Alpha Xi Delta - University of South Dakota

Epsilon Calls Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta • University of South Dakota • Spring 2021 I t has been five years since we kicked off the Coming Home Campaign to raise money to build a new chapter house. We have accomplished so much in those five years: nearly $1,390,300 has been pledged by 246 alumnae. To date, we have collected $1,237,495.16 with 90% of those pledges completed at this time. Over 20% of our alumnae responded to our request to assist in building our beautiful new house. Although we have a lot to celebrate, the need for funds remains, and we would like to reach out to members in particular who have graduated in the last 20 years and have not supported this effort. Please donate to Epsilon today to help us meet our $1.4 million goal and bring financial stability to our sisterhood. Make checks payable to Epsilon House Corporation (Memo: Capital Campaign) or Alpha Xi Delta Foundation (Memo: Epsilon Chapter House Fund). Online giving and payment plans are also available! Mail all forms and payments to Alpha Xi Delta, P.O. Box 630, Vermillion, SD 57069-0630. Our accomplishments include locating and moving to a temporary chapter house, demolishing the old house, building a new one and moving in, and securing short- and long- term financing from Alpha Xi Delta National Housing Corporation and First Bank and Trust. The long-term financing of this building will continue for years to come; any help you can give now is appreciated. Challenges from the Pandemic The corporation board and members took many precautionary measures ahead of the fall semester. Unfortunately, that did not keep the chapter free from COVID-19. We accommodated both staff and members with a quarantine. The changes included increased costs in staff duties and hours and expenses for delivering meals to quarantined members. The other challenge was the number of members living in the house. Occupancy has been down for both the fall and spring semesters due to members not returning to school, choosing to living at home, and a variety of other reasons. The board therefore struggled to cover the costs with fewer live-in members. We need 45 members in occupancy to maintain cashflow based on current housing costs. We look forward to having more live-in sisters in the 2021-22 academic year. Upcoming Plans We have even more plans on deck, such as finishing the unfinished space in the basement. There is a lot of discussion regarding needs: a craft workspace, a lounge/game room, and of course, painting and finishing work for the chapter room. Another ongoing priority is finding alumnae who are interested in serving the chapter as advisors, corporation board members, fundraising committee members, Alumnae Aunts, or in other ways. If this applies to you, please reach out to us at axid.epsilon. corpboard@gmail.com. Due to the ongoing pandemic, we are not holding an in-person Founder's Day celebration in the spring, but watch for Order of the Rose celebration plans for fall 2021! Yours in Alpha Xi, Kim Jensen Dietrich '87 President Alpha Xi Delta Corporation of Vermillion, S.D. axid.epsilon.corpboard@gmail.com (605) 201-3561 WORKING TOWARD BETTER DAYS The Need to Support Epsilon Continues Having Fun in the Sun Having Fun in the Sun Cindy "Cyd" Nielson Farr '77 Shares Joys of Island Life and the AΞ∆ Sisterhood A lthough she had a colorful career, from working at Gert's Drive Inn in Woonsocket, South Dakota, at the age of 14 to running property and insurance agencies with her husband in Florida, retirement is where Cindy "Cyd" Nielson Farr '77 has really been able to shine, have fun, and of course, relax. Cyd, who now goes by Cindy, believes that fun should be a component of anything she does, and her blog, Tropical Life, Food and Fun, highlights how much fun she's having in a tropical island paradise. She's a lover of lists and a self-proclaimed "cookie snob," but she's happy to share her recipes with her readers. Since launching her blog, which also has sister Facebook and Instagram pages, Cindy's been a contributing writer for Grown and Flown and Women Who Live on Rocks, which are fabulous sites run by amazing women. She's also been a contributing writer for The Today Show (for their website and social media pages), as well as Living the Second Act and Her View from Home. "I enjoy the interaction of my blog and social media pages. I recently had a Facebook post with over 18,000 comments! It's all fun, but some messages speak to people, and I think Cindy and her husband, Lat, with their three sons, Tommy, Casey, and Michael, and their daughter-in-law, April, at Casey and April's wedding in May 2019. (Continued on page 2)

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