NEWS

The Newberry College campus community, led by members of the Panhellenic Council, came together to hold a community yard sale that raised more than $1,100 for charity. All proceeds raised during the May 12 event were donated to The Circle of Sisterhood Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded and powered by sorority women on a mission to raise financial support and resources to help remove education barriers for girls and women facing poverty and oppression. 

It had been several years since Newberry had hosted the Community Yard Sale, so members of the Panhellenic Council agreed it was time for the event to make its return to the campus. In the weeks leading up the end-of-year move-out from the residence halls, donations poured in from students, faculty and staff offering up their gently used or unwanted items to the cause.

"We did not expect to receive so many donations,” said  Katelyn Heard, philianthropy chairwoman of the Panhellenic Council of Newberry College. "We appreciated all the support that came from throughout the Newberry College family.”

Circle of Sisterhood and National Panhellenic Council have been working together since 2012.

“I am impressed with the dedication of the Panhellenic Women with this project,” said Dean of Students Dr. Sandra Rouse. “They developed and ran with the idea from start to finish, and I could not be prouder of their efforts to create positive change in the world.”

The Circle of Sisterhood Foundation is a mechanism by which all sorority women can stand together across affiliation, age, color and creed to make a difference in the lives of millions of girls and women around the world. Collectively, they are one of the largest communities of college-educated women in the world. Fewer than 7 percent of the world's population, both men and women, has a college degree and two-thirds of all illiterate adults are women. Standing together as one community, they give girls and women an equal chance for rewarding lives and livelihoods through schooling, the learning of a trade or even a college degree. 

Based on the success of this year's event, the Newberry College Panhellenic Council plans to hold this event annually. The 2019 yard sale is tentatively scheduled for late April or early May. For more information about the Newberry College Community Yeard Sale event, please contact the Office of Student Engagement and Greek Life at Newberry College.