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Dear Annunciation Community,
Hello from the Annunciation Philoptochos! Our small chapter made up of just 26 paid members had an incredibly fulfilling and successful year in 2025! Thanks to your ongoing support of our fundraising efforts, including a very successful Festival of Tables in December 2024, Philoptochos was able to continue our philanthropic and charitable work and follow our Mission Statement.
Our chapter’s 2025 donations totaled $16,000! What are we doing with all of it? To give you an idea, here are some of the highlights from this past year:
We continued in our support of the Domestic Violence Crisis Center (DVCC) in September by donating $500 to be used for school clothes and backpacks. We also provided the women and children of the Stamford safe house with monthly home-cooked meals and treated them to a special Valentine’s Day Dinner.
Our support of the National Philoptochos “Feed the Hungry” initiative led to our trip to Manhattan along with our sister chapter at St. George’s in Norwalk. We delivered a full hot meal and coffee, and provided our guests with bags full of nutritious snacks, toiletries, water, blankets, socks, and new backpacks to carry it all in.
Two Service Sundays were held after church this year with our entire community participating. The first was in January when we filled toiletry bags for the residents of the Pacific House shelter in Stamford. The second was in September when we prepared snack bags and toiletry bags for the “Feed the Hungry in NYC” project. These events not only help us fulfill our philanthropic mission, but they also get community members of all ages engaged to build an atmosphere of giving and fellowship.
We continued funding the commitment our GOYA has taken on serving meals to those in need at our local New Covenant Center in Stamford.
Philoptochos also uses our emergency fund to help those in our immediate community who may be facing hardship. This year, we were able to assist a family struggling with illness by purchasing for them a new washing machine. We also helped the victims of a fire and made sure a stroke victim and his family new we were thinking of them by treating them to dinner.
We, also, continued our practice of delivering vasilopites for the New Year and tsourekia in Easter baskets to our grieving families, members in nursing homes, and those who are homebound. We support the baking ministry of the beloved Holy Protection Monastery in Pennsylvania in the process.
We hosted receptions for our Annunciation and Agios Nektarios Vesper services, and we set up and served at memorial services, makaries, and coffee hours throughout the year. We sponsored our annual Community Vasilopita event, Founders’ Memorial Service, and Palm Sunday Luncheon. We provided and dyed the red eggs given out to our church goers on Easter.
Our Philoptochos Shop is available for the convenience of our parishioners and others. All members also do their part by working at our annual Ethos Greek Festival.
We paid our annual National and District obligations that benefit many worthwhile charities while also fulfilling our own voted-on commitments to our local Springdale Fire Department, Ronald McDonald House, St. Michael’s Home, the American Lung Association, Bennett Cancer Center, and St. Basil Academy.
For a small group, we have a lot of heart and accomplish big things! Our involvement with our church and community is heartfelt and consistent, and the rewards far outweigh the hours put in. We come together with our friends to give back to those who are less fortunate, all while allowing us to better appreciate what God has given us.
One of the Gospel passages that keeps us focused on the true meaning of our efforts is from Matthew 25: 31-46 that includes, “as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did to me.”
Wouldn’t you like to join us this year? We welcome new members at any time of the year!
Send an email to philoptochos@annunciationofstamford.org if you'd like to be placed on our mailing list.
Sincerely,
Stacey Karipides
Annunciation Philoptochos President
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