Chapter # 5030
St. Irene
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
Charleston, SC

St. Irene Chapter of Philoptochos Celebrates 75th Anniversary
On Sunday, October 30, 2022 the Holy Trinity parish family came together to celebrate the 75th anniversary of our St. Irene Chapter of Philoptochos. Following the Divine Liturgy, an artoklesia was offered for current members for the health, salvation, and blessings from God. A memorial service was also offered for the past members of the chapter. A grand celebration included a delicious meal prepared and served by the men of our parish. A slideshow of archived photos and cookbooks were displayed along with other artefacts including photos of past presidents. Commemorative pins of the celebration were given to all members and a special recognition certificate was presented to 50 year and beyond members. Past presidents and honorees received a beautiful rose corsage. Metropolitan Alexios sent a letter commending the chapter for 75 years of dedication. Philoptochos would like to thank everyone who participated in any way, big or small, to help make the anniversary celebration such a memorable event!
As His Grace stated, “Never lose the Christian spirit that motivates and inspires you.” Philoptochos thanks you for all you do to support us, Our Army of Agape!
 

   

  
Pres Mary Ann Miehe                          Philoptochos Presidents                 50+ year members
Father Aristotle Damascas


Chapter # 5064
St Anastasia
St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church
Naples, FL

The fundraising for this project began at our monthly General Membership Meeting on February 16, 2022 with Mary E. Ciesa, our guest author presenting her new children’s book, “Spiros the Soup-Eating Dinosaur”. It is the delightful story of a clever girl, a small Greek village’s beloved but ailing dinosaur, and the rush to make him his favorite avgolemono soup. The book includes the soup recipe.

 

Following the power point presentation and book signing, the ladies of our Philoptochos served avgolemono soup to everyone in attendance. With a percentage of the book sales and the generosity of parishioners, we were able
to match these funds, making it possible for our Philoptochos Chapter to donate $2,000 to “Books for Collier Kids” in early June.  



Statistics show that the number of books in the home correlates strongly with reading skills and that most children from low-income families have no books in their home. Imagine never owning a book of your own! Books for Collier Kids, an all-volunteer organization supports Collier County Florida elementary schools classified as Title I by providing new books to young low-income children. $500 provides 250 new high-quality books, one for each child in one classroom for each month of the school year. Each book is personalized with the child’s name inscribed as “this book belongs to…” With our Chapter’s donation of $2,000, beginning in September, children in 4 classrooms (grades k-3) will be receiving books of their very own to take home. How exciting for these children!



Chapter #5024
Dormition of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church
Greensboro, NC

  

On Saturday April 2nd the Greek Pastry Sale & Gift Market was held.  Metropolis President Irene Politis is pictured with Chapter President Catherine Stuman along with members of the Chapter's Board

St. Elpis Chapter #5003
St. Demetrius Greek Orthodox Church
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Name of Operation Classroom Project:                 Operation Classroom at Bennett Elementary

Number of Students serviced:                    311

Amount of funds spent on project:            $600





Brief description of project:            We put a request in the bulletin for school supplies and funds to help Bennett Elementary.  We also put out flyers, a box in the narthex and a section on our Square website that allows people to donate online.

We received $200 in cash donations and about $100 worth of actual supplies.  We purchased an additional $300 worth of supplies with funds from our treasury.

When we visited the school, we also discovered that our members can volunteer individually.  We have advertised this at meetings and one member went to help with their book fair. 

Bennett is a Title I school near our church.  It is also a Cambridge School and has a special needs program.  The principal happens to be a member of our church, but we didn’t realize that until we contacted them.  We hope this will be an ongoing relationship. 



Ladies Philoptochos Society
Chapter 5059
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church
Fort Myers, Florida

Our Latest Events (Sept-Dec 2021) The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church Ladies Philoptochos Society (located in sunny Fort Myers, Florida) was very busy over the past few months. In September, we raised $1500 for Holy Cross School of Theology with two events. • The first event (September 12) was a spaghetti luncheon drive-thru; due to COVID, we could not host an in-person luncheon. With the generosity of the Karras/Pastrikos families, all food was donated, and proceeds were given in memory of family members to Holy Cross. • Our second event (September 26) was a Sunday Subday lunch. Food items were donated by our Board members. Parishioners pre-ordered either a ham or turkey sub. After liturgy, those who pre-ordered (and of course, we made additional) picked up their lunch bag with their sub, a bag of chips, a cookie and a bottle of water. Over 60 subs were made and enjoyed.


Our kitchen was filled with wonderful aromas in October. Our members were busy baking pies, breads, baklava, and other Greek pastries for our pre-order Made with Love Bake Sale in November.
Our Annual Thanksgiving Turkey drive fed 175 families this year thanks to the hard work of our members and the Karras/Pastrikos families.

In December, we were extremely filled with Christmas cheer with the following projects:

Operation Santa – members of our chapter and parish donated new toys for foster children in our local communities.


