The Greek-American Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1997 by Gregory Pappas. It aims to promote, keep and support the Greek culture, history and heritage in America.
This year's awards will take place on Ellis Island on the 4th of June. The event will begin with music by the eternal Mikis Theodorakis. For the awards ceremony, the song will be put on stage by Gregory Yaitanes who is behind the successful series True Blood, Grey 's Anatomy and House M.D. The actor Theo Alexander, known from True Blood, will read excerpts from emigrant diaries and the ceremony will be followed by Glykeria’s concert.
Ellis Island was not chosen accidentally to host the awards. Over twelve million immigrants have crossed the threshold of New York there from the far 1892 until 1954. The island is located in close proximity to one of the symbols of the USA – the Statue of Liberty.
One of the many activities of the Foundation is organizing the Gabby Awards. These are prizes given to those Greeks, who have distinguished themselves in various cultural fields, and although they have become part of the American society they have managed to preserve their identity and cultural heritage.
As it is known, Gabby Awards categories are eight in number - sports, politics, business, art and culture, art, education, philanthropy and the promotion of Hellenism. And the voting is on the Internet. Of course, like any respectable ceremony Gabby Awards has a prize for lifetime achievement. The voting for this special award, however, is only by a specially selected jury and it is awarded to a person that has become a role model of success in the relevant field.
The first edition of the awards was held in Chicago in June, 2009. The idea of the founders is Gabby Awards to be held in a different city every two years, bringing the best Greek figures. In turn, the money granted during the ceremony take the form of scholarships for young Greek-American students to study in Athens, where they have the opportunity to touch the authentic culture and mentality.
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