NEW YORK – The Daughters of Penelope (DOP) Evryklea Chapter #36 was reactivated on April 21 with an initiation ceremony for new members at Cesca Restaurant on the Upper West Side. Julia Collins, DOP District Six Governor, officiated the initiation and reactivation with DOP Grand President Eva Jean Fomalont also in attendance.

The event highlighted the historical achievements of the organization and also the importance of bringing in new members to sustain the various efforts promoting Hellenism, education, and charity well into the future. The newly initiated members are a cross-section of the community from not only the local tri-state area, but also from Greece originally. They all see the value of participating in this historic chapter which will undoubtedly contribute a great deal to the community and the family of AHEPA.

President of the Manhattan-based Chapter of AHEPA, Delphi 25, Argyris S. Argitakos said of the reactivation and the women participating that they “would be following in the footsteps and the legacy of Alexandra Apostolides who began the Daughters of Penelope in 1929, it was done with the spirit of love and sisterhood in order to help others and to promote a love of Hellenism, education, and the other goals that are so important to the AHEPA organization.”

The historic DOP Evryklea Chapter # 36 was founded in New York City in 1935 and had a storied past with many notable members and activities. However, it suffered a fate similar to AHEPA’s Delphi 25 Chapter, which had fallen into inactivity, and needed new “blood” and energy.

Argitakos noted that “we were just 16 new members when in the Fall of 2016 we started the revitalization of the AHEPA Delphi 25 Chapter (which was founded in 1923), I’m proud to state that the Delphi 25 Chapter, now with 200+ members, is currently the largest Chapter in New York State and the third largest Chapter in all of the AHEPA domain (of approximately 450+ Chapters)! I’m certain that, with our Chapter’s complete support, the Evryklea Chapter # 36 of the Daughters of Penelope will have similar success.”

Effie Streida is the interim President of the Chapter. Cesca owner Georgia Dumas also joined the membership along with a dozen more women. Many more have expressed interest and are expected to join the Chapter soon.

More information about the Daughters of Penelope is available online at: www.daughtersofpenelope.org and about District 6 at: dopempiredistrict6.com.