Hi friends, doing a little soul searching on blogging right now so apologies for being MIA. Hopping on today because I started thinking and suddenly BOOM had all the words. It’s my sorority’s Founders’ Day this weekend and in the lead up we celebrate Week of Giving. As part of our Foundation drive, we were asked why we give. When I started thinking about why I give to our sorority, I actually started crying and realized, ‘hey this is really something to dig into.’
Why I Give & Resources That Would Have Changed My Life Click To Tweet
Why I Give & Resources That Would Have Changed My Life | My Proudest Moment as a Volunteer
I’ve been volunteering with my sorority for six or seven years now and have held a variety of roles. 2020 will mark my third year as a national volunteer where I volunteer on our public relations team. Volunteering has bettered me as a person while also being something that fills my bucket. Despite spending 4 years volunteering at the local level, my proudest moment came when I attended my first Convention.
In 2018, Sigma Kappa announced our partnership with Talkspace. I remember having goosebumps and feeling so proud. Our college women are able to connect with licensed therapists free of cost using their smartphones. We were the first sorority to provide this to our membership and within the first semester, funds for the initiative were running low. Women were able to anonymously seek mental health care at a time when campus mental health resources are often overrun or limited.
Why I Give & Resources That Would Have Changed My Life | My College Experience
The stigma of mental health care terrified me. While I’ve suffered from anxiety most of my life, I didn’t get diagnosed until I was 22 & was at my personal worst from 18 to that time. Mental health care truly changed my life. Prior to being diagnosed and seeing a therapist, I felt isolated, unable to honestly talk about how I felt. Typically, I felt very passive about life like I was going through the motions. I’m not sure my college aged self is someone I would want to be around.
While I’m sure my college campus had mental health resources available, they weren’t widely talked about and I worried a lot about the stigma. What if someone I know saw me going into the building and thought I was crazy? Even worse, what if I went to see a therapist and they told me nothing was wrong and I needed to toughen up a deal with it?
Why I Give & Resources That Would Have Changed My Life | How Mental Health Care Changed My Life
Part of the reason I feel so implored to be open about dealing with my own mental health is because no one around me talked about it. The sorority experience has definitely changed — even in the ten years since I was initiated. Our college women now organize bi-weekly programming for their chapters on topics ranging from financial responsibility, career readiness, wellness, and beyond. Had I been encouraged to anonymously talk to a therapist, I have no question that my college years would have been different.
Seeking out mental health care, seeing a therapist, and taking anti-depressants has made me more self-aware. I truly believe that I am a better daughter, sister, friend, and human being because of the way I learned to advocate for myself. I don’t feel afraid to speak up for things I believe in and I feel more comfortable in my own skin.
Why I Give & Resources That Would Have Changed My Life | Why I Give
There are TONS of reasons that make donating to a sorority important: scholarships for women in need, leadership opportunities, philanthropies like the Alzheimer’s Association. But the first that comes to mind for me is mental health. I remember being that college aged woman that felt so alone. That didn’t feel comfortable opening up to anyone I knew, who needed to be mentored and told that it would get better. More than ever, I want women to feel accepted as they are and to have resources when they feel alone.
I think a lot about 18 year old Nicole who felt so alone, who felt scared to discuss how she felt, who dealt with anxiety and depression in unhealthy ways. Helping to provide resources so that women don’t have experience is important to me and the reason I give. Happy Week of Giving to my Sigma Kappa sisters near and far.
This is such a wonderful tool for women to be able to use. I wish this would have been available when I was in school. Things would have been so different!