AHEPA's Educational Programs in Delaware Prosper
AHEPA Chapter 95, Wilmington, Del., announced the development of new educational project, AHEPA Ithaka Early Learning Center, during a visitation by Supreme Treasurer George Horiates, Esq., Past Supreme President Andrew C. Zachariades, who represented Supreme President Carl Hollister, and District 5 Governor Zenon Christodoulou for an Installation Ceremony. AHEPA Ithaka Early Learning Center aims to create a 200-plus seat early learning center - a school where every child is respected and given the opportunity to grow and develop. The project aspires to collaborate with the University of Delaware and the University of Patras in Greece, and potentially other universities, which would provide teacher pipelines.
Chapter 95 already supports Odyssey Charter School (OCS). Past Chapter 95 President and OCS Board of Directors President Dimitri Dandolos announced OCS has grown to become a K-10 school with 1,600 students. Odyssey is Delaware's first dual-language school where Modern Greek is taught as a second language. Eighteen of Odyssey's teachers are native Greek speakers. The skills learned through this dual-language instruction have enabled the students to exceed every required performance standard of the Delaware Department of Education.
Finally, the chapter presented a $1,400 donation to the Fifth District AHEPA Cancer Research Foundation.
Brother Rep. Bilirakis Denounces Hate Groups
AHEPA shares the concerns about the growth of hate organizations in the United States as conveyed by U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), co-chair, Congressional Hellenic Caucus. AHEPA applauds Congressman Bilirakis' denouncement of these hate groups. AHEPA strongly condemns the hatred, bigotry, and violence of the KKK and white supremacist groups. AHEPA is proud to count Congressman Bilirakis as one of its members.
AHEPA Pleased with Greece's Upgraded Fitch Rating
Supreme President Carl Hollister announced the Order is pleased Fitch Ratings raised Greece's debt rating and called for Greece to continue to implement reforms that would encourage additional foreign direct investment (FDI) in Greece. As a recent example of FDI, "It is encouraging to see EXIN Group, founded, in part, by Greek Americans, and backed by Calamos Investments, invest in Greece," Hollister said.
ICYMI | AHEPA 95th Anniversary Video Available
We unveiled our 95th anniversary commemorative video at the 2017 Supreme Convention at Walt Disney World. And now, it's available for download. Share widely with the community! Thank you to Walt Disney World, which produced the video.
Rebuild St. Nicholas Campaign
AHEPA is $160,000 short of meeting its Saint Nicholas Capital Campaign fund raising goal of $1 million. We are determined to meet it! Donations--large and small--keep pouring in for AHEPA's #RebuildStNicholas capital campaign. Will yours be the one to get us to the historic $1 million milestone?
NEW! | Donations keep coming in from across the country for our #RebuildStNicholas campaign! Thank you to: Beehive Chapter 146, Salt Lake City, Utah, which, in addition to its own donation, collected $1,200 from individual donors: Elias Pavlos, Elias Pylidis, Gregory Skedros, James Klekas, Jeffrey Klekas, and Nicholas Angelides. Also, donations were received from Board of Trustees Member Vassos Chyrsanthou, Hoosier District 12, Indiana, and George Loxas. Thank you!
TAKE ACTION!
Has your district or chapter organized a fundraiser for the campaign to #RebuildStNicholas? Take action and support AHEPA's campaign today! Please tweet about your fundraising activity by using #RebuildStNicholas to share your work with the broader community!
Share Media
St. Nicholas Appeal Video
AHEPA has produced its latest appeal video to help #RebuildStNicholas.
TAKE ACTION: Donate Today!
MORE TO SHARE: Initial appeal video released at the 94th Grand Banquet!
Project Update
Live Webcam!
Thanks to a live webcam, you can watch progress being made with a first-hand look at the site where Saint Nicholas National Shrine will be build.
Washington Update
Tell Congress to Back the Return of the Parthenon Marbles
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are home for August recess. AHEPA commends the introduction of H.Con.Res.51, a bipartisan, concurrent resolution that expresses the sense of Congress that the Parthenon Marbles should be returned to Greece. U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ) introduced the resolution, May 2.
Help Grow the Hellenic Caucus! Membership at 126.
The 115th Congress is well underway. And with it, the work renews for the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues, led by Co-chairs U.S. Reps. Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL) and Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY). The Hellenic Caucus has 126 members.
Is your U.S. representative a member of the Hellenic Caucus? Click here to find out
Download & Share: Action alert to help you outreach to Congress
The Hellenic Caucus has been an active, bipartisan group in Congress since its founding in 1995.
Upcoming Events & Deadlines
September
15-17 | Governors Conference, The DuPont Hotel, Washington, DC
Greek American News Digest
Editor's Note: Editorials, Commentaries, and Opinion pieces are shared for information purposes only and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy positions of the Order of AHEPA, its affiliated organizations, and members.
Macron to Urge Euro Zone Reform on Trip to Greece Next Month
U.S. News & World Report via Reuters (August 22)
French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Athens next month to send a message to fellow euro zone leaders about the need to strengthen the currency union, at a time when Greece is emerging from years of economic crisis, French officials said. read more
Shell to Mull Buying Israeli, Cyprus Gas for Egypt Plant
Bloomberg (August 20)
Royal Dutch Shell Plc is seeking creative solutions to bring gas from Israel and Cyprus to market, a step that could help turn the Mediterranean region into a major gas-producing hub. Shell is in talks to buy natural gas from Israel’s Leviathan field, combine it with output from Cyprus’s Aphrodite field, in which it owns a 35 percent stake, and pump it to a liquefied natural gas plant in Egypt, according to people with knowledge of the matter. read more
Antetokounmpo says farewell to Eurobasket-bound Greek teammates
YAHOO! Sports via AFP (August 21)
An emotionally-charged Giannis Antetokounmpo bid farewell and good luck to his Greece teammates on Monday, putting aside the controversy behind his decision to miss the Eurobasket tournament."I am really disappointed that I will not help the team in the upcoming Eurobasket. I do not want to say anything now about my decision," he told sports reporters covering the national team's training session at the indoor Athens Olympic Stadium facility. read more
Syros is set to become a location for shooting movies
Ekathimerini (August 21)
“It’s a miracle we managed to get a law that makes it easier to shoot movies in Greece passed within nine months,” says Pierre Economacos. The Greek American is familiar with the labyrinth that is Greek bureaucracy. Last summer on Myconos, Economacos met with a fellow Greek American who was working with Hollywood director Steven Bernstein to prepare a script for a political thriller. “They were preparing to head to Bulgaria to discuss filming the movie there,” says Economacos. “That’s when I stopped them and convinced them to come to Syros first.” read more
Cypriot film wins HBO award at Sarajevo
Cyprus Mail (August 17)
A supernatural crime thriller produced by Cypriots has won the HBO Europe Award at Midpoint Launch programme at the Sarajevo Film Festival. Created in 2015 by Andreas Kyriacou, Frixos Masouras, and Haris Ayiotis The Midnight Shift, follows a small-time criminal cursed to be a modern version of the ancient mythical ferryman Charon, who transports the dead from this world to the next. read more
Ancient Greeks Built an Eclipse-Predicting 'Computer' 2,000 Years Ago
Live Science (August 15)
More than 2,000 years before the Great American Solar Eclipse, which will darken the skies over the U.S. on Aug. 21, astronomers in ancient Greece developed their own "supercomputer" to predict eclipses just like this one. read more