Saint Philothea Chapter # 5024
Dormition of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church
Greensboro, North Carolina


The fall and winter months are some of the busiest times in our Philoptochos Chapter! The Saint Philothea Chapter in Greensboro, North Carolina supports our National Philoptochos "Feeding the Hungry" project throughout the year with donations received in our Year Round Food Bank, which began over 12 years ago to help families facing financial difficulties. In addition, our support of the newly established "Operation Classroom" is reflected in our past 10 years partnering with the Doris Henderson Newcomers School, a unique school in the Guilford County School system, that services refugee children in grades 3 through 12 and their families. New families arrive throughout the school year with few articles of clothing and limited resources. The children are allowed to stay at the school for one year learning the language and reaching their appropiate grade level for entry into their neighborhood school. Our Philoptochos Chapter has provided the Newcomers School with school supplies, food, clothing, furniture, Christmas gifts, and summer activity boxes for these very needy children.

On October 29, 2018 the Backpack Beginnings program was recipient of 247 pounds of donated non-perishable food (which is the equivalent of 206 meals) collected in our parish during September and October. These generous donations from Philoptochos members and parishioners helped middle and high schools in Guilford County restock their Food Pantries and provide food to their neediest students.

On Sunday, October 21st our Philoptochos Chapter sponsored a Seasonal Flu Shot Clinic coordinated and administered by our own Dr. Emily Mihelich, pharmacist. Twenty four parishioners took advantage of this wonderful and convenient opportunity to receive the H1N1 and seasonal flu immunizations on this day.

 

Care Kits for the Homeless were assembled at our October Philoptochos Meeting and made available to all parishioners to distribute to individuals we see in and around town who may be homeless and/or in need of food. This was our Third Annual Care Kits project and provides a gallon ziploc bag filled with water bottles, packs of crackers, beef jerky, a warm hat, gloves, scarf, socks, band-aides, and hand sanitizer, all donated by Philoptochos members and parishioners and collected for over a month prior to the assembly. This year over 125 care kits were assembled.

On November 11th we remembered the military veterans in our community. Cards thanking them for their service were sent and a flag, with stars with the names and military branch for our living veterans and angels with names and military branch representing our veteran parishioners who have passed, was displayed in the Fellowship Hall.



On Saturday, November 17^th  Philoptochos members volunteered for the Salvation Army as Holiday Bell Ringers. For the past fifteen years, each November, our chapter schedules a day to volunteer our time and service in support of this important community outreach project.









During December several of our Philoptochos members and friends of Philoptochos visited our sick and homebound parishioners, reaching out to our brothers and sisters who have not been able to attend church. Poinsettias and pastries were also given to add holiday cheer.
 
As an extension of our Children in Need projects, during December our Philoptochos Chapter adopted 2 of the newest and neediest families at the  Doris Henderson Newcomers School, and provided needed clothing, shoes, socks, shirts and tops, coats, and pajamas for all family members. Adults received beds, mattresses, bedding, cooking utensils, and household items, in addition to fresh meats, fruits, vegetables, and non perishable food items to assist them in meeting their everyday needs. Children were given items on their wish list such as their first doll, ball, art supplies, or game.  Not only were we able to make the children’s wishes come true, but we provided enough food to each family to have many nutritional meals throughout the holiday and into the new year. Joining the school's social worker and interptreter a group of 10 including Philoptochos members, spouses, supporters of Philoptochos, and Father Sarantis, and Presvytera Norma deliverd the many gifts on December 18^th to a newly arrived family from Guatemala and another family from the Congo. The excitement in the eyes of the children and the joy and appreciation from the families speaks volumes for the good deeds of our chapter and church family in their support of this most worthy project.

Neither ice nor power outages discouraged  our chapter from having the blessing of Vasilopitas and our Vasilopita Auction in late January. Although we were postponed, our Auction was a huge success!
 
You could see RED everywhere on Sunday, February 3, 2019 in support of the Go Red for Women Movement. Members and parishioners, were encouraged to wear red and red ribbon and red dress pins were available for distribution, in addition to literature on heart health and cardiovascular disease for women. We were so pleased to see many parishioners wearing red in support of the American Heart Association and women's heart health awareness.
 
We held our Third Annual One Warm Coat Drive throughout the month of January. Fifty five warm coats of various sizes and a number of sweaters, scarves, and gloves were donated and delivered to the very grateful Greensboro Urban Ministry on February 5.
 
Our year round Food Bank is currently collecting each Sunday non perishable food items. Donations of canned vegetables and fruits, soups, oatmeal, cereal, powdered milk, beans, rice, canned tuna or chicken, and pastas collected in January and February will be delivered to The Blessed Table, a faith based area food pantry, staffed by various church volunteers, and provides food to struggling families in the Greensboro area. Our Chapter  donates food items every 2 months to a Guilford County Food Program serving the greater Greensboro community to help with food insecurity in our community.