Divine Nine helps to Preserve Shady Rest
Submitted by Liz Nolley Tillman
Through a coordinated effort driven by the National Pan-Hellenic Council of Central Jersey (NPHC of CJ), members of New Jersey’s Divine Nine, joined forces to raise $5,750 to support the Preserve Shady Rest Committee’s efforts to preserve and restore the historic significance of the Shady Rest Golf and Country Club.
Located in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, Shady Rest Golf and Country Club opened in 1920 as the first African American Golf and Country Club in the United States. The country club was home to John Matthew Shippen Jr., the first American Born African American Golf Professional and has hosted Jazz and Blues Legends like Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington.
Through the NPHC of Central Jersey’s Divine Nine for Shady Rest fundraiser, the nine historically Black fraternities and sororities comprising the NPHC, collectively known as the Divine Nine, formed teams to collect donations reflective of the founding years of each organization to support the preservation and restoration of the Shady Rest Clubhouse.
In one month, 179 Divine Nine members, chapters and supporters across NJ raised $5,750 that was presented by NPHC of Central Jersey President Roger Wingate, member of the Mu Gamma Gamma Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and Divine Nine for Shady Rest Initiative Chairman Liz Nolley Tillman, NPHC of CJ Parliamentarian and President of the Phi Eta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. to Tom Donatelli, Chair of the Preserve Shady Rest Committee at the Scotch Plains Township and Social Justice Matters Juneteenth Celebration on June 17, 2023. The celebration and check presentation took place in front of the historic Shady Rest Golf Clubhouse in Scotch Plains, NJ.
The National Pan-Hellenic Council of Central Jersey (NPHC of CJ) is a non-profit, public service organization whose members are comprised of those holding membership in the nine Black Greek Letter Organizations known as the “Divine Nine”. Its members include the following chapters serving Union, Middlesex and Somerset Counties in New Jersey:
- Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. – Zeta Nu Lambda and Theta Psi Lambda Chapters
- Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. — Nu Xi Omega, Phi Eta Omega and Theta Phi Omega Chapters
- Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. – Omicron Chi and Mu Gamma Gamma Chapters
- Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc – Plainfield Alumni and New Brunswick Alumni Chapters
- Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. – Central Jersey Alumnae Chapter
- Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. — Chi Sigma Chapter
- Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. — Omega Mu Zeta and Beta Alpha Rho Zeta Chapters
- Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. – Delta Kappa Sigma Chapter
- Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.
