Philoptochos, established in 1931 by the late Patriarch Athenagoras I, means “friend of the poor.” It is a volunteer organization that initiates and/or supports many church activities and projects.

Philoptochos Mission:

- To preserve the sacredness of the Orthodox family through family concern, service, unity of action; to perpetuate the Christian concept of marriage and upbringing of children and through it perpetuate and promote the Greek Orthodox Faith and traditions in conformity with its doctrines, canons, discipline, divine worship, usages, and customs; - To promote the charitable, benevolent, philanthropic, and eleemosynary of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese by instructional programming, presentations, lectures, seminars, and other educational resources; - To formulate plans and methods to voluntarily 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 special funds or solicitations on the local level; and - To promote participation in the activities of the Greek Orthodox community with the cooperation of the Parish Priest and the Parish Council.

Ladies Philoptochos Society of St. Nektarios
In 1999, the Ladies Philoptochos Society of St. Nektarios was formed with great excitement. From the chapter’s inception until April 2002, members met at each other’s homes, libraries, schools, community rooms, and restaurants to organize and create the fundraising and outreach calendar we have today. Our active schedule of events reflects the commitment of our members and parish—your loving support is critical to our philanthropic successes.

We now hold six General Meetings per year, as well as monthly Board Meetings in the St. Nektarios Spiritual Life Center. Everyone is welcome to attend meetings.

Membership
Ladies over age 18 who are members of our parish are invited to become members of the Philoptochos. Our annual membership drive begins in January and culminates with our Membership Tea. Current and new members are requested to submit membership by this event. However, we encourage membership renewals and gladly welcome new members throughout the year.

At the end of 2008, the Ladies Philoptochos Society of St. Nektarios had over 100 members, making us the fourth largest Philoptochos in the Metropolis of Atlanta. There are 61 chapters in our Metropolis.

Organizations Supported by Philoptochos
In our chapter’s short history, we have supported our National and Metropolis obligations and charities, in addition to the following:

- The Ecumenical Patriarchate - Hellenic College / Holy Cross - St. Basil Academy - Children's Cardiac Program - Orthodox Christian Mission Center - St. Photios National Shrine - Unicef - Charlotte Rescue Mission - Holy Angels of Belmont, NC - Hospice of Charlotte - Outreach Revival Church, Charlotte, NC - Panagia Prousiotissa Monastery, Troy, NC - Project Mexico and St. Innocent’s Orphanage - St. Nektarios Altar Fund - St. Stephen’s Camp - Susan J. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation