01.23.12 / Category: Campus Spotlights

Mizzou Expands the Circle

Some of the most common New Year’s resolutions are to get fit, lose weight, eat healthy, or work out more. Rarely do you hear someone make a resolution to give more to charity. This year, I am going to do both, and I am doing both alongside my students and co-workers at Mizzou.

This year, the Panhellenic Association at the University of Missouri is sponsoring four teams of four women each to run in the Go! St. Louis Marathon Relay all while raising money and awareness for the Circle of Sisterhood. In April, we will run approximately seven miles each; through running we will be supporting women across the world that need our help. Until the race in April, we will be raising awareness and funds to support the Circle of Sisterhood.

Talking about the Circle of Sisterhood with college women is always interesting. As sorority women, they support many wonderful causes. Sometimes the women know quite a bit of information about the organization they are donating money or time to, and other times they support a cause because of a fun event that they get to participate in (oftentimes with fraternity men). With the Circle of Sisterhood, I have witnessed a much greater level of understanding and many more ‘Aha!’ moments about why it is important to support this cause.

As I have talked with Sorority women at Mizzou about the Circle of Sisterhood, the conversation always centers around privilege. For Sorority women to think about what their lives would be like if they weren’t in college is pretty difficult. I know for me, it is a tough concept to swallow. When the women think about other women around the world who are not nearly as fortunate as they are, they are moved to do something about it.

This feeling is what led the Panhellenic Association to try something a little different. The leaders put out a call to the entire Panhellenic community to see who would be interested in running a Marathon relay, all for a good cause. The sixteen of us who will be running in April may not be the fastest runners in the race, but we are there for the perfect reason. We are running for the girls—the girls and women around the world who are not able to experience some of the things that we take for granted every day.

This blog was written by Julie Drury, Senior Greek Life Coordinator at the University of Missouri. She resides in Jackson, Missouri and is a member of Sigma Kappa Sorority. You can follow updates about the relay on twitter @mizzougreeklife. We can’t wait to see pictures and hear about your impact! Best of luck!