Sisterhood

AEPHI was founded by seven Jewish women; Helen Phillips, Ida Beck, Rose Gerstein, Augustina "Tina" Hess, Lee Reiss, Rose Salmowitz and Stella Strauss; at Barnard College in New York on October 24, 1909. This sorority would endeavor to foster lifelong friendship and sisterhood, academics, social involvement and community service, all the while providing a home away from home for its members. "It was her [Helen Phillips'] idea and her persistence more than anything else that brought Alpha Epsilon Phi into existence," one founder wrote. "I sometimes think that some of those ties were more necessary to Helen than to the others in this group because Helen had no mother and no sisters or brothers, and to her a group of adopted sisters was more of a need and had more significance."

The dream that was born in a dorm room at Barnard College in 1909 continues to succeed, prosper and thrive on over 50 college and university campuses nationwide. AEF welcomes with open arms hundreds of new members each year and seeks not only to live up to the ideals and goals of its original founders, but also to exceed them.

Philanthropy

We encourages our members to be active in all types of community service and philanthropic activities. The national organization has two official philanthropies: The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and the Chaim Sheba Medical Center in Israel.

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation was founded by Elizabeth Glaser (an AEPHI at the University of Wisconsin, Sigma Chapter) and two of her close friends in 1988, shortly after Elizabeth and her husband, Paul, discovered that she, along with their two children Ariel and Jake, were infected with the AIDS virus, a result of a blood transfusion. The goal of the organization is to educate people on the special issues concerning children with the AIDS virus. The foundation has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars towards AIDS research in the 15+ years since its inception at the Glaser's kitchen table. AEPHI is proud to be able to support such a worthy cause through the efforts of its members.