Soaring to Greater Heights
57 years of service
MISSION- Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® was founded on a mission of five basic tenets that have remained unchanged since the sorority’s inception. Our mission is
-to cultivate and encourage high scholastic and ethical standards,
-to promote unity and friendship among college women,
-to study and help alleviate problems concerning girls and women in order to improve their social stature,
-to maintain a progressive interest in college life,
-and to be of “Service to All Mankind.”
1966
OUR
MISSION Purpose
TKO HISTORY
When did Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated ® , Theta Kappa Omega Chapter come into existence? During the Fall of 1964, as a beacon mesmerized the Atlantic Ocean waves by a glistening sandy shore, twenty professionally polished Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® graduate women, scattered about Atlantic City, New Jersey and nearby vicinities commenced a group called the AKAettes. The group met at the Stanley Holmes Village in Atlantic City to organize a graduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. The dream materialized on November 5, 1966 when Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® chartered Theta Kappa Omega Chapter. The chapter then became the second chartered Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® graduate chapter in the State of New Jersey. The trailblazing charter members were: LaRue Almond, Lucille C. Barbour, Alberta Bridges, Laura W. DeShields, Bessie C. Duckett, Lethetta D. Forbes, Cecelia Hawkes, Juanita J. High, Marianna G. Hunter, Dorothy F. Johnston, Mabelle Laster, Margaret Lewis, Elaine Molock, Barbara Perkins, Mildred Parks, Rachel B. Shadding, Lenora Slade, Mary C. Smith, Alice Thompson and Ella Williams.
From its inception, Theta Kappa Omega has been committed to sisterhood, scholarship and service. In 1967, the innovative charter members began their “Service to All Mankind” by conducting a public meeting themed, “Service is the Key to Open Doors”. Programs and service for the remainder of the 1960’s included Miss Fashionetta Pageant, book scholarships and the “Many Faces of the African-American Woman”. The 1970’s projects included the “Ivy Ball”, NAACP Life Membership, Atlantic City Christmas Parade, a teenage drug awareness program, established book scholarships for Stockton University students, programs in senior facilities, sponsoring teenagers for the debutante cotillion, “Miss Calendar Girl” and “Babies on Parade”. The first annual scholarship fashion show was held Spring, 1986. In 1991 the chapter observed its 25th anniversary. The chapter sponsored an undergraduate chapter, Pi Chi, located at Stockton University in 1992. In 2010, the fashion show was renamed the “Beulah Elizabeth Burke Scholarship Luncheon and Fashion Show” to honor a founder, as well as her achievements while employed in Atlantic City. In 2016, the chapter celebrated their 50th anniversary and its 55th anniversary in 2021.
The chapter has also collaborated in program and service projects with the Rescue Mission, Food Bank, Avanzar (formerly Atlantic County Women’s Center), City of Atlantic City, Center for Family Services, Sister Jean’s Kitchen, local telethons, health awareness and education programs, mentoring programs, Model United Nations, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service Programs as well as hosting Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® North Atlantic Regional Conferences, Founders’ Days and Leadership Conferences.
Presently, Theta Kappa Omega Chapter is “Soaring to Greater Heights of Service and Sisterhood”. Under the guidelines of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® Corporate Office, our chapter sorors serve communities in Atlantic, Cape May, Camden, Cumberland and Gloucester Counties focusing on the following initiatives: Strengthening Our Sisterhood Empowering Our Families, Building Economic Wealth, to Enhance Our Environment, Advocate Social Justice and Uplift Our Communities.
The chapter has had the following presidents consecutively: Mabelle Laster, Laura W. DeShields,Cecilia Hawkes, Lethetta D. Forbes, Dorothy F. Johnston, Margaret Lewis, Jacqueline L.C. Brown, Peggy C. Smith-Jackson, Juanita J. High, Dianne Stalling, Theresa Corbitt-Wilson, Andrea Atkins Turner, Grace A. Burch, Courtney R. Mack, Shawn F. Phillips and Stacey Zacharoff.
Theta Kappa Omega Chapter continues to excel as it exhibits the mission of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®. The sisterly spirit of the charter members still prevails the chapter humbly. Surely, the women who wear the salmon pink and apple green colors are women of distinction who have raised the bar professionally and broken glass ceilings by giving “SERVICE TO ALL MANKIND”.