TheLeader VOLUME XXVI ISSUE1 Winter2025 - Flipbook - Page 11
Photos: GOARCH/Brittainy Newman
2024 Archbishop's Nameday Gala Raises More Than
$400,000 for Summer Camping Ministry Scholarships
Archbishop Elpidophoros at Nameday Gala.
The 2024 Archbishop’s Nameday Gala, which took place
at Terrace on the Park in Queens, New York on
November 17, raised more than $400,000 for the
Archdiocesan Youth Summer Camp Scholarship Fund.
In addition, we celebrated Archbishop Elpidophoros of
America’s Nameday, November 2.
The now-annual gala raises critical funds, providing
financial assistance to youth across the Archdiocese and
enabling them to attend Greek Orthodox summer camps
regardless of their financial circumstances.
Through the generosity of last year’s donors, the 2023
inaugural gala allowed 275 youths to attend summer
camping ministries, distributing funds toward Ionian
Village, each Metropolis and Direct Archdiocesan
summer camp, and the launch of an endowment
scholarship fund for future campers.
This year’s gala was an even greater success, led by cochairs Stephanie Litsakis Clark and Fr. Panteleimon
Papadopoulos, who emphasized the significance of
summer camping ministries in the lives of our youth.
Archons, members of Leadership 100, and other
esteemed gala guests donated over $400,000 to the fund,
which will allow more youth members of the
Archdiocese to participate in these ministries.
Addressing the gala attendees, Archbishop
Elpidophoros expressed his gratitude at the
opportunity to “achieve something for the
Faithful Children of the Ecumenical Throne:
their progress, as we pray in the Divine Liturgy,
‘in life, in faith, and spiritual understanding.’”
He also emphasized that the Archdiocesan
camping ministries are not “some kind of
innovation – a gimmick to instill our Faith and
traditions,” but “are completely consistent with
the most ancient first principles of our Church.”
At our summer camping ministries, youth devote
themselves “to the teaching of the Apostles and
to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to
their prayers,” just as the early Christians do in Acts 2:42.
These camps “offer a unique opportunity for young
people to grow in their faith by taking them out of the
techno-world that they continuously inhabit and
bringing them into nature. Our camps are refuges for
our young people. There are people in need, and families
who can’t afford the luxury of a Greek Orthodox
summer camp. We must make these transformative
experiences financially accessible to every child who
wishes to attend.”
Attendees echoed these sentiments. Presvytera Meghan
Karloutsos, herself a former camp counselor, said that
“going to camp St. Paul is life changing. We need to give
as many children as possible the chance to go because it
is truly lifechanging.” Another attendee, Irene Stellas
Ferranti, talked about the transformative effect that
camp has on so many children: “the week is so special
because it fills the kids and counselors alike with peace
and light.” From building bonfires, to watching fireflies,
to daily communal prayer, “there are just so many ways
for the kids to feel like they belong,” said Ferranti.
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