Sisters Making a Change is a local sorority on campus that emphasizes service and sisterhood. They host various service events every semester within the community which includes the “Out of the Darkness” walk that serves to raise money for Suicide Prevention (Courtesy of Sisters Making a Change).
Sisters Making a Change is a sorority on campus that promotes service work, volunteerism and sisterhood within its members. The sorority was founded in 2004 and has since grown both in its membership and in becoming part of Greek Life at Geneseo.
Political science major senior and president Hannah Lowry provided the backstory of SMAC’s establishment.
“We were founded in 2004, but we didn’t go Greek until 2013. We were founded by our three ‘founding mothers’ is what we call them. They just wanted an organization that was focused on service and sisterhood and they kind of felt like ‘why not create our own,’” Lowry said. “[SMAC has] really blossomed since then, [the sorority has] grown so much.”
Many members of this sorority join predominantly for its focus on service and for its volunteer work in local communities. With the continuous dedication these women have to helping and assisting in the Geneseo area, they have formed and maintained positive relationships with the charities they work with.
“People have said that they’ve joined SMAC because of the service,” Lowry said. “The service events throughout the semester, it really is something that we’re so passionate about.”
Lowry is proud of SMAC’s strong connection with people from charities such as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Tree Creations.
While each organization on campus advocates for a cause or for inclusivity, SMAC promotes mental health awareness. Psychology major junior Elizabeth McCabe indicates that through the sorority’s events, the sisters promote a more expansive awareness of different mental health issues.
“Our main philanthropy … the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention … we just had our ‘Out of the Darkness’ walk,” McCabe said. “We’re really doing a lot with mental health and raising awareness … [we also focus on maintaining a] positive body image, all that type of stuff.”
The sisters in SMAC work hard to maintain strong friendships with one another. The sorority has 52 active members, which, because of its size, allows for greater intimacy and genuine bonding among the women. The members prefer for the sorority to stay on the smaller end.
SMAC also promotes five main principals that they encourage members to follow.
“Our five principals are fitness, loyalty, service, unity and scholarship. We really do try to value being well-rounded individuals and we want SMAC to be a positive influence in people’s lives,” Lowry said. “We want SMAC to make [our members] better.”
Lowry and McCabe both see the future of SMAC as being the same in its size, and also believe that the sorority’s positive impact can only increase. They believe that the members of the sorority will always stay true to themselves and to the five values.
SMAC encourages a welcoming, comfortable environment within the sorority. The members have various different interests, yet that aspect is one of the sorority’s strengths. This sisterhood promotes genuine friendship and hard work in the community.