Read.Lead.Achieve

During the month of March, Pi Phis in the UK are organizing virtual support of Pi Phi’s Read.Lead.Achieve initiative kicking off on 2nd of March – Dr. Seuss’ birthday.  In support of this initiative, we aim to raise the profile of literacy efforts internationally through our members based in the United Kingdom via social media.

If you are on Twitter, follow us @Pi_Phi_LondonUK. Please re-tweet (RT) our tweets and feel free to tweet using #readleadachieve and discuss why literacy is important to you and how you are supporting literacy initiatives around the world.

If you are doing any individual literacy activities, please feel free to share your activities and thoughts about Read.Lead.Achieve here.

Please consider making individual donations to Pi Phi Foundation’s Literacy Fund or other Foundation initiatives.


Together, we can empower communities internationally through literacy and education! Ring Ching!

If you have any questions about these efforts or would like additional information, please contact mdrouse5.piphi@gmail.com.

Cookin' Up Some Plans for 2012

Pi Phi London UK officers - Kasey (VP) and Michelle (Chair)

Happy new year angels! 2011 was an extremely busy time for your Pi Phi London UK executive officers - Kasey (Vice President) and Michelle (Chairman).  Kasey was busy finishing up her PhD in International Human Rights and Michelle was overwhelmed with getting married and moving into a new house!  Despite our hectic personal and professional lives, we organised some fun events, supported UK Panhellenic and mentored several new expats through our Big Sisters in Britain - Expat Mentoring Programme. 

After a lovely holiday, your officers Michelle and Kasey are back into full swing planning Pi Phi activities for 2012 and are aiming for more activities and more involvement from our members!  We have lots in store for you, and we hope that this will be a flagship year for UK Pi Phis. Shortly, we will share our goals and calendar for the year and to ensure that we are meeting your needs, we will solicit feedback via a member survey.  Keep your eyes peeled and let us know if you have any ideas, would like to join exec, or would like to help us plan an event or two this year.

And, be sure to join our google group email list, like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter!

Ring Ching!

Sippin' Angels & Big Sisters in Britain

Lyndsey, Kasey, Michelle, Julie at Le Beaujolais - June 2011

In a charming French-inspired restaurant, Pi Phis enjoyed catching up with old friends and meeting new ones at the first monthly Sippin' Angels event in June 2011.

We sipped on a variety of French wines, tasted delicious stinky cheeses, and talked about our experiences living in the UK as American expats with an additional common bond - Pi Beta Phi.  

Not only do we share similar experiences, we recognise the need to support our sisters experiencing life abroad - whether they are students or alumnae.  We recently kicked off a new programme called 'Big Sisters in Britain - Expat Mentors' that enables us to establish mentor/mentee relationships so we can share best practices and provide emotional support to our fellow Pi Beta Phi sisters.  If you are interested in being paired up with a Pi Beta Phi mentor or if you would like to volunteer to mentor Pi Phi collegians and alumnae in the UK, please email mdrouse5.piphi@gmail.com.    

Thanks to Kasey for recommending the lovely Le Beaujolais, and we look forward to seeing Pi Phis at our monthly Sippin' Angels event at different venues around London!

UK Panhellenic Event - Soho Walking Tour

The UK Panhellenic group held a very fun walking tour and photo scavenger hunt around Soho on 7th May, 2011. Members from Delta Gamma, Alpha Chi Omega, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Zeta, and several others joined in the fun!

This picture was taken at the French Protestant Church of London, which is the only one of it's kind in town!

If you are interested in participating in UK Panhellenic events, please join our Facebook page.

Pictured left to right: Jen (Delta Gamma), Kelly (Alpha Chi Omega), Michelle Drouse (Pi Beta Phi) and Jesica (Kappa Kappa Gamma). Photo taken by Heather (Delta Zeta).

Happy Founders' Day!

Pi Beta Phi is 144 years young this year! Today, 28th of April, 2011, we celebrate the 12 pioneering visionaries who founded our amazing organization in 1867.

Please visit Pi Beta Phi HQ's You Tube channel to learn more about the history of our great women's fraternal organization.

Angel Spotlight - Kasey Lowe McCall-Smith

The London/UK Pocket congratulates Kasey Lowe McCall-Smith on her recent marriage to Hamish McCall-Smith at the beautiful Hopetoun House by Edinburgh, Scotland.

Kasey said, 'a few Pi Phis attended including my sister, my pledge sister and another Pi Phi I befriended during my masters...all quite a good mix!'

We wish Kasey and Hamish a lifetime of happiness - ring ching!

In addition to this memorable year in Kasey's life, the London/UK Pocket nominated Kasey for the Carolyn Helman Lichtenberg (CHL) Crest Award for her outstanding personal achievement in her professional career.

Kasey has been integral to re-energizing the Pi Beta Phi London/UK alumnae pocket while serving as VP Event Planning/Membership in 2009-2010.

Kasey is dedicated to human rights law and has earned several degrees: BA in Architectural Studies, Juris Doctor, LL.M in international economic law, and she’s currently a Ph.D Candidate on the verge of finishing her Thesis on human rights treaties in international law at the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

Her professional life has been dedicated to both serving as a legal practitioner as well as striving to be an ethical researcher and educator of international law. Her passion for human rights is inspiring as she has not only had numerous publications, book reviews, research assistantships, and conference invitations, she has also been an active lecturer and a coordinator of a peer assisted program for first year law students.

We are proud to nominate Kasey for this important Pi Phi award to recognize her outstanding professional contributions to further international human rights. Kasey is among 27 nominees from Pi Phi alumnae organisations and we are proud to announce that she was selected as a winner! Please join me in congratulating Kasey on this amazing achievement.

Happy 4th of July & Chick Flick

Happy Independence Day Pi Phis! Enjoy celebrating the 4th of July with family and friends!

We are planning a chick flick evening on 9th of July to watch the newest Twilight Saga film called Eclipse. Please contact mdrouse5.piphi@gmail.com if you are interested in joining us! And feel free to wear express your love for Twilight with your "Team Edward" or "Team Jacob" t-shirt...you'll be among supportive fans!