CONFERENCES & ACTIVITIES UPDATE

VIRTUAL BOULE & BOULE/LEADERSHIP SEMINAR 2020

Part I of the 69th Boule will convene virtually on Wednesday, July 15. At that time, delegates will elect and ratify officers. The other aspects of the 2020 Boule will be delayed until 2021 to allow more time for health experts to determine an effective way to address the coronavirus so that large groups can safely assemble once again. Part II of the Boule will be combined with the 2021 Leadership Seminar that is scheduled to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana from July 13–18. During Part II of the Boule/Leadership Seminar 2021, you will receive updates on the business of the sorority at plenary sessions, vote on proposed bylaw amendments, attend certification classes, workshops, luncheons, dinners and regional gatherings, and fellowship with one another. So, please save the dates and make plans to attend. You will receive more information in 2021 closer to the date of these combined international meetings.

CHAPTER OPERATIONS

The Pandemic Task Force has released the expanded Pandemic Guide to Virtual Chapter Operationsas an additional resource to supplement the previously-released Guide to Conducting Virtual Chapter Meetings and the AKA Virtual Program Activities guide in order to assist chapters as we continue to operate in a virtual environment.

RISK MANAGEMENT/FACE MASKS AND COVERINGS

Alpha Kappa Alpha implores sorors to continue to adhere to the CDC guidelines regarding the use of masks and face coverings. We encourage sorors and chapters to donate N95 masks to healthcare professionals who are in dire need of those protective medical masks. We also applaud sorors who made face coverings for personal use or to be shared with family members, close friends and sorors. Please refrain from placing the sorority crest or any other Alpha Kappa Alpha insignia on face coverings. Please also refrain from purchasing any type of branded-face coverings from vendors as this merchandise has not be authorized for sale by our Corporate Office. Face coverings are not authorized to be made and/or distributed in the name of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.  We thank you for your cooperation and adherence. Remember, each of us is a risk manager.

MEMBERSHIP INTAKE PROCESS

Due to the social distancing guidance and gathering restrictions that remain in effect all across the country, the postponement of Member Intake will continue until further notice. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we prayerfully consider when and how to safely resume in-person programs and operations, including Membership Intake.

Thank you for joining our weekly Day of Prayer calls since March. Our designated weekly corporate prayer time is 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Let us continue to pray for families impacted by COVID-19, healthcare workers, first responders and other essential workers, our sisterhood, this nation and our world. Please also pray for wisdom and compassion for national, state, and local leaders as they make important decisions regarding safely re-opening. We also must continue to pray for our communities and for justice and equal protection under the law for African Americans in this country. Sorors, let's continue to remain prayerful.

RELAXING STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS

How do I protect myself and my loved ones as restrictions are lifted?

Keeping Safe
Jessica Dolcourt (CNET Health & Wellness)

As coronavirus lockdown restrictions ease and cities reopen around the world, it's a good idea to think about how you'll keep yourself and your loved ones healthy during a prolonged period. Here are things you should think twice about doing as lockdown and quarantine end.

5. Enough with the fingertips! Use your knees, feet, elbows and knuckles instead.

If you're still pressing buttons for walk signs with your fingertips, stop. Any time you must open a door, push a button, pull a lever or digitally sign for something, use a different body part instead. You have plenty. For example, I'll often tap out a PIN code or select on a digital screen with my knuckle instead of the pad of my finger. I'll push open a door with my shoulder, hip or foot instead of my hands.

You can usually flip on a light switch or sink faucet with your elbow or wrist, and you can wrap the sleeve of your sweater or jacket around the handle of any doors you must physically pull open. It's easy enough to toss your clothing into the wash later rather than expose your skin now, especially if the chances you'll use your hands to touch food items or your face is high.

6. Distance, distance, distance.

Social distancing can mean anything from hunkering down at home and refraining from seeing outside friends and family in person to keeping a boundary between you and others when you do go out. The practice of keeping six feet away from those outside your home group extends to waiting in line at the grocery store, going on walks (you can momentarily walk in the bike lane if you're careful about looking out for street traffic) and picking up food to go.

