Sigma Service

Tri Sigma women understand the importance of giving back to our communities. The Greater St. Louis Alumnae Chapter demonstrates this belief by raising money, donating items, and providing service for the following organizations:

St. Martha's Home for Women
Sigma Sigma Sigma Foundation

St. Martha's Home for Women
This St. Louis based non profit organization has been the local philanthropy for the Greater St. Louis Alumnae Chapter for many years. Members of the Greater St. Louis support St. Martha's by collecting items at each meeting and giving financial donations for special projects.

St. Martha's Hall, an emergency shelter for abused women and their children, was opened on May 1, 1983, by Catholic Charities of St. Louis with a mission to help battered women and their children break the cycle of violence in their lives. Located within the city of St. Louis, St. Martha's was founded in response to increasing pleas to assist female victims of domestic violence. The requests came from the victims, law enforcement agencies and numerous public and private social service agencies. There were few resources to provide immediate housing and assistance to battered women.

St. Martha's provides a safe, confidential environment including bedrooms for women and their dependent children, food, clothing, personal care items, individual and group counseling for women and children, parenting classes, emergency transportation, child care, access to medical care, legal advocacy, information and referrals to resources within the community, a 24 hour hotline and follow-up contact with former residents. Occupancy is for nine women and 15 children.

St. Martha's is incorporated as a general not-for-profit corporation in the State of Missouri. Services are provided to victims of domestic violence regardless of race, religion, handicap, marital status, residency, national origin or ancestry. St. Martha's has served over 1,700 women and their 2,400 children.

In 1985, St. Martha's Children's Program was developed to address the needs of the children who come to the shelter with their mothers. By providing intervention at an early age, St. Martha's hopes to decrease the transmission of violence from generation to generation. The Children's Program offers individual and group counseling to children 6 years of age and older. On June 1, 1993, St. Martha's expanded our Children's Program by adding an Early Childhood component. This new program provides individual and group counseling for children 3 to 5 years of age and staff facilitated Parenting Classes.

St. Martha's strives to help battered women and their children break the cycle of violence in their lives by:

• Offering an immediate, confidential safe place for abused women and their children
• Providing a supportive environment with strong emphasis on peer support
• Implementing a self-help philosophy to enhance self-esteem and decision-making skills.
• Providing accurate information and referrals to abused women and their children and where appropriate to their abusers
• Providing advocacy services
• Providing individual, group, and family counseling
• Providing community education to increase public awareness and understanding of domestic violence

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meone you know, are in an abusive relationship, please contact St. Martha's for help, at 314
Sigma Sigma Sigma Foundation
The Greater St. Louis Alumnae Chapter provides financial donations for the Foundation by raising money in both fun and nonconventional ways. Whether it be our annual "Make it, Bake it, or Fake it Auction" or our Founders Day gifts, the Greater St. Louis chapter makes giving to our Foundation a major priority.

The Foundation distributes funds for charitable, philanthropic, educational, and other benevolent purposes, including, but not limited to the establishment of programs:

• To promote educational and leadership skills of women to meet the demands of contemporary society. The Foundation funds specific grant requests from Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority for educational programming, leadership workshops, and training materials for alumnae and collegiate members.
• To provide scholarships and grants to worthy students. The Foundation grants scholarships to individual members for undergraduate or graduate education. Annual scholarships of $1,000 each (for tuition and educational expenses) are made in July. Applications must be postmarked by May 1.
• To foster community service by the membership with special emphasis on support of therapy programs for children. The Foundation offers fellowships in play therapy/child life for children at Children's Medical Center in Dallas, Texas and the University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Grants are also available for children’s programs located in areas where collegiate and/or alumnae chapters are located.

The Sigma Sigma Sigma Foundation seeks donations, both restricted to the programs listed above and unrestricted. All contributions are tax deductible to the full extent of the law and are acknowledged within two weeks. Major credit cards are accepted.

For more information about the Sigma Sigma Sigma Foundation and ways to give, visit the Foundation website.

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