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9 THE SHEPHERD • DECEMBER 2023 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO ΝΕΑ ΤΗΣ ΦΙΛΟΠΤΩΧΟΥ PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS Many thanks to TEAM ANTHOUSA for your participation on November 5th in the Annual Susan B Komen® Breast Cancer Walk to benefit their ONE mission – to end breast cancer forever! This worthy cause hits home for many of us – we were blessed again this year to join efforts in eradicating this terrible disease. Our team helped raise over $1,200 toward research to discover more effective treatments, as well as vital patient support connecting people to breast cancer screen- ings, diagnostics, treatment assistance and so much more. We were honored to walk for those we have lost, those who are battling, and those who have WON! Our chapter officially kicked off the Holiday Season by hosting our ANNUAL THANKS- GIVING LUNCHEON on Sunday, Novem- ber 12th, a tradition for over 60 years and one of our favorite parish events. The pro- ceeds from our luncheon enable our Chapter to support our community through charita- ble outreach, most especially our very own Kids ‘n Cancer Ministry. We also celebrated Veterans Day by recog- nizing some of our own St. Spyridon active military and veterans of the United States Armed Forces: Don“Niko”Stokes, Peter Sta- matopoulos, Nicholas Platis, Michael Platis, Charles Theodore, Todd Dick, Brianne An- gelopoulos, George Tsopels, Stephan Bar- rington, Michael Couris. We thank each of you from the bottom of our hearts for your devotion, sacrifice and service to the greatest country on earth, our beloved United States of America. I want to thank the “heart of the house” Nik- ki Dougenis, Julie Karagianides, Christina Marantos, Jannie Gallanis, Kelly Samouris, Stella Pappas and all the ladies who lent their time and expertise to make this delicious lunch possible. A special thank you to Mi- chael Platis, Andreas Capetanakis, Demetri Pappas and Gus Demos – these men stepped in and did all the heavy lifting to make our jobs easier – we are forever grateful. And to the ladies who decorated, took your reservations, made our raffle possible – our community is blessed to have so many gen- erous volunteers! Our warmest and heartfelt thanks to the un- derwriters of our Thanksgiving Luncheon – Julie & Tasos Karagianides, Vicky & Kosta Mellos, Christina & Kostas Marantos, Jannie Gallanis, Harriett Kounaves, Bill Demos & Family. And a special thank you to our many generous opportunity drawing gift donors and to our incredible young GOYANs who were a top notch drawing ticket sales force and assisted with food service and wherever they were needed! SALVATION ARMY KROC CENTER ANGEL GIVING TREE: Philoptochos will be collecting toys for children from ages 0 to 12 years whose families are struggling finan- cially this Christmas season. Gift tags will be on the Christmas tree in our hall with the age of a child and gift suggestions. Parishioners will be able to select a tag off the tree, shop, and bring your unwrapped gift back to our hall by Sunday, December 10th and put it in the marked bin. Please reach out to Maria Platis at mplatis@hotmail.com with ques- tions. A TASTE OF GREEK CHRISTMAS BAKE SALE – SUNDAY, DEC. 17: The Holiday Bake Sale is our largest fundraiser of the year. We need volunteers to help with bak- ing, packaging, and distribution! Baking will take place on Saturday, December 9th, Wednesday and Thursday December 13th and 14th . Please contact Christine Tradas at ctradas@gmail.com to sign up. We will be packaging all baked goods starting at 9am on Saturday, December 16th. Please contact Anthea Billings at antheadiem@gmail.com to volunteer for packaging and distribution days. We need your many helping hands! ANGELS CHRISTMAS PARTY – MON. DEC. 18: We will host our Kids ‘N Cancer children and their families in the Church Hall for our annual Angels Christmas par- ty. Many of you have been generous over the years in volunteering time the night of this event and with gift giving. Please reach out to Marian Dougenis mkdougenis@prodigy. net if you would like to volunteer or donate – this event it is truly a gratifying experience. Our Kids ‘N Cancer families are incredibly appreciative of what has become an annu- al tradition that provides their children an evening filled with the true magic and joy of Christmas. AGAPE MEALS are offered to our com- munity members during difficult times. If you know of a family in need or are inter- ested in volunteering with preparing meals, please reach out to Marian Dougenis at 619.520.3660 | mkdougenis@prodigy.net Join us as we continue to put faith into action through the many gratifying opportunities to serve our Philoptochos ministry. Yours in Christ, Sofia Samouris, Anthousa Chapter President 619.518.4537 | ssamouris22@gmail.com