AHEPA:Vol. 14 Issue 34 |

Vol. 14 Issue 34 | Wednesday, August 26, 2020 AHEPA E-News Conversion of Historic Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora to a Mosque Condemned AHEPA issued a prompt condemnation of the conversion of the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora on August 21, the day Turkish authorities announced it. "We condemn the conversion of the former Church of the Holy Saviour of Chora--a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Historic Areas of Istanbul--to a mosque," Supreme President George Horiates said. "The Erdogan regime continues to trounce on international norms and universal values such as fundamental human rights and religious liberty. The international community must speak out and object, and its status must be restored." Follow AHEPA on Twitter Hellenic Caucus Initiatives Commended U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney AHEPA applauds two initiatives spearheaded by the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues that were carried-out during the past week, announced Supreme President George G. Horiates. "We commend the Congressional Hellenic Caucus, and its co-chairs, Representatives Maloney and Bilirakis, for keeping the pressure on Turkey by urging the Administration to take action, whether it be by speaking out in condemnation or by carrying-out the law," Supreme President Horiates said. "We are grateful to the legislators who led on these initiatives, and we appreciate the bipartisan support provided to them." The first initiative, an August 21 letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, led by U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and Hellenic Caucus Co-Chairs Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), conveyed the legislators' "deep concern" by Turkey's acts of aggression and urged the Trump Administration to condemn the actions and work with the United States’ regional partners to deescalate the tension. Sixteen bipartisan members of Congress signed the Pallone-Maloney-Bilirakis letter. Joining the trio were: U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Dina Titus (D-NV), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Grace Meng (D-NY), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), and David N. Cicilline (D-RI). Secondly, the Congressional Hellenic Caucus joined with the Congressional Hellenic-Israeli Alliance (CHIA) in an August 25 letter to request an update on reports from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the Administration’s monitoring of violations of the sovereign territory of Greece and Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone in light of Turkey’s illegal, provocative behavior in the Eastern Mediterranean. The reports are required by the Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act. Hellenic Caucus Co-Chairs U.S. Reps. Maloney and Bilirakis were joined by CHIA Co-Chair U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) and U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) on the letter. Congressman Bilirakis is also a co-chair of CHIA. AHEPA Emergency Fund Opened for California Wildfires, Impending Hurricanes AHEPA has opened its Emergency Fund to provide assistance to the victims of the wildfires that are devastating California and in preparation for impending hurricanes, announced Supreme President George G. Horiates. "The California wildfires have caused widespread devastation affecting thousands of people and Hurricane Laura is set to make landfall," Supreme President Horiates said. "We must do our part to help and make an impact for those in need. We are urging our AHEPA chapters, members, and supporters to provide assistance through our Emergency Relief Fund as we have done traditionally when natural disasters strike or most recently in response to COVID-19." AHEPA established the Emergency Fund 15 years ago. Since its inception more than $1 million has been donated from the fund to those affected by national disasters. Video via Associated Press Donate Now! AHEPA Emergency Relief Fund Greek Prime Minister's Message Applauded AHEPA applauded Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' message delivered during a recent interview with Christiane Amanpour, chief international anchor, CNN, on the topic of Turkey’s announced plan to conduct seismic surveys by encroaching upon