The High Desert Pearls, an official interest group of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. founded about a year ago, has received approval to be elevated to chapter status.
The group will celebrate that accomplishment at its chapter chartering celebration luncheon 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. June 9 at the Riverside Convention Center. Keynote speaker will be Joya T. Hayes, the South Central Regional director of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
“We are thrilled to unite with more than 360,000 Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority members worldwide as we establish the 77th chapter in the Far Western region of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.,” Janis Parker Pressley, High Desert Pearls vice president, said in a news release. “As an official chapter, we will be able to provide even more services.”
The High Desert Pearls was the brainchild of Lakieta L. Emanuel, who saw a need for more support services in the High Desert. After recruiting 28 fellow Alpha Kappa Alpha members, she developed a plan to complete service requirements to become a chapter, which groups are allowed up to three years to accomplish.
The High Desert Pearls met the requirements in one year instead of three. The group’s community service in Adelanto, Barstow, Victorville, Apple Valley and Hesperia has included providing food to families; providing clothing, linen and personal hygiene products to the unhoused; developing and distributing educational materials; cleaning streets; educating and registering voters; and participating in environmental enhancement projects.
For full story click here.