Florida Senate - 2025                            (NP)    SR 1854
       
       
        
       By Senator Osgood
       
       
       
       
       
       32-02246-25                                           20251854__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution honoring Zeta Phi Beta Sorority,
    3         Incorporated, on the occasion of its Florida State
    4         Leadership Conference and recognizing the
    5         organization’s advocacy for the Extraordinary Power of
    6         S.H.E. — the Social, Health, and Economic Justice
    7         Initiative.
    8  
    9         WHEREAS, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, founded
   10  January 16, 1920, at Howard University, has upheld the
   11  principles of scholarship, service, sisterhood, and finer
   12  womanhood for more than a century, advancing civic engagement
   13  and advocacy that strengthen families and communities, and
   14         WHEREAS, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, is an
   15  organization of college women organized as a sister group to Phi
   16  Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated, that bind themselves
   17  together to promote “the cause of education by encouraging the
   18  highest standards of scholarship through scientific, literary,
   19  cultural, and educational programs; promoting charitable
   20  projects on college campuses and within the community; fostering
   21  the spirit of sisterly love; and promoting the ideal of finer
   22  womanhood,” and
   23         WHEREAS, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and Phi Beta Sigma
   24  Fraternity comprise the only constitutionally bound, brother
   25  and-sister black Greek-letter organization, and
   26         WHEREAS, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority’s Florida State Leadership
   27  Conference serves as a vital platform for leadership
   28  development, community engagement, and legislative advocacy,
   29  empowering members to enact meaningful changes through policy
   30  and service that promotes overall community advancement, and
   31         WHEREAS, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority members have been
   32  relentless in demonstrating a strong commitment to community
   33  service, and through their Zetas Helping Other People Excel (Z
   34  HOPE) initiative, they have organized and executed more than
   35  150,000 programs, reaching and positively impacting more than 5
   36  million individuals, and
   37         WHEREAS, the sorority’s financial commitment of more than
   38  $8 million to the Extraordinary Power of S.H.E., the Social,
   39  Health, and Economic Justice initiative, is a testament to the
   40  members’ dedication to advancing social justice by advocating
   41  for voting rights, criminal justice reform, sensible and
   42  responsible firearms legislation, and equitable education
   43  policies; promoting health equity through affordable health
   44  care, improved maternal health, Medicaid expansion, mental
   45  health access, and preventive care in marginalized communities;
   46  and ensuring economic justice by supporting fair wages,
   47  workforce development, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship,
   48  and
   49         WHEREAS, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority has a long-standing
   50  national partnership with the March of Dimes, a collaboration
   51  that has contributed significantly to the fight against maternal
   52  and infant health disparities through improved access to
   53  prenatal care, policies that better protect mothers and babies,
   54  and increased awareness about black maternal health, and
   55         WHEREAS, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority proudly honors the
   56  remarkable contributions of one of its members, Jennifer
   57  “Jennie” Joseph, whose visionary work as a midwife, her
   58  recognition as the 2022 Time Magazine Woman of the Year, and her
   59  advocacy for maternal health have been instrumental in reducing
   60  maternal and infant mortality rates, particularly among black
   61  and marginalized communities in Florida and beyond, and
   62         WHEREAS, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority collaborates to actively
   63  support local, state, and national legislation that aligns with
   64  its S.H.E. initiative, with Zetas working alongside state
   65  legislators, advocacy groups, and national partners to champion
   66  policies that promote equity and justice for marginalized
   67  communities, ensuring impactful advocacy and community
   68  empowerment, NOW, THEREFORE,
   69  
   70  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   71  
   72         That the Senate honors the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Florida
   73  State Leadership Conference, Incorporated, and recognizes the
   74  organization’s advocacy for the Extraordinary Power of S.H.E. —
   75  the Social, Health, and Economic Justice Initiative.
   76         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
   77  the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Zeta Phi Beta
   78  Sorority, Incorporated, Leadership, Dr. Stacie N.C. Grant,
   79  International President and CEO; the Florida State Director,
   80  Bridgette Howard; and the Social Action Coordinators, Dr. Trina
   81  Sanders and Paulette Bartlett, as a tangible token of the
   82  sentiments of the Florida Senate.