Posted on: Monday, June 30, 2003

Ladies society raises money to help keiki with cancer

By Kawehi Haug
Advertiser Staff Writer

Since 1986, Athena Adams and her group have been counting on the community's love of Greek desserts to help them make a difference for sick children.

This year, the Hawai'i Ladies Philoptochos Society of Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church has donated $5,000 and 20 interisland airline tickets to a fund that helps Neighbor Island children with cancer travel to O'ahu for chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

In the past 17 years, the society has donated more than 2,000 tickets to Kapi'olani Medical Center's Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Transportation Fund, Adams said.

The Greek word "philoptochos" means "friends of the poor." The groups spends much of the year baking and selling baklava and other Greek sweets to raise money for the pediatric transportation fund.

Adams, president of the Philoptochos Society, started the fund after hearing that Neighbor Island children with cancer were flying alone to get treatments because their families couldn't afford the travel costs.

"I looked at the (society's) bank account and decided that something useful had to be done with the money," she said. "Helping kids is one of the best things we can do for the community."

Kapi'olani's clinical nurse specialist, Carole Otsubo, said children being treated for cancer may need to visit the hospital up to twice a week for months at a time.

"This is a great relief from a huge burden," Otsubo said.

The Ladies Philoptochos Society also supports the Institute for Human Services, the Battered Women's Shelter and the River of Life Mission.