The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese is pleased to announce that the Archbishop Elpidophoros Camping Scholarship Fund has netted $400,000 through the inaugural Nameday Gala for His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America that was held in November 2023 in New York City. This Fund, established by His Eminence, will offer needs-based financial assistance to children of the Archdiocese for the summer camps offered by the Archdiocese, including Metropolis camps and Ionian Village.

“I am grateful for the generosity of our faithful in supporting this initiative for the camping programs of our Archdiocese,” His Eminence remarked. “Our 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 – the “desert place,” of which the Lord spoke. Through camping, we connect our youth with nature, with creation, itself, and in the case of Ionian Village, with Greece and many sacred places of the Motherland. Our camps are refuges for our young people, where they learn to understand our Holy Orthodox Faith, and they are understood themselves by the wonderful counselors and camp workers who are cultivated for this purpose throughout the Archdiocese.”

Photo: Camp Saint Paul

The objective of the Fund is two-fold: 1) to provide current funds for needs-based camping scholarships for the summer of 2024. Each Metropolis will have $20,000 available for scholarships for their camps, and Ionian Village, the camping program of the Archdiocese located in Greece, will have $100,000 for scholarships, and 2) to establish an initial fund functioning as an Endowment of $120,000 for the future of camping scholarships that is anticipated to be added to through future fundraising events.

With the blessing of His Eminence, a Committee has been established to administer the Fund consisting of the National Chancellor of the Archdiocese V. Rev. Fr. Nektarios Papazafiropoulos, Archdiocesan Council Treasurer Elaine Allen, Archdiocesan Council Youth and Young Adult Committee Chair Stacia Counelis, Archdiocesan Council Member Dr. Gregory Papadeas, Director of Ionian Village Marina Floratos, Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries Eva Konstantakos and Archdiocesan District Youth Director Constantine Pantelias.

Faithful are encouraged to contribute to the Archbishop Elpidophoros Camping Scholarship Fund to support future scholarships by donating here www.goarch.org/donate/nameday

Scholarship information for Ionian Village is available a www.ionianvillage.org

Information related to Metropolis camping scholarships will be made available through the Metropolises.