Congratulations Beta Zeta Chapter At Large will be awarded the 9th Key Award at
the Biennial Convention in November 2011!!
Scholarship Day Weds April 11, 2012
Location: Log Cabin
Keynote Speaker: Denise Polit
Call for Abstracts for Scholarship Day due Feb. 15, 2012
Scholarship Day Registration Form
Members of the Beta Zeta at Large Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau International attended the 41st Biennial Convention in Grapevine, Texas in November 2011. President-Elect Nancy Burns (Longmeadow, A) and Katy Conoves (Amherst, MA) were the delegates that represented the Chapter in the House of Delegates.
President Karen Rousseau MSN(Chicopee, MA) was the recipient of the Chapter Key Award from the President of Sigma Theta Tau International( 2009-2011)
The Beta Zeta at Large Chapter received its ninth Chapter Key award since it was established in 1991 to honor chapters that excel in chapter-related activities, such as membership recruitment and retention, publicity and programming, and professional and leadership development. Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) is the only international nursing honor society worldwide, is a global community of nurse leaders with members belonging to 475 chapters who live in 90 countries. Through this network members lead in using nursing knowledge, scholarship, service and learning to improve the health of world's people.
The Beta Zeta at Large chapter consists of nursing programs at University of Masaachusetts, Amherst, MA; Our Lady of the Elms College, Chicopee, MA.; and American International College, Springfield, MA.
Beta Zeta-at-Large
June 2010 Community Service Star
http://www.nursingsociety.org/Chapters/Pages/BetaZeta-at-Large.aspx
Beta Zeta-at-Large Chapter, located at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Our Lady of the Elms College and American International College, donated food items to Margaret's Pantry in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The chapter was inspired by an article in a local newspaper and Dr. Carol Picard's challenge to be actively involved in the community. Margaret's Pantry is a full service food pantry that provides non-perishable and perishable food products to in-need residents of the greater Holyoke area.
On 3 February 2010, an article in The Republican newspaper reported that one in nine people in Western Massachusetts is receiving emergency food from a homeless shelter, food pantries and other charitable facilities due to the economic times and loss of jobs. It was estimated that 91,000 people received food from emergency food sites in 2009 and of those, 35% were likely children, and 8% were seniors. The number of people receiving food in the region has increased by 22% since 2006.
Members chose this project due to the fact that hunger has been identified as a public health issue across the commonwealth of Massachusetts. The chapter started by collecting food items during the registration at the fall program and scholarship day in the spring. They placed a reminder to attendees to bring the food items in the program flyer, in the chapter newsletter, in the STTIconnect newsletter and it is announced at the chapter's meetings.
To date, the chapter has collected approximately 1,000 lbs of food items donated not only by chapter members, but also by attendees at programs that include non-members, student nurses and clinical staff from the community at large. The food items donated include: peanut butter, baby food, rice, sugar, meals in a can, tuna fish, canned fruit, drink mixes, cereals, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, macaroni & cheese, cake mixes and canned vegetables.
In these depressed economic times, the food collection by Beta Zeta-at-Large chapter is a valuable resource and vital in meeting the community's needs and increasing community awareness of the hunger issue in the local area.
