National Programs

 Operation Big Book Bag is a program designed to address the needs, challenges and issues that face school-aged children who are educationally at-risk, in local homeless shelters and extended-care hospitals and facilities. Through this program, chapters and members collect and donate educational materials, equipment and school supplies. Our goal is to: 

1. Provide quick and easy access to reference materials and other studying aids and tools that will help students with educational endeavors. 
2. Equip students with the means of completing their homework assignments in effort to keep them current and up to date 
3.  Assist shelters, youth centers, schools and hospitals in their efforts to meet some needs of the educational needs of children and young adults housed at their facilities. 

The program has expanded in recent years to refocus on tutoring support and mentoring programs. 

 Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., is fully committed to assisting those in need and the betterment of communities around the globe. Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority works in partnership with national support organizations including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), National Urban League, The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and many others.  

 According to the American Cancer Society, one out of every eight women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime and one out of every 35 women will die from the disease. Although AfricanAmerican women develop breast cancer less frequently than Caucasian women, African-American women have the highest breast cancer mortality rates among American women. Hence, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority is committed to providing education on and active support of early detection as well as research for the prevention and cure of breast cancer. Our aim is to increase awareness and knowledge of breast cancer and its disparities; educate women (of all ages) about breast cancer and breast cancer risks; promote early detection of breast cancer; and to provide African American women with breast health resources in the hope of living longer, more productive lives. Our long term goal is to reduce the breast cancer mortality rates found in our population. Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American actress to win an Academy award and one of our most notable sorors, succumbed to breast cancer. This initiative was created to honor her memory. 

  Sigma Gamma Rho created Project CRADLE Care in partnership with the March of Dimes to focus on providing health education, support and nurturing for expectant teen mothers and teens who are parents. The goal is to provide information about issues related to prenatal and postnatal care. Participants will also be able to obtain information about birth defects, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, basic baby care and so much more. 

 The Youth Symposium is a national initiative of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. and is structured for 6th-12th grade students with the purpose of education and empowerment. It is a forum that encourages a discussion and tries to provide a solution to some of the prevalent concerns that impact our youth. We combine efforts with many other community based organizations to provide workshops aimed to educate teens on many issues they encounter-- drug and alcohol use, teen violence, intimate partner abuse, low self-esteem, suicide, teen pregnancy, etc. Our ultimate goal is that these workshops become avenues to discuss their concerns and to get valuable information and insight that they will apply to their lives. We strongly believe that if we teach our youth now to make healthy choices, they will, in turn, live healthier lives and create healthier generations in the future 

 According to the CDC, approximately 10 people drown every day in the U.S. A startling fact is that 70 percent of African American children and 60 percent of Hispanic children in the U.S. do not know how to swim. Additionally, African American children are more than three times more likely to drown than Caucasian children. Through their partnership with USA Swimming, Sigma Gamma Rho’s Swim 1922 campaign aims to address this disparity. Olympians and members of the sorority teach the community about water safety and how to swim. With USA Swimming, Sigma Gamma Rho has touched close to 20,000 lives directly with the projection of changing multiple generations to come. Sigma Gamma Rho has reduced the level of fear and apprehension, opened minds changed attitudes, provided opportunities for youth and adults within the African-American community regarding water safety in general and swimming specifically. Our goal is to strengthen USA Swimming’s commitment to diversity and inclusion by breaking down barriers, created by a lack of access and exposure, and expanding our footprint in the local community to increase swim participation and drowning rates.