantaged mothers (ages 20–40)
Future Iota Leaders (FIL) are preteen and teenage girls and boys who are mentored by members of the Iota family. Programs provide socialization and development opportunities for youth leadership training, and encourage them to realize their potentials to the fullest.
Scholarships are awarded annually on the chapter, regional, and national levels.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
Greek-lettered business sorority established by African American business women. There are now more than 100 chapters with membership numbering more than 5,000 in 85 cities and the US Virgin Islands. Iota Phi Lambda is not an NPHC sorority and dual membership within Iota Phi Lambda Sorority and NPHC sororities is allowed.
History
The sorority was founded on June 1, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois by Lola Mercedes Parker. The founding of the sorority was important for African American women as after World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
there was the "Great Migration
Great Migration (African American)
The Great Migration was the movement of 6 million blacks out of the Southern United States to the Northeast, Midwest, and West from 1910 to 1970. Some historians differentiate between a Great Migration , numbering about 1.6 million migrants, and a Second Great Migration , in which 5 million or more...
" of blacks from the South to the Northern cities, seeking greater opportunities and a more tolerant society. These changes underscored the need for blacks to learn new skills. These skills, in turn, would hopefully ensure a better way of life for tens of thousands of blacks that had migrated northward.
National programs
American Education Week – Members work in support of the National Education AssociationNational Education Association
The National Education Association is the largest professional organization and largest labor union in the United States, representing public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college students preparing to become...
via its national theme to celebrate and embrace America's public schools.
Black History Month
Black History Month
Black History Month is an observance of the history of the African diaspora in a number of countries outside of Africa. Since 1976, it is observed annually in the United States and Canada in February, while in the United Kingdom it is observed in October...
– Programs are designed to encourage youth and adults to understand the issues facing and faced by African Americans, to share ideas, reactions, and to recognize those African Americans who have historically impacted America.
Business Month – Iota's capstone programs occur throughout the month of April. Activities focus on efforts to stimulate interest in business education and to give recognition to those who have made outstanding achievements in the field of business.
National projects
Lola M. Parker Award (Outstanding Woman of the Year)Mahala S. Evans Award (Outstanding Sorority of the Year)
Career Exploration – Programs are designed to help broaden youths' awareness of and to assist in preparing them for the "world of work."
Tutorial Services – Members assist the educational system by providing remedial help for those with academic weaknesses, and work to eradicate illiteracy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
.
Toys U Can't Return A Teen Pregnancy Prevention Project designed to help educate communities about teenage pregnancy
Teenage pregnancy
Teenage pregnancy is a pregnancy of a female under the age of 20 when the pregnancy ends. It generally refers to a female who is unmarried and usually refers to an unplanned pregnancy...
and develop effective action agendas for preventing children from having children.
Iota Mothers Career Assistance Program (IM-CAP) – Program designed to provide outreach services to meet the needs of teens (ages 11–19) and disadvantaged mothers (ages 20–40)
Future Iota Leaders (FIL) are preteen and teenage girls and boys who are mentored by members of the Iota family. Programs provide socialization and development opportunities for youth leadership training, and encourage them to realize their potentials to the fullest.
Scholarships are awarded annually on the chapter, regional, and national levels.
Notable members
- Mary McLeod BethuneMary McLeod BethuneMary Jane McLeod Bethune was an American educator and civil rights leader best known for starting a school for African American students in Daytona Beach, Florida, that eventually became Bethune-Cookman University and for being an advisor to President Franklin D...
is a notable Iota Phi Lambda sorority member who also held membership in Delta Sigma ThetaDelta Sigma ThetaDelta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...
sorority.