Service Learning and Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity

I thought I would post this as a organization which might be helpful on
campus.  Feel free to contact myself or check the web page at the bottom
for more information. 

Alpha Phi Omega strives to be a world-class service leadership collegiate 
fraternity.  APO was founded in 1925 by a group of former boy scouts who 
wanted to promote youth leadership.  Since that time, we have grown to be 
the largest greek letter organization with over 350 active chapters and 
over 13,000 active members.  The fraternity has changed a great deal in 
terms of relationships with a variety of youth organizations, membership 
(co-ed since 1976) and operate more as an honor society or club than a 
residential fraternity.  Chapters have a great deal of autonomy under the 
national policies they set at the biennial convention to decide and carry 
out their local programs.  The three principles that the fraternity is 
based upon is leadership, friendship and service.  How this plays out on 
local campuses is that APO draws a diverse membership from former youth 
group leaders (boy scouts, girl scouts, key club), students drawn by the 
idea of a different kind of fraternal organization and students who join 
based upon a particular activity or person that attracts them.

The Service in Alpha Phi Omega is focused in four areas: Service to the
Nation as a Participating Citizen (voter registration, fund-raising for
national charities or causes), Service to the Community (working with
local community groups to provide labor, publicity or fund-raise), Service
to the Campus (ushering, campus clean-ups, running a lost and found,
escort services, etc.) and Service to the Fraternity (through elected or
appointed leadership, chairing projects, fund-raising for the chapter,
attending conferences and conventions, etc).  Some chapters have
accomplished significant projects such as historical restoration of old
houses, training members in clowning to entertain local youth, teaching a
large number of youth members skills to earn recognition with their
organizations, creating playgrounds in underfunded areas, etc.  However,
chapters vary a great deal in this regard. 

Each chapter is required to recruit an advisory committee consisting of
faculty, staff, community leaders and/or alumni.  Some chapters have
long-standing relationships with the campus administration, some of whom
are honorary or alumni members.  APO has no formal relationship to the
academic curriculum thought we count as members professors around the
country who sometimes also serve on the National Board of Directors. 
Scholarship has not been a major program area in the history of the
fraternity, but chapters are required to follow campus guidelines and
policies where they exist for organizational involvement and minimum grade
point average.  Some chapters host study groups, but this has not been
formalized above the chapter level. 

Many of our members are involved with formal service-learning activities. 
However, we do not currently track this.  The fraternity is supported by a
strong backbone of alumni volunteers who help chapters connect with the
community and support their viability.  Alumni of the fraternity include
former presidents, ambassadors, social workers and teachers.  We have a
large and influential but administratively separate fraternity and
sorority at most of the college campuses in the Philippines with a large
alumni presence around the world. 


Our National web site is www.apo.org



Yours in Leadership, Friendship and Service
Randolph Finder


-- 
Leadership, Friendship and Service - Alpha Phi Omega