A home for the elderly, that's served Chattanooga for 73 years, gets a makeover. Thanks to the ladies of Delta Sigma Theta! More than 3 thousand women are in town for their regional conference, and one of their first stops was Friendship Haven. As part of Project Cherish, these ladies have chosen to pour out their time and efforts on Friendship Haven. The residents and staff say they couldn't be more pleased.

All the changes at Friendship Haven brings a smile to resident, Lurine Low's face. “It's wonderful!” she exclaimed.

After being in the same building for 45 years, the senior home gets a well-deserved and much-needed makeover.   more >>

Greek9, an online social network for members of the nine NPHC black Greek-letter organizations, was officially launched on June 25, 2007. The site was designed to be a place for black greeks to communicate and interact with each other. By offering discussion forums, picture uploading, private messaging, personal profiles, videos, games, and news feeds, the website has the potential to be a central hub for the black greek community.

The idea for Greek9 was created in the winter of 2006. After noticing the lack of a strong online community for BGLOs Nick Staples decided to explore the possibility of building one himself. He came up with an outline for a generic website that allowed people to post profiles—more of a personals site than a social network. Nick scrapped his idea and started over from scratch; this time focusing more on user interaction and networking. He used ideas from other popular social networks, including Facebook, MySpace, and even the now-defunct MegaGreek website.
 

The result was a design that offered users the flexibility to post and share their own content and    more »

D'Errico Wiley took his first walk as Mr. Tennessee 2007 on the Tennessee State University's Humanities Building stage, June 3, 2007.      His walk along the stage was the first of many steps to a journey across the state of Tennessee.  During his reign as Mr. Tennessee, Wiley will be promoting his platform, entitled "Empowering Youth Through Exposure" .

Wiley, a 23 year old native of Clarksville, TN, is currently pursuing his doctorate in Psychology from Tennessee State University with aspirations of owning a private practice as an adolescent psychologist.   Wiley also completed his Bachelor and Master's degree in Psychology from Tennessee State University. Mr. Wiley is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated.

 Along with a crown and a trophy, Wiley was also awarded a $2,000 scholarship to continue his education and assist him in his entrepreneurial endeavors.   

Title sponsors for the Competition were the Nashville Chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants, Kings Konnection, Diavontti Productions, and Coca-Cola Bottling Company.   Additional sponsors    more »

The reigning Miss Black Tennessee 2006-2007, Kalilah Allen-Harris, was recently crowned
Miss Black USA. On June 2, 2007, Allen-Harris represented the state of Tennessee in the Miss Black USA Scholarship pageant held in the West African country of the Republic of the Gambia.

Kalilah is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She pledged Mu Zeta chapter in 2004 at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
 
As Miss Black USA, she receives a $20,000 scholarship and becomes national spokesperson for the organization. Allen-Harris, 22, is a graduate of University of Tennessee and a student at Meharry Medical College.
 
Allen-Harris will pass on her title as Miss Black Tennessee at the upcoming state pageant. She hopes her winning of the national title will inspire young ladies in Tennessee to recognize their talents and enter the state pageant. 

Applications are currently being accepted for contestants in the   more »

On June 8, 2007, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the largest African-American sorority representing over 200,000 college-educated black women, inked a settlement agreement with Derek & Jamar Productions, a Brooklyn-based production company and makers of Black Sorority Project: The Exodus, a documentary film and painting about Delta and their participation in the Women’s Suffrage March.

Frances Murphy, 85, a lifetime sorority member and daughter of Delta Founder Vashti Murphy, applauded the decision. “Now that the controversy is resolved, it really clears the air and allows us to move ahead in bringing forth one of the greatest pieces ever created on sorority life to the world”

Name: Tonjia Coverdale
Greek Affiliation: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Occupation: Creator of the online boutique Divas N Babes

Tonjia Coverdale, creator of the online boutique Divas N Babes and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. In less than one year, her clothing and accessories company for mommies and babies has earned local and regional recognition. In addition to attracting celebrity moms like Tori Spelling, Tonjia’s expressive, couture clothing is now available through high-end retailers in major markets like Los Angeles and New York.

Whether planning for a play date with neighbors or a family trip to an amusement park, modern mommies want to look great and feel good about their appearance. Too often, though, mommies sacrifice their personal sense of style as they strive to accommodate the needs of their children. No more! With summer right around the corner, mommy style expert Tonjia Coverdale highlights several style tips to help everyday women unleash their inner divas using her signature comfy, chic and couture fashion ideas.

Ella Phillips Lacey didn't retire as a community health educator. Instead, she broadened her emphasis to include the whole world.

Lacey, 66, recently received the President's Volunteer Service Award for her service in the Peace Corps.
 
A retired health education professor from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Lacey has dedicated the last decade of her life to helping others.

Although Lacey was honored for her aggressive work with polio eradication over the last seven years, it was her period in the Peace Corps that really began a strong pattern of service to others.  more >>

Northland Shopping Center is the site for a Community Baby Shower, sponsored by Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, The Children's Center and The March of Dimes on Saturday, June 30, 2007, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

The event will collect new baby clothing to support the Zeta Phi Beta Stork's Nest, a national prenatal incentive program, offered locally through The Children's Center Teenaged Parenting Program. In addition, The March of Dimes and The Michigan State Extension Program will provide prenatal and other well baby educational materials.

"Our community needs to rally around these young people having babies by providing them with the support they need to ensure their babies are healthy. This Community Baby Shower is a perfect way for the community to show they care," says Angela Hardison, President, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Kappa Rho Zeta Chapter and The Children's Center Board Member.

Dale Long believes a boy needs a father figure-a role model-while he's growing up. And Long has filled that role for more than three decades as a volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Long also made it his personal mission to recruit 10,000 volunteers to the program.

He signs up "big brothers" at his church, Hamilton Park United Methodist in Dallas, and through United Methodist Men's groups. And Long travels across the United States to spread the word about Big Brothers at meetings of his college fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha.

These kids are everywhere. Grandmothers are raising kids now," says Long, a public information officer for the city of Dallas.

As a child, Bryan Ware didn’t celebrate Juneteenth with any specific event or tradition. His parents described June 19 as a celebration of freedom for slaves in the state of Texas, and that it was an important day to remember.

As he’s grown, the 22-year-old senior advertising major at Texas State University has come to see it as so much more.

Ware and his fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi will be hosting one of the many Juneteenth celebrations in San Marcos on Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. at Sewell Park. The community is invited for barbecue and drinks, a moon walk, slip ‘n’ slide, dominoes, volleyball and a spades tournament.   more >>