Anita Kartalopoulos Named Woman of the Week by Axia Women

Anita Kartalopoulos was named Woman of the Week, in the summer of 2023, by Axia Women, a network by, for and about Orthodox Women in the service of Christ. She was nominated for her work as Vice President at the National level of Philoptochos. Anita is a member of Leadership 100, with her husband, Dr. Stamatios Kartalopoulos.

Axia asked her to describe the path she took to becoming an Executive Officer of National Philoptochos:

Anita Kartalopoulos

“My path to Philoptochos began in Toledo, Ohio, when I was still a child because my Grandmother was one of the founding members of the chapter there. She would take me along to meetings, and I would watch what they were doing and still have images of these women meeting and addressing needs in the parish, and at that time also in Greece. They were just very strong, and they were the sole decision-makers regarding the matters they were discussing. Those are my earliest memories of Philoptochos. I don't think I'm unusual: I think everybody gets their start at the local level. It turned out to be a path that I found interesting and attractive: strong women meeting needs and doing for others.

“I joined the National Board in 1998, 25 years ago. To this day, I'm not sure who recommended me for the appointment. It may have been because, in the summer of 1998, my spouse and I made our first trip to the Patriarchate and met His Holiness. It was an amazing experience, a great blessing. I came back very energized, and I shared that with a lot of people. I had great respect for the work that Philoptochos was doing. It was an honor to be appointed to the National Board and to have that opportunity to serve; it gave me a unique opportunity to get to know like-minded people from all over the United States, which is another of the great strengths of the Philoptochos.”

Axia asked her about the kinds of projects that she has been involved in: 

“What we're able to do today is to help in even more places, do even more things, and do them at a higher level than ever before. But we have never abandoned the areas where we helped from the very beginning, at the parish level, in a service-type fashion. We’ve never jettisoned any of that. We continue to do all of that, but we've added a lot more. We really try to meet society’s needs wherever they happen to exist.

“International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) has been a great partner for 30 years. Working with them in collaboration with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (GOA) allows us to make the greatest possible impact in a truly transparent fashion.

“Our members make the decisions about where the money is going to be spent–whether that’s on the local, national, or international level. But we also make sure that we know exactly how money is spent. We've had a clean financial track record throughout our 91 years. We are extremely careful, and we have been doing very high-level audits for many, many years. We are meticulous about both our fundraising and our accounting. We are also very transparent. We have long posted all our financials on our website for everyone to see. Because people trust the Philoptochos, they are generous.

“We do an entire panoply of projects large and small. There is something for everyone to do who wants to be a member. You will find a place where you can make a difference for people, and you can have the satisfaction of knowing that both you and your work are appreciated and wanted. I mean, that's really what we're there for, isn’t it? To fulfill our Christian mandate to meet the needs of those around us. So that when the Lord asks us when we close our eyes, ‘What did you do? Did you feed the hungry? Did you visit the prisoner? Did you clothe the naked?’ We really want to give everyone the opportunity and the place where they can do all these things and answer to Our Lord: ‘Yes, I did.’”

As always, Axia asked their Woman of the Week, Anita Kartalopoulos, about her morning routine.

“Quiet time at the beginning of the day is key for me. I find that the prayer that starts ‘Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth…’ has become the place where I start everything. It just centers me. That's the first place to take a deep breath in the morning. I mean, you ask for the spirit of truth and, then you move forward from there. I say it in Greek because that’s how I learned it from my grandmother. It’s beautiful and asks for the indwelling and guidance of the Holy Spirit which we all need so much, don’t we?

“Then I look at whatever the Gospel reading of the day is. I need to Pray so I can get centered and get focused because the rest of the day there will be a million things competing for my attention and for my time.

Axia!