The records of the University of Michigan Alumnae Club of Ann Arbor, Alva Gordon Sink Group contain information about the founding of the group, its programs, activities, and membership. The records include correspondence, minutes, membership directories, and newsletters. The records are divided into five series, Administration, Officer Records, Newsletters and other mailings, Directories, and Yearly Files.
The Alva Gordon Sink Alumnae Chapter was founded during the school year 1959/60 by Alva Gordon Sink and a group of female students attending the University of Michigan. Sink was an alumnus of the University of Michigan and the wife of the University Musical Society Director Charles A. Sink. As well as being instrumental in the formation of the Sink Alumnae Chapter she was also a founding member of the first University of Michigan Alumnae Association in Ann Arbor and of the Sarah Browne Smith Alumnae Group.
The Alva Gordon Sink group was started with the goal to set up a scholarship fund for current female students at the university, therefore fundraising was an early aspect of the groups work. They used bake sales, garage sales, annual tasting parties, and the sale of cookbooks and hand-sewn university flags to raise money for their scholarships fund. The group also organized many social events for their members such as lecture series that took place at local museums or historical libraries and involved professors speaking on topics ranging from drugs and politics to horticulture and American history.
The Sink chapter continues to mentor female students and raise money for their scholarship fund through social events and fundraising activities. The chapter is one of four U-M alumnae chapters located in Ann Arbor, MI. It is directly affiliated with the Alumnae Council and the University of Michigan Alumni Association and participates in the events of the larger groups.
