Putting the Honor Society Mission into Practice through Two Initiatives

To celebrate the 75^th anniversary of Epsilon Chapter at Ohio State University, members and chapter leaders took up two activities.  First, to support the local community, Epsilon held a “Have a Heart” Undergarment Contest. This charity drive and contest collected new women’s socks, bras and underwear for CHOICES (Columbus’ Domestic Violence Advocacy Center.) Undergarments were collected because they are the least donated items given when CHOICES receives clothing donations.  Second, the chapter board voted to provide induction fees for one student and one community member each year for the next 75 years.

Active Involvement of all School of Nursing Students/Faculty and Staff

In order to collect as much as possible, the entire School of Nursing was invited to compete in the contest. The participants were divided into three teams: undergrads, graduate students, and faculty/staff/community to see which group could donate the most assigned items (based on percent, so size of group didn’t affect results.) The contest was held from February 1st-16^th 2007. The winning team was the graduate students and they received free pizza and beverages in the school lobby. A grand total of 509 undergarments for the women and children of Central Ohio at CHOICES were donated.

Supporting the Learning and Professional Development of Members

By providing induction fees for one student and one community member at the annual Induction Ceremony for the next 75 years, chapter leaders hope to create a practical, ongoing award for new inductees to strive toward.  The first award was given at the recent Candlelight Dinner and Diamond Anniversary Induction Ceremony on May 3^rd.

In collaboration with Epsilon’s sister chapters in the Central Ohio Consortium, the chapter also sponsored an Annual Scholarship Night. The guest speaker was OSU’s Dr. Elizabeth Corwin from the College of Nursing who spoke on the Nursing Implications and Ethical Significance of the Human Genome Project. In addition, 17 students presented five posters reporting on their Advanced Practice Nursing Community Projects.