Alpha Phi Omega

Alpha Phi Omega is a national community service based co-ed fraternity. It is the biggest fraternity in the country with over 700 chapters, has already expanded into the Philippines and is now seeking to do so in Canada and Australia. UC Davis is home to the Iota Phi chapter of Alpha Phi Omega, which has been around since May 27th, 1951. When it first became a fraternity it was all-men, but went co-ed in 1976. Some famous members include: Emil Mrak (of Mrak Hall) of the third pledge class, as well as Claude Hutchison (an old UC Davis dean), and Knowles Ryerson.

Alpha Phi Omega (APO) is all-inclusive and invites anyone interested in leadership, friendship, and service to join them. There are two Rush periods a year, one around mid-October and the second around mid-February. They have a membership of about 100 active members and 70-100 pledges per term. To keep professional, APO in California is a dry fraternity that does not haze. The service requirement is typically 18-20 hours within 10-week terms, though members are encouraged to do as much as they are able.

Leadership

APO LEADS is the leadership development program of Alpha Phi Omega, National Service Fraternity. It was created to fulfill a portion of the vision statement of the fraternity: "Alpha Phi Omega will be the nation's foremost campus-based, inclusive, service-oriented, leadership development organization for university and college students by building upon its advantages and strengths as a unique and diverse Fraternity." APO LEADS programs can be presented to just your chapter or at a conference, with the exception of the SERVE. SERVE is a weekend summer program that is held at rotating locations around the country. The only limitation for each course is that a minimum of 12 people and a maximum of 30 must be in attendance. Members completing the APO LEADS program will be recognized for the dedication to their own leadership development and furthering the principles of the Fraternity.

The APO LEADS program consists of five individual modular components of leadership development. Each of these modular components focus on skills that will help the participant be a successful leader and team member in Alpha Phi Omega and in life. At the completion of the series of courses, the participant will have a set of transferable skills that are applicable to Alpha Phi Omega, to the working world, as well as to leadership in other organizations.

LAUNCH - Launching your leadership development EXPLORE - Exploring your leadership strengths and potentials ACHIEVE - Achieving success through teams DISCOVER - Discovering personal strengths and success skills SERVE - Serving the Fraternity by using management skills in your chapter

Friendship

Brothers bond closely in hangouts called fellowboat and fellowships. A fellowship refers to an event that is intended to foster good relations and brotherhood amongst the members of the chapter, as well as sometimes with other chapters.

Service

Members of Alpha Phi Omega cleaning up a camp site at Sunset State Beach by Santa Cruz during Spring Term 2009's pledge retreat. Current members are expected to participate in service events in each of the four fields of service we emphasize: service to the community, service to the campus, service to the country, and service to the chapter. Services can vary from working at Picnic Day, sorting food or clothing at the local food bank, or tutoring or playing with kids at a local shelter. On average, the fraternity performs over 10,000 service hours during the academic year, with some individual members volunteering hundreds of hours alone.

With such a large membership, APO not only participates in community events, but has also created its own within Davis. Some examples include Dance 4 Kids, Santa 4 Kids and its Spring equivalent, Spring Fling. Typically, members serve at annual community events (Picnic Day, Bike Auction), help schools with charity events, work with animal-preservation groups (SPCA, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue), help with environmental projects (campus cleanups, Tree Davis), blood drives, among many other projects.

Need Volunteers?

While UC Davis' Iota Phi Chapter serves year round, organizations are especially likely to get large numbers of volunteers (easily 10-20 people) between October and May. Any organization or individual in need of volunteers for their service project can contact the chapter's Service Vice Presidents at [email protected]. Since Alpha Phi Omega prides itself on the quality of service it brings to the community, you can expect volunteers to avoid using cell phones during service, be timely, be attentive, and act appropriately around particular audiences. If for any reason you feel volunteers are not up to par, you may lodge a complaint with the Service Vice Presidents to have offenders punished.