Greece’s continental shelf. Prime Minister Mitsotakis said, “my message to Turkey is very simple: stop the provocations and let’s start talking as civilized neighbors,” adding that if the disagreement of the delimitation of Greece’s maritime zones cannot be resolved through dialogue that it can be taken to the International Court. read more AHEPA Cares and it shows: A note of gratitude for your philanthropy AHEPA prides itself on the strength of its chapters and members. With more than 400 chapters worldwide, AHEPA provides community service at the grassroots. In fact, AHEPA has been described as providing “boots on the ground” - a reference to our members and their valuable work in the communities. Working hand-in-hand with local and state community service groups, AHEPA excels at providing relief when times get tough. During this unprecedented time, the COVID-19 pandemic has AHEPA mobilized once again. Our support for the health care heroes on the front lines who are making sacrifices to attend to those infected by coronavirus is resolute. Supreme President George G. Horiates has been spearheading efforts to encourage our chapters to donate or volunteer time and energy to provide assistance. With the spirit of community service at the core of their mission, we are proud our chapters have responded superbly with safety as a priority. Ahepans are going to supermarkets (with appreciation to our grocery workers too) to buy food for those in need. They are visiting area hospitals and delivering food to the doctors and nurses who are in harm's way and to the elderly and the homeless. Ahepans are also donating blood. The AHEPA family is working together to provide assistance around the world. #AHEPACares and it shows. We salute our members for their outreach. We can take pride we are fulfilling our founding fathers' vision of a community service fraternity. Supreme President Horiates thanks the AHEPA chapters that are practicing philanthropy and for sending us inspirational photos and stories. We applaud look forward to seeing more of our Order's great works! We encourage districts and chapters to engage in philanthropic and community service acts and please submit your good works to AHEPA Global Headquarters. Please remember to do so responsibly, according to government guidance, and above all else--safely! The list (below) is what we know at the time of distributing this edition of AHEPA e-news. AHEPA’s list of chapters that are playing a significant part in the communities they serve worldwide is unmatched…and will go on… Donate to the AHEPA Emergency Relief Fund Visit our COVID-19 Resource Center Download & Distribute AHEPA Cares Flyer THANK YOU! Chapter 1 Atlanta, Ga. - Donated lunches to the first responders of Emory Decatur Hospital Chapter 3 Birmingham, Ala. – 100 meals donated to Children’s Hospital of Alabama Chapter 25 Manhattan, N.Y. – Meals donated and funds raised for ventilators Chapter 26 Philadelphia – Brother Dr. Theoklis Zaoutis is actively advising Greece's Ministry of Health on COVID-19 Chapter 40 Detroit/District 10, Michigan – $15,000 donated to Detroit-area churches Chapter 59 Canton, OH - Donated N95 masks and fed elderly in housing project Chapter 64 Harrisburg, Pa. – Brother Dr. Chronis providing medical analysis for COVID-19 and the chapter donated $1,750 to four central PA food banks to feed families in need Chapter 69 Cherry Hill, N.J. – 200 meals donated to Virtua Hospital and other area hospitals Chapter 72 Trenton, N.J. – 280-plus meals an 80 face masks delivered to three major hospitals in Central N.J. Chapter 78, Merrillville, Ind. – Donated $17,000 to charities that assist and provide relief to victims of COViD-19 Chapter 80 Worcester, MA - Donated meals to staff of Holy Trinity Nursing Center Chapter 88 Warren, OH - Donated meals to Mahoning County for Developmental Disabilities Chapter 94 Chicago, IL - Donated funds to the Greater Chicago Food Depository to feed 5,000 persons Chapter 95 Wilmington, DE - Donated 200 meals to the community Chapter 98 New Haven, CT - Established a relief fund Chapter 110, Norwich, Conn. – Presented a $1,000 grant to fund the Backus Hospital's Mobile Outreach Van Chapter 113 Dayton, OH - Donation of over 650 sandwiches to the House of Bread Chapter 121 Pawtucket, RI - Fundraising for COVID-19 Treatment by Dr. Thomas Walsh and supporting Pawtucket Soup Kitchen