In order to start a history reference library, the history honors society Phi Alpha Theta (PAT) donates 500 dollars to Faith Christian Academy on Friday, Jan. 25.
PAT received 500 dollars after winning the national Best Chapter Award in our enrollment division. They have received this award for the past three years. Faith Christian Academy (FCA), located on South Irby Street, intends to purchase history books, maps and more to set up the history section of their school’s library.
Adviser of PAT and Associate Professor of history Christopher Kennedy explained the significance of donating to the community, and specifically, with FCA.
“To keep with the goals of our Chapter and organization, we wanted to inspire a love of learning in their students and especially we wanted to show the importance and relevance of history in their lives,” Kennedy said. “Hopefully we might even get a few of these students coming to FMU as history majors in the future.”
FCA opened a 4k through 12th grade program in August 2010 after Christian Assembly closed down their program in May 2010. Accredited by SCISA, FCA needed to have a large enough library for the amount of students who attend FCA accreditation to continue.
FCA Principal Audrey Streit is also an alumna of FMU. She said she was very grateful for PAT’s donation.
“We truly appreciate them considering us for the money to help us out for our library because we are on a very tight budget and the library was something we knew we had to work on to continue our accreditation,” Streit said.
At FMU, PAT also hosts International Lunch Express where they sell culturally diverse food on campus to raise money for their organization. During this spring semester they will also host two history lecture series.
Outside FMU, PAT sponsored Children in Foster care for Christmas. They have also walked for various fund raisers such as Red Cross and Juvenile Diabetes. Among walks, they volunteer their time with Special Olympics events.
Last fall, eleven PAT members went to Bennettsville, S.C. to cleanup and restore the gravesite of Col. Kolb. He was a revolutionary war officer under Francis Marion who was gunned down by Loyalists on his porch step in front of his family.
PAT is open to FMU students with a 3.1 GPA or above in four history courses and an overall GPA of above a 3.0. PAT also allows freshmen and sophomores who have not completed these requirements to collaborate with PAT as “friends of PAT.” To find out more information on how to be a member of PAT or to become a part of the “friends of PAT,” contact Kennedy in his office located in the Founders Hall building in room 205.