The Philoptochos Society of the Greek-Orthodox Church is a duly accredited international women's philanthropic organization, one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the world. The St. Elizabeth Philoptochos Society is a chapter of the National Philoptochos Society. In addition to helping people in our own church and community, we participate in initiatives both at the national and southeastern regional levels. Some of the most recent initiatives include the Cancer Fund; the Children's Cardiac Fund; a bone marrow donor program; the St. Photios Shrine in St. Augustine; various social service programs; an initiative to provide blanket; baby clothes, and other necessities to the needy in Kosovo; and the Operation USO Care Package benefitting our soldiers overseas.
In Gainesville, our chapter participates in Volunteer Center programs such as Coats for Kids, Thanksgiving and Christmas Food Baskets, and the Pick-an-Angel program. We have recently adopted the North Florida Rehab & Specialty Care Center as a focus of our local philanthropic efforts and will provide needed items and visitation to the residents there. Your dollars spent here today will be used for these purposes.

We strongly urge all Greek-Orthodox faithful of our parish, 18 years of age and older, to join the Ladies Philoptochos Society and become members, whether active or supportive. The success of our local chapter will be greatly enhanced with the wide embrace of all members.

The word philoptochos means "friends of the poor." From its inception, the Philoptochos Society has exemplified Christian stewardship in nearly every area: visiting and caring for the sick and elderly; providing for the poor and needs; reaching out to heal the infirmities of our changing society; giving moral support to families torn apart. These are just a few examples of our Christian ministry of love.
 

To aid the poor, the destitute, the hungry, the aged, the sick, the unemployed, the orphaned, the imprisoned, the widowed, the handicapped, the victims of disasters, to undertake the burial of impoverished persons and to offer assistance to anyone who may need the help of the Church through fund raising efforts; and
To promote the charitable, benevolent, and philanthropic purposes of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, through instructional programs, presentations, lectures, seminars and other educational resources;
To preserve and perpetuate Orthodox Christian concepts and the Orthodox Christian Family, and through them, to promote the Greek Orthodox Faith and traditions, in accordance with its doctrines, canons, discipline, divine worship, usages and customs;
To promote participation in the activities of the Greek Orthodox community, with the cooperation of the Parish Priest and the Parish Council.

Philoptochos encourages members of our parish to volunteer for the organization of the coffee hour following the Divine Liturgy on every Sunday. If you have never done this before, Philoptochos will provide assistance and answer all of your questions. Use the volunteer signup form to the right and choose one of the following dates to write it down in the "Comments" section (feel free to add any other questions or comments you may have).
If you have questions, please contact Ian Arnold at christophorian@gmail.com.