IWA Celebrates Greece

With live auction items like five nights on Kefalonia Island in the Ionian Sea including visits to Mycenaean treasures, eight nights in Athens, exuberant traditional dances, and the splendid setting of the National Hellenic Museum, the International Women Associates toasted Greece as they celebrated cross-cultural exchange.  Since their founding in 1978, IWA has been putting global understanding into practice.

Anemos Dance Troupe from St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Chicago

A non-profit cultural and educational organization that connects international members, IWA dubbed their annual fundraiser, KALOS IRTHATE, Celebrating Greece.  “Each year, IWA honors a different country or region. The National Hellenic Museum with windows on three sides showing Greektown and magnificent Greek sculptures all around, was the perfect place to honor Greece,” Barbara Calabrese, who co-chaired the evening with Arleen Dalton, told us. 

We asked IWA’s President Ying Hirsh to tell us more about the organization.

IWA President Ying Hirsh and Gala Co-Chairs Arleen Dalton and Barbara Calabrese

“IWA’s annual gala is just one example of how IWA puts global understanding and cross-cultural exchange into practice,” Hirsh explained: “We are an organization of approximately 300 women from 50-plus countries, whose members engage in cross-cultural exchange, community service, dialogue, and friendship. IWA’s annual celebration is the organization’s largest fundraising event with proceeds supporting IWA programs and philanthropic initiatives, as well as an opportunity to celebrate our diversity.”

IWA President Ying Hirsh and Evan Hirsh

IWA members Penny Vassilatos and Arleen Dalton, gala co-chair

IWA Members Olga Geocaris and Philip and Ana Lucia Pappas

Organized by IWA’s Gala Committee led by co-chairs Calabrese and Dalton, with support from the Greek Consulate in Chicago, the evening presented Greek-inspired food and drink and traditional music and dances by performers from the Saint George Greek Orthodox Church of Chicago.

International Women’s Association

IWA member Emilie Chandler

IWA member Angela Schmidt and Joe Schmidt during the live auction

Freeman’s/Hindman’s Molly Zimmer led the live auction which included not only those fabulous Greek vacations but also a Skyline Suite at the August Pink concert in Chicago and a dinner of his signature eclectic American food from Chef John Hagedorn.

Guests danced into the night to DJ Joao Pereira in a disco area dubbed Mykonos After Dark.

The event was the culmination of a series of events celebrating Greece and increase members’ knowledge of the country which included a tour of the National Hellenic Museum, dinner at Greek Islands restaurant with the Consul General of Greece Emmanuel Koubarakis, and Consul Georgia Tasiopoulou, a performance of Antigone at the Court Theatre, and a Greek poetry program.

Hirsh, who joined IWA in 2014 and is in the first year of her term as President, told us:

“The Gala is aligned with our purpose in which we celebrate across cultures, sharing other members’ cultures, rotating the country we feature each year.  I think we are a one-of-a-kind organization.  Our diversity makes us all welcoming and open-minded.

“We learn so much about other cultures through conversations, so much better than watching a documentary.  We celebrate lifelong learning for all members of the community.”

Wine tree provided by the caterer, Catered by Design

IWA’s philanthropic focus is on K-8th grade students at the George B. Swift Specialty School, a Chicago Public School serving a population of immigrant and refugee families. IWA also awards the Doe Thornburg Scholarship, named after IWA’s founder, to support Chicago-area female college students to study abroad; and the Woman Extraordinaire Award to highlight humanitarian efforts of an outstanding woman, extending IWA’s reach beyond Chicago.

IWA Members Nila Bayvas and Nettie Lasko

Calabrese, who grew up in a German family and lived in London before moving to Chicago 10 years ago told us: “I love the international atmosphere and worldly perspective of the IWA.  I find that people have so much to share. So often when you meet people they ask where you are from and that is not always an easy answer if you have lived all over the world.  That’s the beauty of the IWA.”

For further information about IWA, please visit www.iwachicago.org or contact Celia Knox at iwa@iwachicago.org or call 312) 263-1421.

Photos by Ana Miyares