Belmont’s Alpha Sigma Tau Introduces New Primary Philanthropy

As of fall 2025, The Next Door Recovery is the primary philanthropy for Belmont University’s chapter of the sorority Alpha Sigma Tau.

The Next Door Recovery is a Tennessee-based women’s shelter that specializes in rehabilitation for patients in active recovery from substance use. The sorority previously partnered with Girls Inc., a nonprofit organization with the goal of “inspiring all girls to be strong, smart and bold,” according to its website.

While the organization maintains a good relationship with Girls Inc., the requirements for working with children in schools became too difficult for Belmont’s sorority to uphold for all members.

“With them being in schools and working with such young girls, we needed background checks to be able to go into the schools and actually do things with them,” said AST chapter president Ava Gaudin. “We wanted to offer our chapter hands-on service opportunities and experiences.”

As a result, AST made a group effort to choose a new philanthropy for Belmont’s chapter.

Nationally, all chapters of AST fall under the Women’s Wellness Initiative. It promotes the well-being and support of women through multiple dimensions of wellness and service partners such as Girls Who Code and Dress for Success.

Over the summer, AST chapter directors and members individually voted for which philanthropy would best suit the sorority's needs. The Next Door Recovery stood out to members because they will get to work directly with patients in the shelter.

AST Vice President of Communications Addison Jackson and other sorority directors selected options that were focused on female empowerment and required assistance beyond fundraising.

“Every AST around the world is underneath the Women’s Wellness Initiative, so we primarily keep it geared towards women,” said Jackson. “Girls Inc. had also gotten to a point where they didn’t need our funding as much. We wanted to give it to someone who could benefit from it and help the community.

As the sorority’s director of philanthropy, Ashlynn O’Nesky has the goal of combining sorority and campus events with the fundraising necessary for The Next Door Recovery.

AST will host its fall semester philanthropy week the last week in October, which O’Nesky organized to introduce The Next Door Recovery’s cause to campus.

A portion of the week will strictly focus on fundraising events in partnership with Nashville businesses, commonly known as percentage nights.

“It’s the kind of event where a percentage of commission will go towards us and we can give that to our new philanthropy,” said O’Nesky.

The week will also feature the return of a costume contest, “Taulloween,” and new events themed around the Women’s Wellness Initiative. O’Nesky would like to hold some events in collaboration with Belmont’s other Fraternity and Sorority Life organizations.

“We’re still figuring out the logistics of new events,” said O’Nesky. “I’ve already started communications with the fraternities to get them on board.”

To further help these nonprofits, AST encourages students not involved in FSL to still attend fundraising events and reach out to the charities to learn more. 

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This article was written by Ria Skyer