AHEPA Gold Coast Chapter to Host “Star-Studded” Cooley’s Anemia Fundraiser

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Gold Coast Chapter #456 of AHEPA, the largest chapter on Long Island,will host a tribute performance fundraiser for the AHEPA Cooley’s Anemia Foundation on Friday, April 27, 2012 at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University. The night will feature acts performing as Cher, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Frankie Valli&The Four Seasons, and The Temptations, along with Sammy Sax& The MD’s.

by Dimitri C. Michalakis

“I said how canwe do a fundraiser that’s different from whateverybody else is doing?” says chapter president John Levas. “And one of my members said, why don’t you put on a show?”

This is the first time the chapter is hosting the tribute and it is a major undertaking (the Tillis Center seats nearly 2,000), but it comes in the wake of the chapter and a brother chapter donating $6,000 last July at the National Convention. This led to AHEPA Supreme President Ike Gulasappointing Levasnortheast chairman of the Cooley’s Anemia drive.

It comes in the long line of charitable donations the chapter has made over years (nearly $50,000 in 2011 alone) including $100,000 to Archangel Michael Church in Roslyn, and others to St. Michael’s Old Age Home, Archangel Michael Church in Port Washington for a stained glass window, Resurrection Church in Brookville, the National AHEPA 9/11 Memorial Fund, the U.S. Marine Corps Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund, and more private efforts, among them to a single mother who every year for the last five years has received a donation from the chapter to support a disabled son.

“It’s the members that really make things happen,” says Levas. “It’s a really good group of individuals that come up with the ideas of where the funds are needed and where they can benefit the most.”

A second generation AHEPAN (his father George is a life member), Levaswas raised at the conventions and has been president of the Gold Coast Chapter for several years (“I lost count after about five, six, seven years”). His members are among the most affluent in the AHEPA family, but also among the most active and accomplished, with a heavy dose of doctors.

“We have a lot of professional people,” says Levas, “and we do a number of different seminars throughout the year. Dr. Tom Pappas has been rated the top cardiologist in Long Island and is a member. Dr. Dean Pappas is a top gastroenterologist. We have had seminars by these individuals for all of the members.”

But he says all the members from all walks step up and he mentions the many times Nick Katopodis at North Shore Farms has contributed (he provides the dinners for the meetings), most recently when he donated the produce needed on short notice to the fundraiser for the AHEPA Suffolk County Half Marathon.

“I get on the phone and Nick says to me, ‘John, whatever you need.’ I get there and he loads up my Yukon. ‘What do I owe you?’I say. ‘This is for AHEPA,’ he says.‘This is a donation my partner and I are making.’ That’s the difference with our members.Our members are there to give, not to receive. People ask what’s AHEPA going to do for me? It can do nothing for you. But if you turn around and you make things happen it can do a lot for you.”

The board of the Gold Coast chapter includes vice president Paul Macropoulos, secretary Larry Karantzios, recording secretary George Pappas, and treasurer Ted Malgarinos. The Sunshine Welfare chairman is Tom Gardianos, and Sons Advisor is George Pappas. Stanley Neamonites is head of the scholarship fund.

Tickets to the April 27 Cooley’s Anemia fundraiser (and donations) can be purchasedat (ahepacooleys.org), John Levas directly at johnl@ahepacooleys.org, and the Tilles Center box office at (516) 299-3100 or tillescenter.org/calendar.
©2012 NEOCORP MEDIA






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