I hope this update continues to find you and your entire community well in these evolving yet still uncertain times. As we know, due to the uncertainty of Colleges and Universities reopening their campuses, Alpha Kappa Delta will continue to work with each chapter to determine the best course of action for membership applications and merchandise orders this fall. 

Here is an update from Alpha Kappa Delta regarding practices.

Membership and Payment: To the degree possible, we are encouraging chapters to continue inviting eligible students to join Alpha Kappa Delta so they may receive the recognition and opportunities they deserve. Currently, I am able to go to the office a few times a week (we are practically an office of one and no other people are going in and out at the moment). We can continue to take a check from the chapter, institution, department, or chapter representative. Should you need to email us the forms (AKD Order Form and List of Initiates) that is not a problem as I can print them and match them to the check once I see it in the mail. Additionally, as we know, many students and faculty are no longer on campus, therefore, we are taking credit card payments as a way for students/chapters to pay for their membership fee and/or merchandise. Should you need this option, please do contact me by email and I can help get this set up for you in a way that hopefully works for both of us. 

• Read this document for more information on submitting orders, including how we are taking direct payments from students: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1if4VZ8VwJwSGLyLytJiKg1UZm3MfvlYvemgbStLof7w/edit?usp=sharing

Certificates: The company that produces our certificates, Printing Plus, is operating, but the employees are working staggered hours to maintain safe social distancing. Therefore, please note that the printing of certificates will continue to be a bit delayed. I am more than happy to email you digital certificates that I made up as a placeholder for the time being, especially if you are off-campus at no charge. If you would like digital certificates, just let me know. These would be in addition to receiving a physical certificate. Additionally, please note that certificates do need to be sent in bulk to the chapter as they need to be signed by the chapter representative. Unfortunately, I also do not have the capacity or resources to mail 4,000+ individual certificates. It is our hope that you will eventually be able to get the certificates to your members. If this is absolutely not feasible, let me know and hopefully we can find a solution (we can ship directly to students for an additional shipping fee).

Merchandise: As I am able to get into the office, I can still mail these items out. Please note we do prefer to send everything in bulk, however, we can mail merchandise directly to the students for an additional shipping fee per student. Students may also order merchandise (honor cords, t-shirts, lapel pins, etc) directly from us if they would like. They can email me the AKD Order Form with a note saying they need to pay by credit card and I can send them a link to pay (additionally, merchandise can be directly shipped to the student this way). 

Initiation Ceremonies: Regarding initiation ceremonies, please follow your institution’s guidelines regarding events and gatherings. If you are unable to host a face-to-face initiation ceremony, instead of canceling your ceremony, consider holding an online virtual initiation ceremony.  Applications like Google Hangouts or Zoom work well. Creating a quick and fun PowerPoint about AKD would be a nice touch to share with members. If you cannot hold a ceremony, you may mail membership certificates to students or hand them out later. Again, if you would like to send digital certificates to your students for the time being, just let me know and I can send you those.

New Induction Ceremony Video
I am pleased to announce that I have created a new virtual induction ceremony for you to share with your new inductees. Feel free to use this how you see fit. If you hold a virtual induction ceremony, you may play all of it, parts of it, go back and forth, etc. If you are not holding an induction ceremony, this is a great video to send to your new members. You may even play this in-person if possible.

• Link to virtual induction ceremony: https://youtu.be/pjdDZyIAWQg

• Video our Centennial Committee made for our 100 year anniversary:  https://youtu.be/f5tDwD0ag_s

Alpha Kappa Delta turned 100 years old in 2020! Be sure to highlight this with your members. If you can be creative and share any pictures, we would love to see them and share them with our AKD family (picture of virtual ceremony, selfies from students, etc). Be sure to tag us on social media and use our 100 year hashtag #AKD100years — or use #AKDmember

The Executive Office continues to ask for your patience and understanding through the continued logistics of all of this. Matching up payments from several hundred chapters (we have 693 chapters!) is a daunting task, but as many of you know, we are in this for the long haul and want to serve each and every one of our chapters as best as possible. If you have any questions about your specific chapter, please do contact me (I can be reached best through email right now) and we can work together to find the best possible solution.

Thank you again for all your hard work, dedication, and humanity. I wish you the best as you continue the important work of supporting your students during this difficult time.

Be safe,

Bethany Titus
Executive Director