Chapter 145 Denver, CO – Donated and served meals to hundreds of first responders and homeless. Delivered thousands of face masks to the city and county of Denver Chapter 156 Canonsburg, PA. – Donated $2,000 to feed 400 area families Chapter 157 Calumet, IN – Meals, masks, gloves and hand sanitizer donated to the community's front line heroes Chapter 158, Poughkeepsie, NY – Provided lunch to first responders upon city's reopening Chapter 186 Astoria, NY - Served 150 meals and delivered another 35 meals to the community at-large Chapter 219 Phoenix, AZ – Donated N95 face masks to essential workers Chapter 250, New London, CT. – Ahepans donated and delivered meals to residents of five elderly housing communities Chapter 319 Port Jefferson, NY– Secured & donated 1,000 masks and 3,000 pairs of gloves for the community Chapter 326 Flushing, NY – Presented scholarship grants to 3 students while adhering to social distancing and guidance Chapter 408 Wilmington, NC– The board of AHEPA 408 Senior Apartments donated "Care Bags" with essential items to the residents. Face masks and thermometers donated to St. Nicholas. Chapter 411 Anaheim, CA – Helped distribute 2,700 produce boxes and 900 non-perishable food boxes to 461 cars and eight trucks (the trucks distributed the food to other parts of Orange County), feeding more than 10,000 persons. Chapter 445 & Sons of Pericles 290 Upper Darby, PA – Delivered food to the ER dept. at Jeanes Campus Temple U. Hospital Chapter 489 New Port Richey, FL – Donated meals to elderly residents at AHEPA 489 Apartments Chapter 500 Greenlawn, NY – Held a food drive that amassed 400 lbs of goods to benefit the area shelters Chapter 515 Radnor, PA – Donated and delivered 100s of meals for healthcare, ER & admin staff at Inova Alexandria Hospital Chapter 517 Holmdel, NJ - Donated funds to local hospital Chapter 545, Middletown, NY – Raised $2,000 to provide financial aid to families recovering from illness, donated 500 "Gyros for Heroes," and is undertaking a goods collection drive Chapter CJ-1 Toronto, ON – Implemented the Greek Easter Relief Food program, providing low-income families with a voucher to ensure everyone had access to an Easter meal Chapter 601 Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey – Donated food to Orthodox churches for Easter Chapter HJ-1 Athens, Greece – Ahepans provide support to Evangelismos Hospital Chapter HJ-3 Thessaloniki, Greece – AHEPA Hospital is treating COVID-19 patients Chapter HJ-10 Holargos, Greece - Assisted and donated items for the Police Force & Riot Gear Chapter HJ-26 Larissa, Greece – Coordinated blood donor drive with several Ahepans donating Chapter HJ-34 Corfu, Greece – Coordinated blood donor drive, donated face masks and health supplies to Corfu General Hospital and vulnerable populations Chapter HJ-38 Palio Faliro, Greece – Donated and delivered meals and necessities to a local food bank for the municipality's elderly and vulnerable Chapter HJ-41 Kalamaria, Greece – Delivered care packages of food and water to the elderly Chapter HJ-43, Nea Smyrni, Greece – Donated and delivered hygienic supplies valued at €14,000 to Leros and surrounding islands Chapter CY-1 Nicosia, Cyprus – Contributed to District 27's countrywide blood drive with hundreds of units of blood collected Chapter CY-4, Idalion, Cyprus – Donated financial aid to assist five families in need Chapter 614 Vienna, Austria - Activated a hotline for immediate response and delivered meals to the needy with local DOP Chapter. Chapter 615 Westminster, England - Supported and fed those in need affected by the pandemic Chapter 617 Frankfurt, Germany - Supplied 12 refurbished defibrillators to different areas in Greece District 10, Michigan - Donated $23,300 to 11 Michigan-area Greek Orthodox churches The Senate Must Act! View our Action Alert Contact Senators and urge them to: Uphold American values and security interests.  Hold Turkey responsible for its actions. Urge Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring sanctions legislation to the Senate Floor. The House acted. Now the Senate must. Contact the US Senate Today! Take Action: Learn More! Calendar of Events & Deadlines August 30 | Panel Discussion: "2,500-Year Anniversary of the Battle of Thermopylae and Salamis Commemoration" hosted by AHEPA Hellenic Cultural Commission and EMBCA, 2 p.m. EDT (zoom webinar) Join AHEPA Today!