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Your Support in Action — Highlights from Fiscal Year 2025–2026
- Phi Sigma Sigma
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
Your Support in Action — Highlights from Fiscal Year 2025–2026
Phi Sigma Sigma would like to extend an enormous thank you to our Foundation donors. Your gift showed up where it counts: in schools, chapters and the everyday moments where a little help makes a big difference.
Making a community-wide impact
Thanks to you, we distributed $340,000 across chapters this year through community impact funds (CIF). Your support became backpacks, classroom supplies, winter gear and the kind of practical aid schools ask for (and students feel right away).
A few highlights you made possible:
Delta Iota Chapter at Central Michigan University used $2,000 to fulfill the wish list of a graduating senior, Emma Trush, who’s about to start her first year as a special education teacher in their partner school district. They surprised her with the supplies at their last chapter meeting!
Epsilon Alpha Chapter at Illinois State University put $3,000 into a full refresh of their partner school’s outdoor garden, so the garden club and other students can grow food for students and families and spend time learning together outside.
Theta Upsilon Chapter at University of La Verne used $5,000 to refresh multiple spaces in their partner school, including a calming/sensory room, the library, a gaming corner, the student incentive “Gift Shop Market” and several classrooms.
Overview of CIF distribution
As you can see from the stories shared above, chapters use CIF funding in a lot of different ways, depending on what their partner schools ask for most. Here’s a breakdown of how your giving impacted real lives:
School supplies (21.8%) and teacher classroom support (21.4%) were the top requests. This covers things like bulk supplies for classrooms, backpack builds, classroom libraries, math and STEM tools, SEL materials and the basics teachers burn through fast (e.g., markers, glue sticks).
Direct monetary support (19.2%) helped schools cover immediate needs through unrestricted funds.
School events (8.5%) helped students get access to experiences, including field trips and campus visits (like bringing a robotics club to a conference, or covering transportation for a school field day).
Hygiene (5.9%), food (4.8%) and teacher appreciation (4.1%) showed up in pantry stocking, classroom snacks, supplies that protect students’ dignity and moments of care for educators.
Other requests supported were cold weather supplies (3.0%), gift cards (3.0%), summer learning and play (3.0%), school improvement (3.3%) and student incentives (2.2%).
Changing what’s possible through scholarship
Scholarships send a message to our sisters: someone believes in you, and you’re not doing this alone. Here’s how the Centennial Scholarship made a difference in the life of one of our members:
“My heart is full of gratitude. After years of dreaming, I finally earned my master's degree in criminal justice administration with a 4.0 GPA. This was largely due to the continued support from Phi Sigma Sigma and the scholarship opportunities offered.
I am forever grateful to this sisterhood and wanted to pass along my gratitude to the donors that made it possible and the individuals who reviewed my application and believed in my potential.
I have one more year to finish a certification in forensic counseling, but I walked at my commencement ceremony and was overjoyed to be an example that my daughters can look up to. I look forward to using this opportunity to make the biggest impact on my community and the victims I serve. Thank you all so much.”
— Nazly G. Maguire, Iota Mu Chapter at University of New Haven
Cultivating future leaders
Your support also helped make member development possible this year, including our Emerging Leader program and strengths-based training.
Here’s what our sisters shared about their Emerging Leader experience:
"This program was such a great experience, and I am so thankful for the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation for allowing this to be possible!” Sophia Everett, Theta Chapter at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
"Being able to leave the program with such a deep understanding of myself is something I am so grateful for.” Addy Terwilliger, Theta Psi Chapter at Alma College
“Emerging Leader helps you gain confidence in your leadership abilities, connect with sisters from different chapters and learn valuable skills that can be applied within Phi Sigma Sigma and beyond.” Gabriella Scaturro, Delta Phi Chapter at Monmouth University
Thanks to your support in fiscal year 2025–2026, 282 members completed the strengths assessment, with coaching and workshops supporting officers and executive boards as needed. Sisters told us:
"The strength assessment made me feel so understood!” Anna Havens, Beta Eta Chapter at The Pennsylvania State University
"Learning about my personal strengths and how I can lead with them has a significant impact on me!” Brooke Bauck, Iota Tau Chapter at Miami University of Ohio
"The strengths assessment helped me understand how I can apply my unique strengths to my leadership skills.” Avery Cook, Delta Lambda Chapter at Muhlenberg College
Focusing on mental health
With your help, we also expanded Mental Health First Aid training for the people who support our members day to day. Eighty-five (85) people earned MHFA certification this year, including advisors and staff, with new sessions offered for campus partners as well.
Finding new ways to connect
Staying connected is easier said than done once graduation hits. Careers, family, moves — it all adds up. Together, we created another path for sisters to find each other and connect in a practical way this year, with mentoring, career support and real conversations that don’t require a huge time commitment.
Phi Sig Network is now live, with 1,000+ users and micromentoring available. Already, 1,050 alumna have signed up to help, 18 jobs have been posted and 100+ connections have been made through direct messages, with 1,000+ meaningful and informative conversations happening across the platform.
We are grateful for you
We’re so honored to have your support and so proud of our membership for the ways that support is put into practice. Because of our donors and volunteers, we can cultivate the next generation of women leaders who look at the world around them and ask, “how can I make this even better?”
To give you a glimpse of what that looks like in action, please enjoy this philanthropy video created by the Epsilon Alpha Chapter at Illinois State University:
If you have a favorite “this is why I give” story, we’d truly love to hear it. Email us at foundation@phisigmasigma.org and tell us what keeps you supporting Phi Sig.