| R 386 |
| 2022 -- S 3024 Enacted 06/21/2022 |
| S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
| JOYOUSLY CELEBRATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICAN HELLENIC EDUCATIONAL PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION |
Introduced By: Senators Raptakis, McCaffrey, Gallo, Algiere, Kallman, Euer, Murray, Quezada, DiMario, and Zurier |
| Date Introduced: June 16, 2022 |
| WHEREAS, The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (Order of |
| AHEPA) was founded on July 26, 1922, in Atlanta, Georgia, by eight visionary Greek |
| immigrants to help unify, organize, and protect against the bigotry, discrimination, and |
| defamation faced by people of all ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds perpetrated |
| predominately by the Ku Klux Klan; and |
| WHEREAS, The Mission of AHEPA is to promote the ideals of ancient Greece, which |
| include philanthropy, education, civic responsibility, and family and individual excellence |
| through community service and volunteerism; and |
| WHEREAS, Since its inception, AHEPA has instilled in its members an understanding of |
| their Hellenic heritage and an awareness of the contributions made to the development of |
| democratic principles and governance in the United States and throughout the world; and |
| WHEREAS, AHEPA membership, which currently exceeds 25,000, is not limited to only |
| people of Greek Origin. President Franklin Roosevelt, for example, was a dues paying member of |
| AHEPA for more than fourteen years, from March of 1931 until his passing, as was Rhode Island |
| United State Senator Claiborne Pell, who joined in 1963 and received AHEPA’s highest honor, |
| the Socrates Award, in 1982; and |
| WHEREAS, Members of AHEPA served in the Armed Forces of the United States to |
| protect American freedom and to preserve those democratic ideals that are part of the Hellenic |
| legacy, and specifically in World War II, were parachuted behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied |
| Greece to help its liberation; and |
| WHEREAS, AHEPA raised more than $253 million dollars to purchase United States |
| War bonds during World War II, for which AHEPA was named an official issuing Agent for |
| United States War Bonds by the Department of the Treasury, an honor that no other civic |
| organization was able to achieve at that time; and |
| WHEREAS, The members of AHEPA donated $612,000 dollars towards the restoration |
| of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, New York, for which AHEPA received special |
| recognition by the United States Department of the Interior; and |
| WHEREAS, The AHEPA National Housing Program has sponsored safe and dignified |
| affordable housing to vulnerable senior citizens administered by the United States Department of |
| Housing and Urban Development Section 202, Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program, that |
| has yielded 4,467 units in 87 communities across 19 States; and |
| WHEREAS, AHEPA financially supports scholarships, natural disaster and humanitarian |
| relief, medical research, and countless other charitable and philanthropic causes by contributing |
| more than $2,0000,000 annually from its national, district, and local levels collectively; and |
| WHEREAS, In 1996, in the spirit of their Hellenic heritage and in commemoration of the |
| Centennial Olympic Games held in Atlanta, Georgia, members of AHEPA raised $775,000 for |
| the “Tribute” to Olympism Sculpture, the “fan-like” structure that helped to save lives during the |
| Olympic Bombing at Centennial Olympic Park; and |
| WHEREAS, President George H.W. Bush cited AHEPA as one of America’s “Thousand |
| Points of Light”; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby joyously |
| commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the American Hellenic Educational |
| Progressive Association (AHEPA), applauds its mission, and commends the many charitable |
| contributions of its members to communities around the world; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby respectfully requests that the Honorable Daniel J. |
| McKee, Governor of the State of Rhode Island, issue a proclamation acknowledging the 100th |
| Anniversary of AHEPA and its many accomplishments; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Honorable Daniel J. McKee, Governor of |
| the State of Rhode Island, and to District 7, Chapter 106, Cranston, Rhode Island, Chapter 121, |
| Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and Chapter 245, Newport, Rhode Island. |
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| LC006064 |
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