The next chapter we would like to highlight in our 2013-2014 Key Chapter Award blog series is Pace University- Pleasantville!
In April the Pace University- Pleasantville chapter created a Golden Key team to participate in Relay for Life, an event held by the American Cancer Society to raise money to go towards the fight against cancer. As a team, they created a “movie basket” to be auctioned off and sold baked goods to fund raise for the non-profit organization. Thousands of dollars were raised by the Pace community, and this event served as an excellent opportunity for the Golden Key chapter alumni and honorary members to get involved with the chapter. Later on that month, chapter members volunteered at the Food Bank for Westchester– the core of the county’s emergency food distribution network. They serve more than 265 local hunger-relief programs, including food pantries, child and adult-care centers, soup kitchens and shelters. Given that 95% of the food and groceries are taken home, chapter members volunteers by packing the food for distribution to those in need.
One of the Pace University- Pleasantville chapter’s larger events was their Global Youth Service Day event at the Pleasantville Cottage School. Home to more than one hundred children, this residential treatment center takes in children who suffer from emotional, psychological and physical problems as a result of their rough upbringing. The school creates support, structure and stability in these children’s lives– a luxury that many of these children might not have previously had. Each spring for the past nine years, the Pace University- Pleasantville Golden Key chapter has hosted an Easter Egg Hunt for the children, which includes getting the children involved in decorating the eggs, participating in an egg toss, meeting the Easter Bunny and taking part in the egg hunt. Chapter members are always inspired and excited to be a part of this incredible event, and it continues to be a success year after year!
Congratulations to the Pace University- Pleasantville chapter for being named a 2013-2014 Key Chapter Award winner!

In continuance with our 2013-2014 Key Chapter Award blog series, we would like to highlight the University of California, Riverside chapter.

The 2013-2014 academic year was a busy year for the University of California, Riverside chapter! For Make A Difference Day in the fall, the chapter collaborated with another student organization on campus to host a community cleanup at a local park. Members spent the day picking up trash on the playground and surrounding areas of the park, cleaning out the trash cans and replacing the trash bags. This event served as a wonderful opportunity to meet new people and help the community. The chapter also held an Adopt A Classroom event each month. Golden Key members would choose a classroom monthly at Bryant Elementary School and read to the students.

This is one of the chapter’s favorite events and continues to be a successful one. For Global Youth Service Day in the spring, chapter members went to the campus’ botanical gardens to help clean up the 40 acre area. Home to more than 3,500 species of plants and trails that extend up to four miles long, the gardens are difficult to maintain and any help is invaluable.
Each semester the University of California, Riverside chapter holds three general meetings in which members, officers and advisors gather to discuss upcoming chapter events. These meetings are unique, though, in that they also make functions out of them. For instance, to kick off the fall semester, the chapter turned their first general meeting into forum to discuss undergraduate research opportunities and how to build lasting relationships with professors. This forum was open to all students on campus, and it served as a wonderful opportunity to meet prospective members on campus. The second general meetings for each semester usually take place just prior to midterm examinations, so the chapter takes this opportunity to turn the general meetings into stress busters. In the spring, they collaborated with Active Minds to have a speaker come talk to the chapter about implementing healthy sleep cycles, napping and tips/facts regarding sleep in our daily lives. The chapter also uses one general meeting each semester to write heartwarming letters to soldiers who serve our country to show appreciation for all that they do.
Congratulations to the University of California, Riverside chapter for being named a 2013-2014 Key Chapter!

The eighth chapter that we would like to feature in our Key Chapter Winner blog series is the Golden Key chapter at Norfolk State University!
During the 2013-2014 academic year, the Norfolk State University chapter held numerous events that aligned with the three pillars of Golden Key. One such occasion was the chapter’s Make A Difference Day community service event in conjunction with the International Coastal Cleanup Project. For the event, student members spent the day picking up trash in their targeted area and reporting their findings to the Ocean Conservancy Organization. By the time they were done, the chapter had collected a total of ten bags worth of trash, which earned the chapter a Certificate of Award and a mention on the Hampton Clean City Commission website. Later in the year, the chapter partook in Senior Services Day, a day dedicated to spending time with senior citizens in the area. Chapter members gathered at the Norfolk Healthcare Center where they hosted various games, played music, shared snacks and socialized with the elderly living at the center.

One of the chapter’s most gripping events was collaborating with a local youth program that services at-risk youth who are on the verge of dropping out of high school. This program assists these youth by helping them to attain their high school diploma or GED and prepare them for life after graduation. The Golden Key members served as mentors to the students by keeping them inspired and focused on accomplishing their educational goals. These mentors would stay in constant communication with the at-risk youth, and they played an active role in ensuring that they graduate and have a better life. This project proved to be effective and was inspirational not only to the youth but also to the Golden Key members.
Congratulations to all of the members at our Norfolk State University chapter for their involvement in the community and for being named a 2013-2014 Key Chapter Winner!