BOSTON – Leadership 100 has decided to donate five million dollars towards the completion of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center. The funds will be given in two instalments, $2.5 million this year and the remaining $2.5 million next year.
The decision was made at the 29th annual conference convened recently at the Breakers hotel in Palm Beach, Florida in the presence of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, in which more than 400 hundred delegates participated.
The Leadership 100 donation followed the twenty- million-dollar donation of the organization Faith: An Endowment For Hellenism and Orthodoxy, and a ten-million-dollar gift from the Alex and Faye Spanos Family Foundation in California. It is noted here that with this Leadership 100 donation, the $42 million needed for the completion of St. Nicholas has been raised.
Prominent global businessman Michael Psaros, Chairman of the recently established organization The Friends of St. Nicholas, received a standing ovation from the participants of the Leadership 100 Conference during his speech.
Archbishop Elpidophoros in his greeting to the L100 Executive Committee among other things said that, “I am delighted to be here with you this week for my first Leadership 100 Annual Conference. As always, the Abrahamic arrangements, the essence of Greek philoxenia, have been made at the highest level, worthy of the memory of Archbishop Iakovos whose vision, together with your founders, created this Endowment that bears his name. I want to especially thank the Chairman, Argyris Vassiliou, and the Executive Director, Paulette Poulos, for all of their attentiveness and hospitality.”
In another instance he said, “this remarkable Endowment, one that “nurtures and seeds” the ministries of the Church, is one of the fundamental pillars that sustains the entire structure of the Archdiocese. What you have done for Hellenic College and Holy Cross has been game-changing, and you continue to sustain them through this time of rebuilding.”
The Archbishop in a discreet way asked Leadership 100 to follow the example of Faith and make a contribution for the completion of St. Nicholas. He said “as the next few days unfold, I am confident that Leadership will rise to the occasion, as the Faith Endowment has done, to first, lead the way in recognizing the historic importance of completing the St. Nicholas Shrine Church at Ground Zero, and second, to make an extraordinary commitment to make this vision a reality.”
He continued:
“As you all know, there has been a singular effort over the last six weeks to raise the funds necessary for the restart of construction and the financial guarantee for the completion of our Saint Nicholas National Shrine. And I am well aware of the generosity of the Leadership 100 members who have made significant contributions to Saint Nicholas in the past, as well as the corporate contributions of Leadership 100 as an organization.
“My prayer for all of you is this: that you will seize this critical moment in the history of our Archdiocese, and make a one-time contribution – duly approved by the full Board of Trustees – and secure the future not only of Saint Nicholas, but secure the future of our Archdiocese in the consciousness of our Nation.
I think about the kind of vision that Archbishop Iakovos had, and what he would have done after 9/11.
“This is our Selma moment. He would have understood the monumental significance of Saint Nicholas, not only to the victim and heroes, but to a Nation and world that is struggling to understand the meaning of religion and spirituality in the modern era.
“He would have seen the virtually endless opportunities for preaching the Gospel, teaching tolerance, and remembering our Hellenic and Orthodox Christian heritage in this Shrine. A Shrine that may be small in square feet, but one that can be truly gigantic in its stature if we will embrace the mission that it presents. The mission is millennial in its scope, a scope that I pray you see as clearly as I do.
“Leadership 100 has done so much for the Church, by serving the Archdiocese in its manifold needs. But this is more than a need, more than another program deserving of your consideration.
This is history in the making! This is our history, one that can raise the entire Archdiocese to new heights of awareness and purpose. I ask that you join me in this mission and take the extraordinary step that your younger sister organization has taken. This is more than a leap of faith…it is the event horizon of a limitless future for our Church, and to become a true leader in the American milieu.”
Featured speakers at the Conference included Michael Kratsios, United States Chief Technology Officer, Tim Tassopoulos, President & Chief Operating Officer, Chick-fil-A, Inc, and Rev. Fr. James W. Kordaris, Director of the Department of Stewardship, Outreach and Evangelism, Philip Nicozisis, best-selling author and commercial property owner and operator, George Bousis, e-commerce entrepreneur, Doretta Mistras, healthcare investment banker, and Athan Stephanopoulos, digital media news executive.
ABOUT LEADERSHIP 100
In 1984, under the guidance of Archbishop Iakovos, The Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Fund was created as an endowment fund of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese to provide an opportunity for Greek Orthodox leaders to support the life-sustaining ministries of the Church.
In 1998, The Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Fund Incorporated was formed as a 501(c)(3) New York corporation that supports the National Ministries of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in advancement of Orthodoxy and Hellenism.
Leadership 100 members pledge $100,000, which is paid over a period of 10 years or less, except for young professional and junior members who pay the pledge on a graduated scale.
Since its inception in 1984, Leadership 100 has distributed $54 million in grants.
The Leadership 100 Executive Committee approves grants submitted by the Grant Committee after consultation with the Archbishop. The principal of the Fund remains permanently restricted and inviolate.
Today, with more than 1,100 members, Leadership 100 is a philanthropic driving force within the Church, the Greek American Community, and in the nation and the world that transforms institutions and lives.
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