Sigma Kappa

Sigma Kappa (ΣΚ) is a sorority founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn. Since its founding in 1874, the sorority has initiated more than 156,000 members worldwide and has 112 collegiate chapters in 36 states and over 120 alumnae chapters.

The sorority's official philanthropies are gerontology (with a focus on Alzheimer's disease research), Inherit the Earth, and the Maine Sea Coast Mission. The philanthropies can be easily remembered with the acronym SIGMA (Sigma Kappa Foundation, Inherit the Earth, Gerontology, Maine Sea Coast Mission, and Alzheimer's research). Research grants are made each year to universities and other institutions actively engaged in the fight against Alzheimer's Disease.