Christmas Card – over 75 names were entered in our Parish/Philoptochos Christmas card which was sent to every parish family.
Vasilopita Breads – working with our sister chapter, St. Katherine’s Naples, we were able to share the order and sell 60 breads.
Ping Pong Pizzazz – we held our 2^nd annual virtual Ping Pong Pizzazz event in December raising money for our community with $0 expenses. Participants purchased a number which was placed on a ping pong ball and placed into a “bingo” tumbler.  Winners were notified, and the event was livestreamed on Facebook.  All 40 prizes (worth $50 or more) were donated by members, parishioners and local businesses.  



Saint Anargyri Chapter #5005
Saint John The Divine 
Jacksonville,  FL 

Thanksgiving and Christmas Mnistries
     

  
We delivered 50 Thanksgiving  meals to local schools. 

        
Also  we deliver 50 gifts to Senior Angels at a local nursing  home. 


We also sponser the Christmas  open house at Saint Photios shrine.



Philoptochos Chapter #5021
Agia Elpis, Charlotte, NC


Cathy Poulemenos, co-chair, Cathy Beckman, co-chairman, Diane Ramsay, Chapter President
  
The Agia Elpis Philoptochos Chapter, of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Charlotte, NC, Christmas dinner was a great success! It was even more special with generous donations to Safe Alliance’s Domestic Violence Shelter. May the spirit of giving continue throughout the year!



Philoptochos Chapter #5046
St Nektarios, Charlotte, NC


Renee Keretsis,co-chairman, Irene Politis, Metropolis of Atlanta President, Charlotte Nickolopoulos, Chapter President, Madalina Lowen, Chapter VP, Katherine Cestrone, co-chairman.
On December 4th, the Philoptochos Chapter from St.Nektarios, Charlotte,NC held their Christmas brunch. Proceeds supported the Allegro Foundation, a champion for children with disabilities-creating new techniques to teach children with disabilities and enhance their quality of life. A silent auction, raffle prizes and a fashion show by designer Luis Machicao were held. 

Philoptochos Chapter #5030
St. Irene, Holy Trinity, Charleston, SC

Father Aristotle Damaskos, Gordon Robertson, Donor Relations Manager,Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center, Irene Politis, President, Metropolis of Atlanta Philoptochos, Mary Ann Miehe, Chapter President, Alexandra Pittas, Chapter Advisor
On December 11th, the St.Irene Philoptochos Chapter of Holy Trinity, Charleston, SC had their Christmas Brunch. A grant from National Philoptochos of $9,500 was presented to Gordon Robertson from  the Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center.
The Dee Norton Advocacy Center is the region’s leading resource to help prevent child abuse, protect abused and traumatized children, and put children and their families on the path to healing.

 


Philoptochos Chapter #5021
Agia Elpis, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Charlotte, NC

Agia ElpisPhiloptochos celebrated their nameday with a luncheon September 25th, 2021.  Bett Kofinas, past Diocese (Metropolis) President was honored that day for her 100th birthday.  She made a wonderful speech about her years with Philoptochos. Pictured with her are past chapter presidents. Lucy Pappadakis, Irene Politis (Metropolis president), Diane Ramsey and Georgia Andrews.  




Philoptochos Chapter #5030
Holy Trinity, Charleston SC

2021  The Philoptochos from Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Charleston, SC found creative ways to continue annual traditions despite restrictions imposed by the pandemic:

No carb/No calorie Vasilopita

This year’s Vasilopita luncheon was replaced with a parish mailing including a letter describing St. Basil Academy, a request for donations, and the “lucky” gold coin. A total of $3,025 was collected to benefit St. Basil Academy.

Valentines on Wheels

The annual Valentine’s Day Luncheon for the senior citizens of our parish was cancelled so Philoptochos members delivered meals to those seniors who were unable to pick up their meal at church. Each Valentine’s bag contained a to-go container of pasta and sauce, garlic bread, homemade bon bons, and kourambiedes all made with love by our members and a craft made by our Sunday School students.




Philoptochos Chapter #
St. Elpis Chapter
St. Demetrios, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Our St. Elpis chapter at St. Demetrios in Ft. Lauderdale, usually looks forward to welcoming the community to our annual festival.  We help sell pastry, offer church tours, give cooking lessons and point people to our wonderful young ethnic dancers.  This year we can't do any of that, so we decided to reach out to the community by delivering 100 Greek lunches to nearby Holy Cross Hospital.  A local restaurant, Greek Islands Taverna, worked with us and produced a lovely lunch of spanakopita, salad and baklava.  
It was fun for us, and a welcome change for the healthcare workers.  



 


Philoptochos Chapter #5005
St. John the Divine
Jacksonville, Florida


St. John the Divine in Jacksonville, Fla. Sponsored a luncheon for the respiratory and physical therapist at Baptist Hospital. We fed about 50 men and women that work so hard everyday to help the Covid patients and all the other patients at Baptist Hospital. The food was prepared by one of our parishioners that owns a great Greek restaurant. 
    

Betty Carantza and Roxanne Attanasio presented 270 pairs of shoes to the Jacksonville City Rescue Mission. This was an outreach project for the whole church sponsored by Philoptochos. Roxanne’s neighborhood heard about it and donated almost 100 pairs of the 270.



