A Unified Philanthropy Effort: Cardiac Care
Following the Fraternity’s united philanthropic work during World War II, Alpha Phi had hoped to have a unified cause to direct its charitable work towards. For years, the proposition had stalled with convention attendees unable to decide between the many worthy causes. After yet another show of philanthropic unity during World War II, the Fraternity was more motivated than ever to decide on a national project.
At the 1946 Convention in Quebec, delegates proposed six worthy organizations as possible philanthropic projects to be adopted by Alpha Phi: the Chaplain’s Service Corps (which the Fraternity had already been supporting since at least late 1945), the American Friends Service Committee, the Cardiac Aid Society, and three other scholarship programs. When the vote was taken on the morning of Friday, June 28th, Cardiac Aid became Alpha Phi’s first peacetime philanthropy project.
Cardiac Aid
While this focus on Cardiac Aid may sound familiar to any Alpha Phi who supports the Alpha Phi Foundation in its mission to support women’s heart health, the initial focus on Cardiac Aid was quite different. Rather than focusing specifically on heart disease and other issues in women, Alpha Phis in the 1940s were focused on heart disease in children - specifically rheumatic fever.
While rare and little-known today, rheumatic fever was devastating in the mid-20th century, killing more school age children in the United States than any other disease. Yet because it wasn’t as dramatic as other childhood diseases of the time like polio - rheumatic fever symptoms include a cold, sore throat, elevated temperature, and joint pain - the disease did not get as much philanthropic attention. This is where Alpha Phi came in. Through their philanthropic work the women of Alpha Phi raised awareness among parents about the dangers of rheumatic fever, supported the doctors, hospitals, and convalescent homes that worked to treat the children affected, and helping to entertain the children suffering from the disease.
By the 1960s, rheumatic fever became fairly rare in the United States and Canada, likely due to the widespread use of antibiotics to treat strep throat, the main infection that can lead to rheumatic fever. While rheumatic fever was no longer a pressing danger, Alpha Phi continued its focus on Cardiac Care, particularly through its partnership with the American Heart Association, which began in 1948.
