Greetings Brothers of AlphaEast,

It is my hope that you’ve all had a wonderful holiday and gained the faith that we will have a prosperous new year. As promised during the various District Conferences throughout the fall semester, I would like to take this time to introduce two (2) initiatives that I am excited to launch within our great region; the iPlay, iRead and OneALPHA Initiatives. More details are provided below.

INITIATIVE #1: iPlay, iRead Initiative
This initiative will allow brothers to become more involved in local elementary and middle schools and foremost encourage students to read more. The purpose of this initiative comes from the epidemic concerning literacy which affects millions of children and adults each year.

• 34% of children entering kindergarten lack the basic language skills needed to learn how to read.
• 65% of fourth graders read at or below the basic level
• When children have a strong foundation of reading, they are able to stay on track to remain in school, graduate and pursue post-secondary education and training to successfully transition into adulthood.

As apart of this initiative, Brothers should first research schools in their immediate and surrounding communities with high demographics of African-American youth. Our primary goal is to visit their classrooms to read to the students on the day of their choice throughout the month of February (similar to that of Read Across America). At the end of the session, students will receive a toy for their enjoyment and a book to promote literacy; both of which should mirror that of African/African-American Culture. This focuses on our aim of Scholarship and our National Program Go-to-High-School, Go-to-College in a way that will appeal to grades K-5.

Seeing as this initiative would be taking place during the month of February, and that we are a Fraternity that was founded by African American Men, we would like to have a focus on bringing and reading books that have content that is of African-American authors and/or stories about African American Heritage.

The region will be looking to support and work with two chapters from two separate districts in the roll out of this initiative for data and response purposes. Any chapters that are looking to move forward with this initiative for this year can look to the region for more information. . The results from this survey will be presented during my Assistant Vice President Address in Hartford this spring. This initiative will also be reevaluated in 2019 and reconsidered for renewal.

If there are any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Assistant Director of Education, Bro. Henoss Taddesse at henosstaddesse@gmail.com or via phone at 240.678.4990.

One ALPHA

• Expected Outcomes
• Fraternal Literacy
• Mentorship
• Cross-generational learning
• Brotherhood
• Service
• Fraternal Retention

All adds up to better college-alumni relation

Alumni Brother Participation Snapshot

• 82 Alumni Chapters in the Region
• 2,113 Active Alumni brothers in the Region
• Alumni Regional Registration
  • 664 2017 Eastern Regional Convention
  • 629 2016 Eastern Regional Convention
  • 744 2015 Eastern Regional Convention

College Brother Participation Snapshot

• 84 College Chapters in the Region
• 629 Active College brothers in the Region
• Regional Convention Registration
  • 419 2017 Eastern Regional Convention
  • 349 2016 Eastern Regional Convention
  • 297 2015 Eastern Regional Convention
• 189 College Brothers who registered for the 2017 College Brothers Retreat

INITIATIVE #2:One ALPHA

Each fraternal year, every college chapter must successfully execute a social or educational event of their choice in collaboration with their advising alumni chapter. This event should properly target the goals of our organization as stated in our mission statement. The event should reach at least 100 individuals, either on a college campus or their local community. Amongst AlphaEast, we will focus primarily on mentorship from the Alumni level down to the College level, as well as participation in/and execution of our National Programs. We look to enhance all levels of engagement and seek to reclaim Brothers along the way.

The window of completion stands as January 3, 2018 through December 31, 2018. Upon completion of the event, the Presidents ofboth the college and alumni chapters must submit a written report to the Eastern Regional Leadership Team and may be documented in our Regional Newsletter and The Sphinx.
Prior to the 2018 Eastern Regional Convention, I will be sending out a communication requesting feedback on College/Alumni relations. The results from this survey will be presented during my convention address. This initiative will also be reevaluated in 2019 and reconsidered for renewal.

Chapters who actively participate in this initiative will be recognized by the region at the 2018 Eastern Regional Convention. With that, they will receive a certificate of completion from the Office of the Eastern Regional Assistant Vice President in which they can document and use to enhance their Chapter archives and/or displays. Chapters who participate and exceed the expectation will be encouraged to submit and contest for the Charles H. Wesley Brotherhood Award.

Charles H. Wesley Brotherhood Award Criteria
(Awarded for joint initiatives between an Alumni Chapter and College Chapter(s))

1. Participation in Alpha National Programs and special projects (from convention to convention.)
2. Collaboration in the planning and implementation of Alpha functions (Founder’s Day events, Black and Gold Balls, MLK Breakfast and church services, etc. with documentation)
3. Recognition of progress and service to and from chapters (plaques, certificates, sponsorship of events, scholarships, etc.)
4. Chapter registration at last year’s conferences and conventions for chapters involved (provide documentation)
5. National display and interviews with members of chapters involved.

If there should be any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Eastern Region Assistant Vice President, Bro. Harold Daniels, III at avp@alphaeast.com or via phone at 310.800.7740.

Fraternal,
Bro. Harold Daniels, III
Eastern Region Assistant Vice President