Philoptochos Chapter #5030
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
Charleston, SC

Our chapter, St. Irene Ladies of Philoptochos of Holy Trinity Charleston, South Carolina made a donation in October and November of $150 to the Low Country Food Bank. Each donation feeds 825 members of the Low Country community. Attached you will see a picture of our blessing box. The Blessing Box is a small food pantry that our members and members of the parish and neighborhood stock with non perishable food items, basic toiletries, baby supplies and anything that might be considered a blessing to someone who finds themselves in need. Each week the box feeds about 40 to 50 people. The Blessing Box has been in operation since the middle of October.

Philoptochos Chapter #5060
Saint Mark Greek Orthodox Church
Boca Raton, Florida 

Support of Schools/Backpack Buddies:
In regards to schools, for the 2019-2020 school year, the Ladies of Saint Mark Philoptochos Society, the Sunday Church School and GOYA partnered once again with families at Florence Fuller Child Development Centers on an outreach program to provide back to school backpacks and supplies for needy students. We more than met our goal this year is to sponsor two kindergarten classes with over 50 brand new back to school backpacks, filled with age appropriate supplies.   In addition, Philoptochos donated $500 in gift cards to put a $10 Publix gift card in each backpack. 
 
  This is the second year Philoptochos has sponsored this event.  For the 2018-2019 school year we sponsored with 26 children.
 
Florence Fuller Child Development Centers located in Boca operates two campuses: one in East Boca and one in West Boca. They serve over 700 students each year. Their objective is to improve a student’s academic performance to increase the rate of school promotions to the next grade level. Florence Fuller Child Development Center is dedicated to helping economically disadvantaged children realize their full potential both socially and academically.  They provide after school care, tutoring, enrichment and summer camps to some of Boca's most needy children.
 
Shown here are Michelle Voicu, Kat Spiliopoulos (Project Lead from Saint Mark), Ally Vagelos and Olga Bearhope (Florence Fuller).
 
POLI Schools:
One of our ladies of Philoptochos will be traveling to Constantinople in two weeks for the Archon Pilgrimage.  At that time, she will be taking a donation from us to His All Holiness for the benefit of the schools (elementary through high school) that are continuing to function both in Constantinople as well as in Imvros. The Imvros school opened with four elementary students about five years ago and now has both an elementary and middle school which are flourishing.  All of the schools are functioning but need assistance.  It's an opportunity for us to show our love for the children of the Phanar.
  
Meals Prepared and Delivered:
With regard to meal preparation, the Ladies of Philoptochos with volunteers from the entire Saint Mark family banded together in an effort to provide lifesaving nutrition to thousands of local malnourished children. Over one hundred volunteers stayed after Liturgy to help pack 20,000 meals in our Fellowship Hall. More than 100 parishioners assembling 20,000 meals for the hungry. The event was a remarkable opportunity for community service, and gave our parish a tangible way to make a significant difference here in South Florida. The event was made possible thanks to our partner “Feeding Children Everywhere,” who provided the materials, training, and then organized the distribution of the meals through Boca Helping Hands.
 
Also every third Thursday of the month, the Ladies of Philoptochos gather to support the Caring Kitchen a local soup kitchen located in Del Ray, Florida. 
Current 2019 total: 1,167

 
Pic of Fr. Alex K. and our Ladies of Philoptochos prepping the food for Caring Kitchen.

Homeless Support:
In addition, for Make A Difference Day the Ladies Philoptochos Society of Saint Mark supports HOPE South Florida which is a faith-based organization that offers a holistic response to homelessness with a focus on rapid re-housing. The Sunday Church School Students and the Ladies of the Saint Mark Ladies Philoptochos Society have partnered over the past several years to provide Toiletry bags for the Hope South Florida Mobile Shower Unit. The Mobile Shower Unit provides showers and shared meals at various locations in Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale three to four times per week.  To date, we have provided over 850 toiletry bags to Hope South Florida with 200 being prepared this past weekend.  The Ladies Philoptochos Society supports this project by purchasing the toiletries that are not normally donated in large quantities:  Deodorant, combs, shaving cream, razors, lotion and are on hand to help prepare the bags.  Pictured:  the Kindergarten class of Saint Mark Sunday Church School and the children of Saint Mark. 


Saint Barbara Chapter #5002
Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church
Daytona Beach, Florida 

Saint Barbara’s Philoptochos of Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Daytona beach Florida has been helping schools around the county for the last few years. We have donated backpacks filled with school supplies in the beginning of the school year, (100 children received backpacks)also we provide meals for the holiday breaks Thanksgiving Christmas, and Easter (approximately 75-100 children’s families fed)

We are also helping again with the angel tree, in the past we have provided 2 local high schools with approximately 25 to 40 gifts and stockings for children and siblings who otherwise would not get anything.

We also get a big donation from the Jaguars NFL team yearly which has helped to feed 25 to 50 families during the Christmas holiday. We choose a school or two in most need. 

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

Operation Classroom Initiative

Chapter Projects
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.