DURHAM, NC - On February 27, 2009, members of the Alpha Zeta Omega Chapter moved into the new Ivy Community Center after occupying the first facility (constructed in 2003) for only five years.
The Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. is the oldest sorority in the world founded originally for African American women. In 2008, the sorority celebrated its centennial year. The organization was founded at Howard University in Washington, DC in 1908 and has an international membership of more than 250,000 women. The sorority historically includes notable members in North Carolina, the United States and abroad. Just as Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority has outstanding membership nationally and internationally, Alpha Zeta Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority has also been outstanding in contributing to the Triangle area community, our state, and nation. This chapter, founded April 14, 1928, is the first Greek letter sorority of any kind in the city of Durham. The Alpha Zeta Omega Chapter of Durham, NC has 183 members and 50 percent are NCCU Graduates
The Ivy Community Center Inc. is a non-profit, tax exempt organization established in 1996 for the purpose of providing a facility where Alpha Zeta Omega members could meet and provide outreach services for our community.
The Center currently serves as one of the sites for the 21st Century Community Learning Program, an after school tutorial initiative for middle school students from Githens, Shepard, and W.G. Pearson Middle Schools. The new ICC facility, with a somewhat similar exterior to the previous one, is 1505 sq ft larger. It has meeting rooms, offices, an office workroom, a computer center, a kitchen and a large multi-purpose area. The parking area has tripled in size.
Ivy Community Center, Inc. is the non-profit arm of Alpha Zeta Omega and members of the chapter are also members of the Ivy Community Center Corporation. The center is governed by a Board of Directors that has direct oversight over the corporation. Janeen Denson Gammage is President. Other board officers and members are Mattie Moss, Vice President; Rosa Small, Secretary; Queen Lawrence, Treasurer; Constance Scott, Financial Secretary; Betty Brown, Beverly Evans, Tara Fikes, Lynn Henderson, Rosetta Johnson, Veronica Johnson, Toni Jordan, Hazel Layne, Iris Layne, Norma Martin, Gwendolyn Paschall, Grace Rowland-Curtis, Eurydice Williams Smith, Darnell Tabron, DeLois Washington, Zelphia Watson, and Claudette Howell, chapter president. Artelia Bryant is an ex-officio member of the ICC Board.
The chapter’s vision for a center began in 1994 under the leadership of then chapter president, Mattie Moss (NCCU 1964). Land was purchased in January 2000 and the construction process began in 2002. The sorority moved into the first building at 4418 Fayetteville Road on November 15, 2003. A significant contribution was bequeathed by the late Georgia Barbee McCallum (NCCU 1941), an active member of the chapter until her death. This gift assisted in financing the construction of the building.
The Lowe’s Corporation approached the ICC Corporation in 2006 about purchasing the property to build a Lowe’s Home Improvement Store. Discussions and negotiations began and continued until a mutual agreement was reached in October 2007. Among other things, the agreement guaranteed that the sorority could remain in its current facility until the new construction was ready for occupancy. ICC Board members and Alpha Zeta Omega chapter members joined with the Lowe’s group in meeting with neighborhood community leaders, presenting plans at the Durham City/County Planning Commission and the Durham City Council to garner support for the building project.[Press Release provided by the Alpha Zeta Omega Chapter's Reporter, Audrey Fairley Boykin, on May 15, 2009]
