"Maria Tsakos" Foundation

The Foundation’s activities also extend to Greece, through donations and charities. Benevolent donations have been extremely significant, particularly in Chios and Kardamyla, Captain P.N. Tsakos’ home island. Because of the founder’s sensitivity to issues of Orthodoxy, the Foundation also financially supports the efforts of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. For this reason, His All Holiness, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew awarded Captain P.N. Tsakos the title of “Patriarchate Archon.”

The following are just a small indication of the Foundation's numerous benefactions:

	The restoration, in 1998, of the church of Aghia Paraskevi Pikridiou in Constantinople. A holy pilgrimage is organized annually, at the Foundation’s expense, to the church at which His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew officiates. Apart from the major restoration project for the Aghia Paraskevi church, the Foundation also cares for the financially assist churches all over the world. This list of churches includes the Aghia Ekaterini Monastery in Sinai, the Mersinidio Monastery in Chios, the church of the Timio Stavro in Kardamyla, Chios, the Aghia Marina church in Ekali, Attica, the Greek Orthodox church in Accra, Ghana and the Orthodox church in Manilla, Philippines. Moreover, following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the Foundation has contributed to the recreation of the Aghios Nikolaos church in New York and has also financially aided the city’s Fire Department.
	Its contribution to the realization of the International Interdenominational and Ecological Symposium, Danube, River of Life”, organized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
	The installation of the Purple Finder (Pole Star System) satellite system at the Merchant Marine Ministry’s Operations Centre. This warning and monitoring satellite system for ship traffic is vital for the safe navigation of passenger vessels. The Foundation’s interest in the shipping world not to fail to extend also to Captain P.N. Tsakos’ birthplace, the island of Chios. Thus, it has participated in an extension to the Merchant Marine Engineering School in Chios, and has donated auxiliary equipment to the island’s port authority, as well as maritime instruments and publications to the Chios Nautical Museum.
	The offer of economic and medical assistance to children’s hospitals. Because of her special sensitivity to issues involving the care and protection of children throughout the world, the founder’s wife, Irene Saroglou-Tsakos M.D.,is the head of this activity. This charitable task includes the purchase of equipment for hospitals in Serbia and the dispatch of toys and clothes for children in the country, donations to the Hatzikyriakeio Foundation for the Protection of Children and to “Argo” (Association of Seamen’s Children with Special Needs), and contributions to the Foundation for the Fight Against Diabetes, as well as to the Hellenic Red Cross. Moreover, on the initiative of the founder’s wife, a statue has been erected at Kardamyla port, depicting the “Kardamylitissa”, the Mother, Wife and Sister of so many sailors, who set out from maritime Kardamyla to conquer the seas.
In 1995, sponsored by the Foundation, a book by the Uruguayan diplomat and literaty scholar, Alvaro Gallardo, was published – entitled: “Contemporary Greek Poetry”. Through this work, eminent Greek poets, such as Elytis, Seferis, Ritsos and Engonopoulos, became known, not only in South America, but also among Spanish-speaking peoples throughout the world. Acknowledging the importance of this publication, Greece’s Foreign Ministry decided to distribute it to all Spanish-language embassies and diplomatic missions of the Hellenic Republic abroad. The Foundation's activities also extent and contribute to other publications, such as "Chios in Antiquity", by Professor Theodoros Sarikakis, "Tornando sobre la filosofia y cultura griega", by Illeana Capote Padron and Thalia Fung Riberson, "To the Country of that Spirit…", the English translation of poems by Georgios Veritis from Chios, "Sea of Darkness" by journalist Efstathios Batis, and others.