Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity is a co-educational
national service fraternity, founded in 1925 at Lafayette College.
Alpha Phi Omega is incorporated as a non-profit organization in the
United States.  (There also exists an Alpha Phi Omega in the
Philippines with some ties, but they are a separate organization.)
Alpha Phi Omega is run almost entirely by the students who are
members; a small staff covers administrative needs, and various alumni
are elected as national board members and as regional directors and
sectional chairs for various parts of the country.

To date, Alpha Phi Omega has chartered over 650 chapters on college
and university campuses across the country, of which more than 300 are
still reporting as active.  (On some campuses, the chapters of Alpha
Phi Omega refer to themselves as A Phi O, or APO.)  For historical
reasons, some local chapters are all-male; all new chapters, however,
are required to be co-ed.  Since its founding, Alpha Phi Omega has
initiated more than 250,000 members.  Our by-laws forbid chapters from
having a fraternity house, and members of Alpha Phi Omega may join
social Greek letter organizations.

The threefold purpose of Alpha Phi Omega is Leadership, Friendship,
and Service, and these guide the programs of the fraternity.  Alpha
Phi Omega was originally founded on the principles of scouting, and
still maintains a quasi-official relationship with the Boy Scouts of
America; however, we do not have the same kind of membership
requirements as the BSA.  Many chapters are involved with Boy Scout
and Girl Scout programs at a local level.

Volunteer and community work play a large part in the activities of
the chapters.  Some services which chapter provide to their colleges
include, but are not limited to, orientation tours, book-exchanges,
architectural surveys of barriers to handicapped students, publication
of student directories, renovation of campus facilities, and support
of campus adminstrative details and special events.  Many chapters run
off-campus service projects at community soup kitchens, homeless
shelters, children educational programs and day-care, disadvantaged
and challenged learning centers, elderly homes, etc.

For non-members who want more detailed information about Alpha Phi
Omega, please contact your local campus chapter, or if your college or
university does not have a chapter on campus, you may contact the
Alpha Phi Omega national office at:

   Alpha Phi Omega, 14901 East 42nd Street, Independence, MO 64055
   Tel: (816) 373-8667, Fax: (816) 373-5975

[Source: rewritten by Ping Huang, as adapted from parts of the APO-L
FAQ by Ru Zung and text by Randy Finder.]

There is also an Alpha Phi Omega organization in the Phillippines,
which is separate from Alpha Phi Omega in the United States.  However,
the two organizations share many goals, and are cooperating in seeking
to expand the ideals of Alpha Phi Omega to other countries.

[Source: Ping Huang.]

Email: apohq@aol.com.