Delta Gamma (), commonly known as DG, is a North American women's fraternity. It was established in 1873 at the Lewis School for Girls in

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 14th most populous city in Mississippi, United States, and the county seat of Lafayette County, Mississippi, Lafayette County, southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis. A college town, Oxford ...

. It has 151 collegiate chapters and more than 200 alumnae groups. The organization's executive office is in

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. The main archive URL i
The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage
Delta Gamma was one of seven charter members of the National Panhellenic Conference.

History

Delta Gamma was founded as a fraternity in December 1873 at the Lewis School for Girls in

, near the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

. It was called a fraternity because the term "sorority" was not yet in use. The group's founders were Mary Comfort Leonard, Eva Webb Dodd, and Anna Boyd Ellington. Delta Gamma's early growth was to women's colleges in the

southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

. Within a few years, it expanded into the

northern United States The Northern United States, commonly referred to as the American North, the Northern States, or simply the North, is a geographical and historical region of the United States. History Early history Before the 19th century westward expansion, the ...

and the East with the help of George Banta, a member of

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, alo ...

fraternity and Delta Gamma's only male initiate. In 1882, Banta married Lillian Vawter, a Delta Gamma at Franklin College. In his later years, Banta helped rewrite the Delta Gamma ritual. He frequently visited Delta Gamma conventions, often as a guest speaker. He gave his last speech in 1934, a year before his death. Because of Banta, Delta Gamma retains close historical ties with Phi Delta Theta. Delta Gamma was one of seven charter members of the National Panhellenic Conference when the first inter-sorority meeting was held in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, in 1891. Delta Gamma and the six other charter members formally joined the National Panhellenic Conference in 1902. In 2013, Delta Gamma founded the #IAmASororityWoman campaign for members of any sorority to start conversations about what sorority women truly value to combat common stereotypes. The organization's executive office is in

Symbols

Delta Gamma's motto is "Do Good." Delta Gamma symbol is the

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ', which itself comes from the Greek (). Anch ...

, representing hope. Its colors are

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

, and

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

. Its flower is a cream-colored

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

, registered as the ''Delta Gamma Heritage Rose'' with the American Rose Society. The Hannah Doll is its mascot. Its publication is the ''ANCHORA,'' which has been published quarterly continuously since 1884.'''' Before the adoption of the golden anchor, Delta Gamma's symbol was simply an "H" for "Hope". In 1877, the Hope badge was changed to the traditional symbol of hope, the anchor. Today's badge is a golden anchor with a raised cable wrapping around the anchor, with the Greek letters on a white shield. Its new member pin is a white enamel shield with the Greek letters .

Philanthropy

The Delta Gamma Foundation was formed in 1951. It has three main philanthropic focuses: service for sight, grants to the fraternity for educational and leadership purposes, and grants to individual members. Members and local chapters contribute to its funds. Delta Gamma gives more than 150,000 volunteer hours to service for sight each year. The fraternity is one of the first recipients of the Helen Keller Philanthropic Service Award, given by the American Foundation for the Blind for assistance to those who are visually impaired and for sight conservation. It was also the first recipient of the Virginia Boyce Award presented by Prevent Blindness America. OU Delta Gamma

Anchor Splash and Anchor Games are Delta Gamma's fundraising events hosted on college campuses across North America. The proceeds of these events go to Delta Gamma's philanthropy, such as service for sight. Anchor Splash is a synchronized swimming event. The event has different campus organizations create a synchronized swimming dance. The dance is performed at Anchor Splash for an audience. Each chapter decides how to implement these events on its campus; some host flag football tournaments or volleyball tournaments as their fundraiser.

Membership

Potential members must attend a college where there is a Delta Gamma chapter. Members join through either formal recruitment or continuous open bidding (COB). A COB can occur when a potential new member wants to join outside of recruitment. Joining outside of recruitment can happen at any time of the year.

Chapters

Delta Gamma has 151 collegiate chapters in Canada and the United States. It has more than 200 alumnae groups in the United States, Canada, and England.

Notable members

Delta Gamma has with over 250,000 initiated members.

References

{{Fraternities and Sororities , collapsed 1873 establishments in Ohio National Panhellenic Conference Student organizations established in 1873 Student societies in the United States Women's organizations based in the United States Fraternities and sororities in the United States Sororities