“Two years ago, Faith launched one of its most prominent funding initiatives by underwriting several merit-based scholarship awards offered by the Archdiocese to the graduating valedictorians and salutatorians of its parochial schools. The Faith Scholarships for Academic Excellence are merit-based scholarships designated for educational purposes and underscore the commitment to excellence in education throughout the Archdiocese. This year, Faith increased its funding for the scholarship programs to include Greek Orthodox valedictorians of any public or private high school in the United States.
In addition to the scholarships for academic, as part of its 2009 scholarship program, Faith once again funded several Archdiocese travel scholarships for students to participate in the Ionian Village summer program this summer. These need-based scholarships were awarded by the Archdiocese to students who displayed financial need, assisting to cover the tuition and travel fees to the program. In 2009, there were approximately 34 recipients of Faith Ionian Village Travel Scholarships. Ionian Village is located in Greece and operated by the Archdiocese under the spiritual direction and guidance of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America. Established in 1970, Ionian Village offers its participants a unique experience to travel across Greece, venerate the relics of saints, walk in the footsteps of the Apostles, and visit significant sites of Greek history and culture.
Peter T. Kikis, President and one of the Original Founders of Faith, remarked on last year’s scholarship recipients: “We are very proud to be able to support the Archdiocese scholarship programs. The past recipients of the Faith Scholarships for Academic Excellence are truly outstanding candidates - unilaterally, they not only excelled academically but they are also the young leaders in our community by commendably donating their time and effort to volunteering and actively building our community through their extracurricular activities.”
Cathy Papoulias-Sakellaris, a Founder of Faith and also an alumna of Ionian Village said that “we (the Founders of Faith) are happy to support young people wishing to participate in Ionian Village, which is a truly transformative experience – one can see the intellectual, spiritual and emotional growth that takes place for young people attending the summer camp.”
Faith looks toward continuing support of these vital educational programs as well as to working with the Archdiocese to inaugurate a series of new opportunities related to its mission and the development of new programs that will support the enrichment and enlightenment of future community members and leaders.
The academic scholarship application deadline is June 26, 2009. For more information about the Archdiocese scholarship programs, please contact the Archdiocese office of Administration at 212-774-0566 or administration@goarch.org. For application guidelines and forms, please visit: www.faithendowment.org.
The core mission of Faith is to promote Hellenism and an understanding of the Greek Orthodox faith through a series of high quality innovative educational programs and cultural initiatives under the auspices of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Founded by a group of Greek American leaders representing a diversity of professional fields and philanthropic values, the organization’s first priority is to fund the development and expansion of educational and cultural programs that focus on Orthodox and Hellenic heritage and cultural legacy. Faith’s mission is to promote a diverse series of educational and cultural programs that will be available to the Greek American community. For more information, the website is: www.faithendowment.org.
