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    Mission & Purpose

    Mission
    Alpha Phi International Fraternity is a membership organization dedicated to promoting sisterhood, cultivating leadership, encouraging intellectual curiosity and advocating service.
    Alpha Phi develops character for a lifetime.

    Purpose
    The objectives of our Fraternity are the promotion of growth in character; unity of feeling, sisterly affection, and social communion among our members. In all that we do, we try to obey God’s principles of justice and right. We have banded ourselves together to improve our minds and hearts, and we seek to aid each other through a constant watchcare always given in love. We believe ourselves to be sincere searchers for truth.

    We seek the highest ideal of womanhood, and we try to gain this ideal by cultivating not only the power and passion for seeking intellectual development but, also, the spirit of love and charity. And we who are thus united are under a solemn pledge to lend a helping hand to one another.

    1. Constitution of Alpha Phi International Fraternity, Incorporated, Article II
    *Mission & Purpose statements taken directly from our International Web Site

    Alpha Phi Badge

    The official badge of Alpha Phi is an unjeweled monogram of gold showing the symbol of Alpha superimposed upon the symbol of Phi. Inscribed in black on the symbol Phi are the letters a, o, e. The meaning of these letters is reserved for the initiation ceremony.


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    New Member Pin

    In 1898, the Fraternity adopted a special badge to honor her newest members.  The pin is in the shape of an ivy leaf and is set in pewter. New members are given this beautiful pin to wear until initiation, after which, they will receive the official Alpha Phi badge. The ivy symbolizes the growth of the Alpha Phi sisterhood.

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    Fraternity Crest

    The Fraternity Crest is the Alpha Phi coat-of-arms, adopted by Convention delegates in 1922. The shield is bordeaux with a scroll and ivy leaf above it. Inscribed on the scroll is the public motto, "Union Hand In Hand." A bar of silver crosses the shield from left to right; the upper half of the shield contains a Roman lamp in silver and the lower half, Ursa Major.  The meaning of the symbols depicted on the crest is a significant part of the ritual witnessed at initiation.

      

    Fraternity Flowers 

    The flowers of Alpha Phi are the Lily-of-the-Valley and the sentimental Forget-Me-Not. The blue and gold of the forget-me-not remind us of our fraternity's original colors also reminding Alpha Phi’s to always remember their sisters. 

    The ivy leaf is also a symbol which is reflected in our new member pin.  It is symbolic of the way in which Alpha Phi’s become intertwined with one another and the growth of our sisterhood.

    Mascot

    The mascot of Alpha Phi is the "Phi Bear," whose name is taken from the Greek words "Ursa Major," or the "Great Bear."  In 1974, Alpha Phi International adopted the Phi Bear as its mascot.

    Colors

    Silver and Bordeaux are Alpha Phi's stunning and distinguishing colors.

    Alpha Phi's original colors were blue and gold. In 1879, noting that a fraternity had colors too similar to hers, Alpha Phi adopted the more distinctive colors of silver and bordeaux.

    Members wear their colors in the form of a ribbon of silver/gray and bordeaux, under their badge to acknowledge special occasions, the installation of a new chapter, the anniversary of their chapter's installation or the celebration of Alpha Phi Founders' Day, October 10.


     

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    Milestones

    Alpha Phi called together the first inter-sorority meeting in 1902 that resulted in the formation of the association now known as the National Panhellenic Conference.
    Alpha Phi 1886 became the first women's fraternity in America to build and occupy its own chapter house in 1886.
    Alpha Phi 1894 became the first women's fraternity to use traveling delegates in 1894, now known as Educational Leadership Consultants.
    Alpha Phi was the first women's society to use Greek letters.
    Alpha Phi was the first sorority to establish a foundation.
    Alpha Phi was the first sorority to publish a book-length history.
    Alpha Phi became the first NPC international/national member to have a site on the World Wide Web in 1995.

    Facts

    Alpha Phi is the third largest women's sorority with 150 chapters/colonies in the US and Canada.
    Alpha Phi is pronounced Alpha "fee" (long "e") not "fie," because "Alpha" is a vowel and "Phi" is pronounced "fee" when it follows a vowel.
    Alpha Phi is the fourth oldest national women's sorority.
    Alpha Phi is one of only three international sororities.
    Alpha Phi is a true "international" sorority by maintaining the longest continuous presence in Canada of any sorority.
    Alpha Phi's Creed was written by Annette Hall Hitchcock in 1912.
    Alpha Phi's official pin was adopted in 1908.
    Alpha Phi's official crest was adopted in 1922.
    Alpha Phi's password was changed at the 1922 Convention from German to Greek.  .
    Alpha Phi chapters are named in alphabetical order as they are established, except the Eta chapter at Boston University because it had seven founding members and Eta is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet.
    Alpha Phi has over 175 active alumnae chapters.