[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 20, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H6176]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               ZETA PHI BETA SORORITY'S 85TH ANNIVERSARY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Indiana (Ms. Carson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. CARSON. Mr. Speaker, as a proud member of one of the oldest black 
sororities in the United States, I rise today to honor and recognize 
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, as it celebrates its 85th 
anniversary. Zeta was founded on January 16, 1920, by five students at 
Howard University, right here in our Nation's capital. A community-
conscious action-oriented organization, Zeta Phi Beta has committed 
itself to uphold its founding principles of scholarship, service, 
sisterly love, and finer womanhood in over 700 communities around the 
world.
  Zeta Phi Beta Sorority was founded on the belief that the social 
nature of sorority life should not overshadow the real mission of 
progressive organizations to address societal mores, ills, prejudice, 
poverty, and health concerns of the day.
  Currently, under the direction of international president Barbara 
Moore, Zeta Phi Beta implements their national service program, Z-HOPE, 
which stands for Zetas Helping Other People Excel. Z-HOPE is a 
community outreach initiative in direct response to the Healthy People 
2000 objectives established by the United States Department of Health 
and Human Services. Since the start of this initiative, Zeta women and 
their auxiliaries have touched the lives of thousands of men and women 
and children in more than 500 communities around the country.
  Through their National Education Foundation, Zeta works with the 
Department of Energy to educate minority communities about the Human 
Genome Project. The foundation holds conferences across the Nation in 
both rural and urban areas.
  Zeta Phi Beta also has a long-standing partnership with the March of 
Dimes to educate low-income mothers about prenatal care. Stork's Nest 
provides incentives to help pregnant women make and keep prenatal care 
appointments and teaches expectant parents about healthy prenatal and 
infant care practices. Over the past 2 years, more than 500,000 people 
participated in a program to raise the awareness of prematurity by 
taking the message to the African American and Latino churches.
  In 2003, Zeta founded the Zeta Congressional Institute in efforts to 
increase the number of minority women who pursue careers as advocates 
and legislators. Zeta will encourage more minority women to pursue 
internships in congressional offices and executive agencies to gain 
firsthand knowledge of the political process.
  For 85 years, the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority has worked to address the 
problems that confront our communities. I am proud to celebrate this 
momentous occasion with the ladies of Zeta Phi Beta, and I welcome them 
to Washington as they return here to celebrate the anniversary and the 
place of their founding.

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