Our Ladies Philoptochos Society held its annual Candlelight Dinner and honored Georgia Lyras for her many years of service to the Chapter. On the occasion of the Feast of Saint Nicholas the Philoptochos presented Fr. Nick with a name day cake, and he shared the honor with Nicholas Lyras. The ladies were entertained by our own Westchester County Greek Youth Orchestra.
by Despina Kartson
We learn so much from the guests we serve every month, including during last night's soup run. Serving more than 125 meals of lasagna and 120 sandwiches on a blustery evening in New York City, we spoke with guests who have a gentle and good spirit, who teach us so much about life, living and maintaining a light heart while at the same time, they do not have a permanent place to lay their head. When we asked one guest where she would be sleeping last night, she told us she'd be staying in a place without heat, electricity or water but was thankful to be indoors. We shook hands with some who remarked about how cold our hands were and wanted US to stay warm. We distributed several icon cards and talked with a gentleman who asked us to explain the meaning of the iconography and the Greek letters. Later in the evening, we saw him sharing the card with a woman. Some guests proudly showed us coats and bags they had previously received from us. A man whom we had not seen in a couple of months, explained that he was struggling and "under a storm." Our hearts and prayers are with each and every individual we meet.
Through the generosity of spirit of a growing number of supporters and volunteers, our monthly serving of those in need continues to expand. There are many to thank including:
Manny Louros and Zachary Karounos for preparing the meals
Maria and Claudio Iaccarino (Park Place Bagels, Bronxville, NY) for 120 sandwiches and danish
Homemade chocolate chip cookies made by Lucy Caviris
Minos Samoladas for his generous donation which enables us to purchase socks and underwear
Maria Dikeos for 36 backpacks and messenger bags
Margaret Luberda, Michael and the staff from the law firm Wilson Elser for six large bags of coats
Despina Taiyanides and Emmy Kalmanides from St. George (Norwalk, CT) who donated bags of new fleeces, blankets, homemade koulourakia, chocolates and snacks
All are welcome to join the monthly Soup Run. In-kind donations, including warm clothing, hoodies and backpacks, as well as financial donations, are very much appreciated. Be sure to support the Philoptochos "Hats & Gloves for the Homeless" sale on December 23rd where we hope to sell 100 sets of hand knit scarves, hats and gloves to take on the December 27th Soup Run. A very blessed and Merry Christmas to all. #PhiloStrong #bombas
Holy Trinity Philoptochos served an early Thanksgiving dinner at Gilda's House in White Plains.
by Despina Kartson
During last night's soup run, after we served what we thought was the last of our 120 chicken dinners, one guest approached and asked for food. And then we realized that a volunteer was heading home on the subway with two remaining meals to give away. As happens so often, seemingly out of nowhere, we had one more meal to give to the last person we met.
There seemed to be fewer guests than usual on the street so our volunteers went into Penn Station and also walked around the block distributing food, blankets and toiletries. We met Bill, 80 years old, who was happy to receive all that we offered and said he is fine but waiting to get new teeth in two months. We talked with a woman who said the icon we gave her was the best gift of all. We offered a man a prayer card, and he said, “Only if it has your phone number on it.” Replying, “Better yet, it has God’s phone number on it.“ He took the card. One of our volunteers brought a coat for a special guest who was thrilled to receive it and completely touched that we would think of her.
There are so many caring and generous supporters involved in the soup run every month. It truly takes a village and our village has expanded well beyond the borders of New Rochelle! We thank and acknowledge the following:
the anonymous sponsor of this month's soup run
spot purchases of specially requested items by Deb van der Hayden
Manny Louros and Zachary Karounos for cooking and Kelly Sisco for helping to pack the food
Constantine Caviris for making sandwiches and cookies that we were able to give to our guests as an extra meal
Fr. Nick and Cyndi for donating two new folding tables
Alexandra Baudouin for donating winter jackets and hand warmers
Sock donations from Bombas
Minos Samoladas for his ongoing financial support, clothing and blanket donations
Tina Marie LePage, sister of Dino Yotides, who joined us from Boston, bringing with her 60 new sweaters!
The Southampton Philoptochos for sending two boxes of toiletry kits they secured from Colgate.
Amazing to see the far-reaching support for our soup run!
One final note, tomorrow is Make a Difference Loukoumi Day during which 100,000 children across the country will be sharing their good deeds. The Good Deed Celebration will take place tomorrow at Holy Trinity New Rochelle from 6-10pm. The children have been invited to donate one pair of socks to our soup run. Please support Make a Difference and join the celebration or donate at www.loukoumifoundation.org.
Our next soup run is the Thursday after Thanksgiving, November 29. Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving surrounded by family, friends and the many blessings of life!
Elizabeth Zoulis spearheaded once again, Holy Trinity’s participation in the annual Making Strides Walk on Sunday, October 21st. The participants raised $3672 for the American Cancer Society.
“Old World vs. New World” a Wine Tasting Experience was held on Saturday, September 29th in the Social Hall. The tasting was sponsored by our Ladies Philoptochos Society and led by Marios Damianides and Javier Guerras of Zachy’s in Scarsdale.
by Despina Kartson
Our 115 guests on 33rd Street in Manhattan enjoyed the chicken souvlaki meal we served during last night's soup run. With the benefit of extra chicken from our recent Greek Festival, our chef prepared meals that included rice, vegetables, apples, coffee and hot chocolate. A few of our guests told us that they really appreciate our food and that it is always "the best".
With limited cars available to drive into the city, we pared down our clothing donations to those most necessary: socks, underwear, shoes and pants. Our two cars were packed with no room to see out of or to spare and we drove into the city to a large and welcoming crowd. Immediately, at least three men stepped out of line and helped us unload our cars and distribute some of the items.
As we often say, we enjoy talking with our guests and last night, one of our volunteers described his experience after a fun conversation with a group of men about sports:
It just felt great to talk with these guys and go back and forth about historic sports moments and current topics around the world. Robert, a man who I met for the first time today came up to me afterward and said how much he appreciated what we were doing. Words like these make you realize how much we mean to these men and women and I will do my best to make them feel the reciprocal... how much we appreciate them no matter the circumstances.
We are always grateful for the unending support of our volunteers and sponsors including The Fotiades family who sponsored last night's soup run, Manny Louros for preparing the meals, those who donated clothing and toiletries. A special thank you to Philoptochos who secured a generous donation of Bombas socks. Bombas is a sock company that has donated 8 million pairs to homeless shelters since launching in 2013. The company was founded to address the #1 most requested item in homeless shelters and for every pair purchased, Bombas donates a pair to someone in need.
We are also most appreciative of the efforts of many parishioners from Holy Trinity and friends in New York who come together every month to offer a listening ear and give their time to those in need.
The evening ended with a classic random act of kindness that we often experience. After we had driven a number of blocks and were stopped at a traffic light, a man in a car next to ours beeped, got our attention and told us that our car's trunk was open. He got out of his car, closed our trunk, waved and drove off - all in a New York minute!
We are accepting donations of new women and men's underwear, tee shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies. Tote bags and backpacks are always needed. Please join us on October 25.
Our Ladies Philoptochos was presented with an Award of Excellence for a two year 100% participation and commitment to the National Philoptochos ministries. Congratulations to our chapter!
