Alpha Phi Omega

Alpha Phi Omega (most commonly APO, but also ΑΦΩ, A-Phi-O, and A-Phi-Q) is a co-ed service fraternity organized to provide community service, leadership and social opportunities to college students. The fraternity exists in the United States and the Philippines. Unlike other fraternities, APO's primary purpose is to provide volunteer service within four areas: service to the community, service to the campus, service to the fraternity, and service to the nation as participating citizens. Being primarily a service organization, the fraternity restricts its chapters from maintaining fraternity houses to serve as residences for their members.

Background

Alpha Phi Omega claims to be the largest fraternity on college campuses in the United States. The fraternity has chapters at over 350 colleges, a current active membership of approximately 17,000 and has over 300,000 alumni. Chapters range in size from just a handful of active members at some small colleges to over a hundred active members at larger institutions.

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It was founded on December 16, 1925 at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania by Frank Reed Horton and a group of former Boy Scouts and scouters as a way to continue participating in the ideals of Scouting at the college level. (Further information on the Founding can be found on the page for Frank Reed Horton)

Related Topics:
December 16 - 1925 - Lafayette College - Easton, Pennsylvania - Frank Reed Horton - Boy Scouts

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Until 1967, membership in Scouting was a requirement to join. The founders insisted that all those gaining membership must pledge to uphold the fraternity's three cardinal principles of Leadership, Friendship, and Service. The fraternity was opened to women in 1976. In All members are called "Brothers", regardless of gender. The Fraternity views "Brothers" as a gender-neutral term.

Related Topics:
Scouting - Leadership - Friendship - Service - 1976

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Typical fraternity projects include blood drives, tutoring, charity fundraising events, Scouting events, and housing construction/rehabilitation. Signature projects are the annual National Service Week, in the first full week of November, and the National Spring Youth Service Day in April. Much of the operations of individual chapters is left to their own discretion, though most chapters have membership requirements which require a certain number of hours of service each semester. Some chapters of APO claim to complete over 5,000 hours of community service in an academic year.

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Before women were allowed to join APO, several sororities, parallel in ideals but independent in structure, were formed for women who had been Camp Fire Girls or Girl Scouts. These include Gamma Sigma Sigma and Omega Phi Alpha. Also, several chapters had "little sister" groups, some of which (like the Jewels of Tau) formed separate organizations.

Related Topics:
Sororities - Camp Fire Girls - Girl Scouts - Gamma Sigma Sigma - Omega Phi Alpha - Jewels of Tau

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