Alpha Phi Omega has designated the first week of November as National Service Week (NSW), in order to unify chapters under a national theme, inspire expansion of chapter service programs and increase the impact chapters have on the communities they serve.
National Service Week is an annual event that dates back to 1979 when Dr. Stan Carpenter, Xi Omicron ’68, thought there needed to be a time when all brothers united to provide service as members of a national organization. At a July 1979 Board of Directors meeting, Brother Carpenter moved that National Service Day be conducted and promoted as “Service Day 1979 – A Celebration of Service,” and his motion was successful. Then National Service Chairman, Brother Carpenter would later become National President.
National Service Day was expanded to a full week in 1996 and since then, APO brothers have performed service for a week each year reflecting a specific theme determined biennially at National Convention.
