The start of the every semester brings new students to campus, with whom you can share APO! Make sure your chapter and you, as an individual, demonstrate the Cardinal Principles of Leadership, Friendship and Service in order for students to see that APO is the fraternity that they want to be a part of!

Also, brothers, make sure that your chapter has an updated and active outlet- such as Facebook, Twitter, etc.- to get information to prospective brothers about upcoming meetings and other things they can be a part of. 

Welcome back to school, brothers!

See you in Atlanta!

Torch Topics Editorial Team

Being chosen as the Fall Pledge Class Namesake Honoree is a privilege given to only one person every year. The Fraternity selects someone who reflects the Fraternity's Cardinal Principles of Leadership, Friendship and Service after whom to name the fall pledge class.

Brother James (Jim) Chandler, Omicron Tau '65 at Alma College in Michigan, was selected by the Board of Directors as the 2010 Fall Pledge Class Namesake.

Brother Chandler recently issued his challenge to the 2010 Fall Pledge Class.

Click here to read more about Brother Chandler and to read his challenge...

Coming up with the money necessary to send brothers to the rapidly-approaching 2010 Alpha Phi Omega National Convention in Atlanta might be more of a challenge than anticipated, due to budget cuts and a down economy.

However, with these ideas on how to effectively raise the money needed from your campus and from alumni, more brothers might be able to make the rewarding journey to the National Convention in just a few months.

Click here to read ideas and tips about fundraising on your campus...

The Corporation for National and Community Service released the 2010 Volunteering in America report, which found that 2009 saw the greatest increase in volunteering since 2003. This report gives a great look at various demographics and how, why and where Americans volunteer. According to the CNCS, in 2009, 63.4 million Americans provided 8.1 billion hours of service. The CNCS infographic to the right shows the demographic breakdown of volunteer hours performed in 2009. College students make up 27 percent of the 63.4 million American providing service.

Alpha Phi Omega chapters, on average, require their members to perform at least 20 hours of service each semester. Based on this average, the Fraternity collectively performs more than 700,000 hours of service each school year. More than 80,000 of those hours are performed during National Service Week in November and Spring Youth Service Day in April.

Each year thousands of college students across the country join the ranks of APO as a means to perform service that benefits their campus, community and nation. The above statistics show a substantial opportunity for the growth of the Fraternity and its mission to provide more service to more campuses nationwide.

If you or someone you know is interested in chartering or rechartering a chapter on a campus where APO is not currently active, please contact Director of Chapter Services Judy Mitchell at 816-373-8667 ext. 13 or chapter.services.dir@apo.org.