If you need to keep more distance between you and someone else while on a walk or when reaching for an item at the store, take a step back and wait or politely ask the person to give you more clearance. ("Oh, I'm trying to keep my distance from everyone.")

7. Look for the automatic option.

If the doors to whichever building, you're entering aren't already propped open or have automatic sensors, look around before you pull a handle. Most modern buildings have accessibility buttons to open doors for people with mobility concerns. You can easily touch this with your forearm, hip or foot (some are low down) and wait the few seconds for the doors to open.

Consider buying an automatic soap dispenser for home so you don't have to worry about transferring germs to the pump.

8. Watch where you put your phone.

While we've gotten the go ahead to use disinfecting wipes on phones, another smart idea is to avoid placing your device on iffy surfaces to begin with. Do you really need to put your phone down, or can you just stash it in a coat pocket or purse? The less you can expose your phone to shared surfaces, the less you need to worry about them in the first place.

Notification Protocols

The integrity of sorority impact data is directly tied to the information collected. Who should I notify?

• STAY AT HOME and isolate yourself from other people.
• Call your doctor and inform your doctor that you tested positive.
• Follow the doctor’s orders.
• Cover your coughs and sneezes with your elbow or a tissue.
• Wash your hands frequently using soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
• Do not attend chapter meetings, chapter programs or social gatherings.

The integrity of sorority impact data is directly tied to the information collected. Who should I notify?

• Notify your chapter Basileus that you tested positive for COVID-19.
• Inform your Basileus if you have been in close contact with other chapter members or sorors and where the contact occurred.
• Chapter Basileus will notify only sorors who are at risk for possible exposure without divulging the infected soror's name.
• Chapter Basileus will remind at-risk sorors to regularly monitor their symptoms and immediately notify their doctor if they become symptomatic.
• Chapter Basileus will remind at-risk sorors to quarantine themselves and STAY AT HOME for 14 days to stop the spread of the virus in the event they become symptomatic and test positive.

How has COVID-19 affected Alpha Kappa Alpha?

Visit https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ for up-to-date worldwide COVID-19 statistics.

RECENT EVENTS

"This Is A Serious Matter" Town Hall: What's Next: Moving From Protest to Power

If the above image does not animate in your email platform, click here to view other screenshots from the event.

Last week featured our second installment in the "This Is A Serious Matter" Series moderated by our very own Soror Star Jones. Our undergraduate sorors were poised, confident and ready to accept the mantle of the movement at our Town Hall entitled, “What’s Next? Moving From Protest to Power.” We were pleased to have Soror Bernice King and Special Guest Panelist Tamika Mallory share their insights during this important discussion. Click here to see a poignant recap along with protest vignettes and speech snippets produced by Second Supreme Anti-Basileus Kasey A. Coleman. More than 5,000 sorors tuned in for this important Town Hall. Kudos to our undergraduate Directorate Members and Pandemic Task Force Members, Sorors Kasey A. Coleman, Soror Kaylen D. Long and Soror Hollye J.V. Weekes, for their leadership in the planning and production of this second installment in this series which was sponsored by Pine-Sol.

UPCOMING

Look for an e-blast this week with the digital Ivy Leaf Magazine Special Pandemic Issue to see some of the ways in which Alpha Kappa Alpha has adapted, led and served in this new virtual world.

Soror Glenda Glover
Supreme Basileus

Soror Joy Elaine Daley, International Regional Director (Chairman)
Soror Kimberly Esmond Adams, Special Assistant & Risk Management Task Force Chairman (Co-Chairman)
Soror Danette Anthony Reed, First Supreme Anti-Basileus
Soror Kasey Coleman, Second Supreme Anti-Basileus
Soror Kaylen Long, Undergraduate Member-at-Large
Soror Hollye Weekes, Undergraduate Member-at-Large
Soror Carol Dixon, Far Western Regional Director
Soror Cynthia Howell, Executive Director of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Soror Martha Perine Beard, Chief of Staff to the Supreme Basileus
Soror Ora Douglass, Program Committee Chairman
Soror Cynthia Finch, MIP Committee Chairman & Healthcare Professional
Soror Jasmine Adkins Moore, Disaster Relief Committee Chairman
Soror Robyn Jones, Physician & Medical Director for Women's Health