JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One of the oldest Black service organizations is celebrating 80 years of serving the city of Jacksonville.
The Beta Alpha Zeta chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. takes great pride in preserving and promoting the Northside.
The organization is located in the Moncrief neighborhood, and members work closely to help children and mothers in the community.
The chapter, which is celebrating 80 years of serving the community, is made up of 125 women who have a special focus on serving the Northside.
“The amount of history that Jacksonville has in this neighborhood, is something that should really be treasured. Moncrief is an area that has great needs in different areas that we support on a regular basis. So why not be close to where the people that we serve and treasure right there,” said chapter president Andrea Williams.
The Zeta house is right across the street from Raines High School, which Williams said adds to the chapter’s emphasis of serving children in the community.
“We service youth from ages four through 18 for our three different youth organizations that we house here. We have well over 50 young girls in that program. We provide scholarships that we do annually, so we’re just doing a lot of work and I’m just so incredibly proud,” she said.
Williams said the organization also assists low-income mothers through its Stork’s Nest program, which has partnered with March of Dimes for 40 years.
The program specifically helps the 32209 ZIP code.
“It allows us to really to make sure that the women in our communities know how to understand and prevent premature babies. We offer programming, classes to participate in and in return for participating in classes, we incent them with the ability to pick out items in our nest,” Williams said.
The organization also owns Zeta Phi Beta park, which is right behind the chapter house. The chapter holds several events to support the community, including one coming up next month, where the organization plans to recognize teachers of Duval County Public Schools.
Longtime member Alpha Hay’s passion for the organization runs deep.
“I’ve been in this chapter 47 years. It has been just a joy that we have reached this milestone and how it has grown over the years. I can remember when we just had a few members, and I look at what we have now and it just brings joy to my heart,” said Hay.
Williams said the influence the organization has in Jacksonville, will only continue to grow.
“The impact that we do inside of these chapter worlds and outside in the community is really impactful for Jacksonville and I hope that community takes note,” Williams said.
The Beta Alpha Zeta chapter marked its 80th milestone with a sold-out gala over the weekend.
The national organization was founded in 1920 on the campus of Howard University.