“Lucky 13” for the Montreal AHEPA Family and the Giant Steps Foundation

The anticipation of 350 guests can be felt in the room just before the cheque presentation revealed the amount of $130,000 benefiting the Giant Steps Foundation. The 13^th annual St Valentine’s Ball hosted by the Montreal AHEPA Family had surpassed previous successes.

Among the many guests were: the Ambassador of Greece to Canada, His Excellency Eleftherios Anghelopoulos; Consul General of Greece in Montreal, His Excellency Thanos Kafopoulos; Member of Parliament representing Churchill and candidate for the NDP leadership, Niki Ashton; Member of the National Assembly for Laurier- Dorion and Chair of the Committee on Health and Social Services, Gerry Sklavounos; member of the Executive Committee of La Ville de Montréal, responsible for Cultural Communities and Youth and President of the Urban Planning Committee of the borough of Villeray-St-Michel-Parc-Extension, Mary Deros; and Laval City Councillor and Executive-Committee Member, Me Basile Angelopoulos.

View the Photo Gallery - View the Booklet Valentine's ball 2012 (PDF)

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Montreal, QC, 10:00 PM

MONTREAL AHEPA FAMILY FULFILS $250,000 PLEDGE TO SHRINERS HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN AND SHRINERS NAME SCHOOL AFTER AHEPA

( English PDF - Greek PDF )

MONTREAL, QUE – The Montreal AHEPA Family is proud to announce that it has fulfilled its six-year drive to raise $250,000 for the Shriners Hospital for Children in Montreal. The balance of $58,000 that helped reach this goal was raised at the 12th Annual St-Valentine’s Charitable Ball that took place on Saturday, February 12, 2011 at the Palace Reception Hall in Laval. Over the past twelve years the St-Valentine’s Ball has raised $400,000 for children’s causes. Other institutions that have been supported in the past include the Montreal Children’s Hospital, the St-Justine Hospital, the Giant Steps Foundation and the Children’s Wish Foundation.

Mission

The mission of the AHEPA Family is to promote Hellenism, Education, Philanthropy, Civic Responsibility, and Family and Individual Excellence.

Hellenism

An important component of AHEPA's mission is to create an awareness of the principles of Hellenism to society. These principles include a commitment to humanity, freedom, and democracy. The preservation and promotion of these ideals is where AHEPA has,and always will be, deeply committed.

AHEPA educates the community on these matters through symposia, forums, and conferences.

Education

AHEPA's commitment to education has been well documented throughout its history.

Over $4 million is endowed at the local, district and national levels toward the use of scholarships and a half-million dollars is awarded annually. Thousands of young men and women have benefited as recipients of AHEPA scholarships at these various levels.

The scholarship program at the national level is administered by the AHEPA National Educational Foundation. It offers scholarships to a wide variety of students. Recipients are: traditional and non-traditional students; seminarians, including those entering Holy Cross Greek School of Theology; and high school seniors, college and post-graduate students who are looking to become tomorrow's leaders.

The preservation of Hellenic or Classical Studies programs on college campuses is an important issue for the AHEPA Educational Foundation. A subcommittee of the Foundation, the Hellenic Cultural Commission, actively works to support the study of the Classics at universities.

In addition, educational programs such as "Journey to Greece" and Internships are sponsored by the Foundation.

Philanthropy

Philanthropy and volunteerism have been pillars of strength for AHEPA. From natural disaster relief to raising funds for the elimination of life-threatening diseases to making significant contributions to our local neighborhoods, AHEPA is at the forefront of charitable giving.

Civic Responsibility

Our grassroots has a strong voice. With chapters in every major metropolitan city and in rural areas of North America, AHEPA communicates the positions of the Greek-American community to elected representatives at the federal, provincial, and local levels, as well as to our diplomatic leaders. These issues pertain to Greece, Cyprus, and Turkey; however, our constituents are also interested in domestic policy areas affecting the philanthropic, civic, and community service-based programs in which they are involved.

Family and Individual Excellence

What makes AHEPA unique from other organizations is the creation of the AHEPA Family. Together with three affiliated organizations, the AHEPA Family works as a unit toward the fulfillment of a common mission. Combined, the four organizations have contributed well over a billion dollars to national projects throughout their history.

The Daughters of Penelope was established November 16, 1929 as the Women's Affiliate of AHEPA

The Sons of Pericles was established February 3, 1926, and was officially recognized as the Junior Order of AHEPA in 1928.

The Maids of Athena was founded July 5,1930 as the Junior Women's Auxiliary of AHEPA.

The two youth groups have combined to contribute to such worthy causes as: Muscular Dystrophy, Deborah Heart and Lung Foundation, the Special Olympics, St. Basil Academy and Cooley's Anemia research.

The Ideals of Ancient Greece Important to All AHEPA members are proud of the contributions the ancient Greeks gifted to Western Civilization. As North Americans, we share many of the values put forth by them: civic responsibility, philanthropy, education, family and individual excellence, and the ideals of democracy. This is the essence of our heritage. This is the core of our mission.

Moreover, throughout the span of its history, AHEPA has served as a vital vehicle for the progressive development and emergence of American citizens of Greek heritage into every facet of society: government, business, education, and the arts. This fulfillment illustrates the promise of the American Dream and symbolizes the hard work ethic of our immigrant fore bearers who labored to achieve that dream with the principles of Hellenism rooted deep in their hearts.