Five new members were welcomed into the AHEPA Family including Michael Hartofelis, Dino Hartofelis, Nicholas Manolis, Sam Zubalake, and Vassili Nafpliotis. Also in attendance were members and officers of Babylon Chapter 416 and Constantine Cassis Chapter 170. Also present was AHEPA District 6 Governor Dean Moskos. AHEPA District 6 Lt. Governor Chris Pappis attended via Zoom.
The chapter plans on having a car show fundraiser in June to benefit the chapter and its philanthropic endeavors. Please visit http://www.ahepa319.org for more information.
The event culminated with Brother George Kallas, flanked by members of the Chapter, presenting a check to the Greek School of Port Jefferson in the amount of $500 for the advancement of Education and Hellenism.
Every year this event also brings together several AHEPA chapters, and this year was attended and supported by Brothers from Shrine Chapter 500 Greenlawn, Andreas T. Stamboulidis Parthenon Chapter 495 Whitestone, Constantine Cassis Chapter 170 Hempstead, Delphi Chapter 25 Manhattan, District 6 Treasurer Peter Ragoussis, and Past District Governors Demi Pamboukes and Michael Capous. The brightest, most significant and satisfying by-product of this event is the enthusiastic and joyful participation of students from St. Basil Academy in Garrison, NY, thanks to the generous AHEPA sponsors, including Past District Governor Louis Katsos. Shrine Chapter 500 from Greenlawn took it a step further and provided all the students with a gift at the end of the trip as they disembarked from the boat.
Special thanks go to Brother Haralabos (Bobby) Gemelas, who was most instrumental in the success of the event, spear-heading the sales and production, Brother Alex Vogiatzis, for help preparing and serving the food, and Port Jefferson Chapter Treasurer, Brother Mike Kontonicolas, for the management and handling of all the ticket sales.
George Kallas of AHEPA Chapter 319 and Professor Stella Tsirka of Stony Brook University partnered to create a scholarship competition targeted for students of the Center for Hellenic Studies. The theme of the essay competition was developed by Professor Tsirka and focused on documenting the experiences and history of people of Greek and Cypriot descent who immigrated to the United States.
Each participant interviewed five elderly/older Greek residents and documented how they were received and blended into the American culture, learned the language, and became established in the community as citizens of the United States. Correlations were encouraged to be drawn to the current immigration environment. Access to elderly Greek and Cypriot residents was facilitated by AHEPA.
John Tsunis, AHEPA Chapter 319, who personally donated the $1,000 for the scholarship, presented Electra Dovas, the winner of the scholarship competition, with the award. Dovas, who completed her sophomore year at Stony Brook University, was thrilled, not only to have won the competition, but also to have had the opportunity to experience interviewing the elderly Greek immigrants, including members of her family, and learning about their experiences coming to the United States.
Participating in the virtual ceremony were AHEPA members John Tsunis, George Kallas, and Mike Kontonicolas, Stony Brook University Faculty Members Professor Stella Tsirka, Nikos Panou, and Maria Athanasopoulou, and students Maria Karamitas and Electra Dovas.
AHEPA and the Stony Brook University Center for Hellenic Studies intend to keep this scholarship going year after year, and Professor Tsirka plans to build a volume of the essays, capturing the extraordinary experiences of the immigrants, along with their feelings, comments, and messages. The faculty members that reviewed the essays were moved by the stories they read, and noted how there was a common theme to all them that included sacrifice, determination, nostalgia, and a fierce love for their mother country of Greece.
AHEPA is very proud to have had the opportunity to make this scholarship available to the students of SBU’s Center for Hellenic Studies and will continue to do so as part of its mission of philanthropy, education, and promoting and preserving the Hellenic identity of Greek-Americans.
Tsantes has been a very active and generous member of the Assumption Church in Port Jefferson for many decades as well as many other communities in Long Island. He has also been an active member of AHEPA for over 50 years. Several years ago, Tsantes and his family made a generous donation to Stony Brook University to create a center for Hellenic Studies. Fr. Nicholas and Mr. Kokolakis presented a silver icon of the Panagia to Tsantes in recognition of his many years of dedicated service to the Greek Orthodox Church and AHEPA. In attendance were his daughter Sophia Brandon, son-in-law Michael Brandon, and granddaughter Petroula Brandon.
“The community of Assumption Church and AHEPA 319 are honored to have Mr. Tsantes as a member,” Chapter 319 said in a statement via email.
The AHEPA Meals for Those in Need effort was spearheaded by Chapter 319 brothers with assistance from Gus Xikis, a church parishioner. They prepared and delivered marinated oven-roasted pork loin served with gravy, spanakopita, tyropita, Greek salad, cooked mixed vegetables, roasted potatoes, rice pilaf, soda, and pita bread.
It was such a success that Chapter 319 is now planning to formalize it into a recurring chapter event.
Pax Christi offers guests who are homeless a safe alternative to the streets. Pax Christi offers case management, drug and alcohol counseling, mental health counseling, links to benefits and resources in the community, as well as the basics of food and shelter. Over 50 active volunteers assist with cleaning, making beds, painting, serving meals and providing food and clothing for guests. More information is available online: https://www.hhm.org/pax-christi.
Students of the Greek Afternoon School Katerina Rodolico and Alexandros Manolis read essays about the lives of the Saints and their contributions to Greek Education. Continuing the program, the AHEPA leadership spoke about the Chapter’s activities during the past year. The Chapter donated 1,000 masks and 1,000 pairs of gloves to parishioners and friends. They also donated $1,000 for scholarship to students at Stony Brook University who are enrolled in the Hellenic Studies Program. Donations were also made for the victims of the terrible fires in California. AHEPA 319 is dedicated to promoting the Greek Language, culture, traditions, philanthropy and the precious Greek Orthodox Faith to all members and families throughout the community of Port Jefferson and beyond.
Thanks to the outstanding outreach and diligent efforts of the local AHEPA chapters, AHEPA Global Headquarters has received numerous city and state proclamations to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of Greek Independence.
The Chapter issued the following statement about the event, “Thank you to all who donated their time, to those who helped spread the word, and a very big thank you to everyone who helped sponsor the kids from Saint Basil Academy in Garrison, NY. It was a special day for the kids and staff members of Saint Basil's and we hope to create more memorable opportunities for them in the future!”
Though 2020 was a challenging year for the whole world and for Chapter 319 as well, as President Calogredes reviewed the Chapter’s accomplishments for 2020, it was also a year of progress and advancement which included the following initiatives:
Providing masks and gloves to the church community for protection against COVID-19Launching a scholarship for students at Stony Brook University’s Hellenic Studies ProgramAnnual Fishing Trip FundraiserCalifornia Wildfire DonationLaunching the Greek Food to the Hungry programDevelopment of the AHEPA Trifold Brochure to help attract new membersThe Chapter goal for 2021 is to increase their members’ participation and expand the Chapter with more members in order to do more to pursue AHEPA’s mission of philanthropy, education, and promoting and preserving the Hellenic identity of Greek Americans.
AHEPA Chapter 319 wishes everybody a fulfilling, productive, safe, and Happy New Year in 2021!
Through the use of today’s latest technology along with some innovative thinking, the chapter was able to brainstorm, implement, and execute a plan to extend a helping hand by raising enough funds to send out 1,000 masks and 3,000 pairs of gloves to almost 250 families and parishioners of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption in Port Jefferson, NY. We look forward to continuing to help our community through our efforts so that we can overcome all obstacles together, united, and as a family.