The next chapter that we would like to highlight for being named a 2013-2014 Key Chapter is the University of Florida chapter!
In the fall, twenty members from the University of Florida Golden Key chapter volunteered at ViVA, a major fundraising event for Haven Hospice in Gainesville, Florida. This organization offers care to individuals who are identified as having life-limited illnesses and for their loved ones. The event features food and drinks, auctions, live music and other entertainment in order to raise money for Haven Hospice, and the Golden Key members volunteered as food and drink servers and helped with the auction.  The chapter also hosted two Rock for the Hungry events this past year. The first event was their annual benefit concert, and the second was a Food Truck Rally at a local coffee shop. Together these two event raised more than $1,000 to go towards The Children’s Table, a regional non-profit organization that provides fresh food to families in need.
The University of Florida chapter has had a mentorship program for new members for years now, but the chapter recently saw a decline in program participation. To remedy this, the chapter decided to revitalize the program by hosting “Big/Little Week” directly after the chapter’s New Member Recognition Event in the fall in an attempt to immediately engage new members in the chapter. This program works off the concept of pairing older, experienced members with new members to serve as mentors in their academic lives. Students have the tendency to struggle with balancing life and school their first few semesters in college, and it is often beneficial to have someone with prior knowledge and experience to turn to for help.  This week is designed to create lasting relationships between the “Bigs” and “Littles” by hosting team events, which included an event to prepare and service dinner at the Ronald McDonald House and volunteering at a St. Francis House event. Overall, the chapter has found the program to be beneficial to both the “Bigs” and the “Littles”, but also to the chapter as they have seen a major increase in general meeting attendance and overall chapter involvement.
Congratulations to the University of Florida chapter for, once again, being named a Key Chapter!
 

Director of the Australian War Memorial, Dr. Brendan Nelson, was recently awarded with Honorary Membership in Golden Key. This accolade was presented at The Australian War Memorial by the chapter at The Australian National University, currently the highest ranked university in Australia. Dr. Nelson was nominated as an Honorary Member because of his distinguished service as Director of the Australian War Memorial and his impact in Australian Politics as former Federal Opposition Leader and former Minister for Defense.
The committee attended a small ceremony at The Australian War Memorial, where they presented the certificate to Dr. Nelson and had the chance to speak with him about his role at the iconic museum. “I am not an expert at curating museums, but there are 330 members of staff here who are,” said Dr Nelson. ‘The value I bring is that I’ve got experience in leading people, exercising judgment and working for the benefit of Australians.” Dr. Nelson spoke about the importance of the First World War in creating the Australian identity and said “it’s when foreigners visit The Australian War Memorial that they really discover the soul of our nation.”
“It was such a pleasure to be able to present Dr Nelson with an Honorary Membership and have the opportunity to talk to him,” said Nicholas Ramirez, Golden Key chapter president at The Australian National University. “He is an exemplar candidate and a great role model for our members to look up to. Throughout his professional life, Dr Nelson has embodied the three pillars of Golden Key, academics, leadership and service.”
Golden Key is thrilled to welcome such a highly regarded member of the public service as an honorary member.
 

In continuance with our blog series, we would like to highlight the Metropolitan State University of Denver chapter for being named a 2014 Key Chapter!
During the 2013-2014 academic year, the Metropolitan State University of Denver chapter participated in many events that are directly related to the three pillars of Golden Key: academics, leadership and service. One of the chapter’s memorable functions was a member networking event, which served as an excellent opportunity to re-engage chapter alumni and honorary members with current members. The Metropolitan State University of Denver chapter has numerous alumni still living in the Denver area, and this occasion gave newer members the opportunity to build new relationships with these alumni and honorary members. In addition to many student members, the networking event brought together ten alumni members, four honorary members and four individuals from the campus community looking to forge a connection with the chapter. For Global Youth Service Day in the spring, the chapter worked with Habitat for Humanity to build a duplex house in a local neighborhood. The team, consisting of student members, honorary members and the families moving into the homes, contributed almost 70 labors hours to build these homes. This included installing storm braces, building scaffolding and erecting the roof struts among other supportive activities.
About a year ago, a student in the Metropolitan State University of Denver community passed away after a battle with leukemia, one of the most prevalent forms of blood cancer. In honor of this student, several organizations at the university partnered with each other to hold a Bone Marrow Drive on campus. The Golden Key chapter was the first of the organizations to provide all of the volunteers necessary to run the drive, assist in the planning of the event and lead in the marketing of the event. By assisting their partner in the event, Delete Blood Cancer, the Golden Key chapter was able to properly screen donors to ensure their eligibility to participate in the drive.  Chapter members also served at the information, registration, swabbing and participant gift stations. The event brought together more than 150 people, including several alumni members and honorary members.
Congratulations to the Metropolitan State University of Denver chapter for being named a 2013-2014 Key Chapter!