The Eftychia Project

Helping Greek Adoptees Find Their Roots

About Us

About UsAbout Us
     Please note, our website in still under construction and new pages are coming. Please keep checking for updates.
Ever since our President, Eftychia/Linda Carol Trotter, found her Greek family in June 2017, she had it in her heart to "pay it forward", so to speak, by helping other Greek adoptees find theirs, at absolutely no cost to the adoptee. Out of that desire, and with the help of dear friends with like minds, The Eftychia Project was born. We are a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization classified as a public charity with tax-exempt status by the IRS. Donations to our organization are tax-deductible (Pub 78).

We are devoted to providing assistance and support to Greek-born adoptees searching for their roots and Greek families searching for their children lost to adoption. We also seek to advocate on behalf of all Greek-born adoptees with the Greek government concerning the issues of transparency about our adoptions, unfettered access to our adoption and birth records, a DNA database for adoptees and their biological families, and Greek citizenship for all Greek-born adoptees. Our current board of directors consists entirely of Greek-born adoptees: President, Linda Carol Trotter; Secretary, Maria Heckinger; Treasurer, Merrill Jenkins; Intake Coordinator, Stephanie Pazoles.

While we aid Greek adoptees (those born in and adopted from/in Greece) from any era, we especially want to assist the thousands of Greek children adopted by American parents in the scandal-ridden years between 1948 and 1962, as time is running out if we have any hope of finding our birth parents still living.
•••Your prayers and support for our efforts are greatly appreciated.

If you are a Greek adoptee looking for your Greek roots or a Greek family looking for an adoptee and you would like to request assistance, please contact us at TheEftychiaProject@gmail.com or click on the Facebook link on the homepage to send a message to our Facebook account.

Contact Us

Information

For general information about The Eftychia Project, please contact us by clicking on the email link below.

Greek Adoptee Help

If you are a Greek adoptee looking for family members, please contact us by clicking on the email link below.

Greek Family Help

If you are a Greek family searching for loved ones, please contact us by clicking on the email link below.

The Lost Children of cold war greece video

 

Events

Events
•••Join us LIVE on Zoom for GREEK ADOPTEE REUNIONPALOOZA•••
Saturday and Sunday, August 7 and 8, 2021
We can't wait for you to join us at this FREE, open to the public, virtual, interactive event. 
Hope to "see" you there! 
Here's the schedule for Greek Adoptee Reunionpalooza:

Saturday, August 7, 2021
Opening session
12 noon CT (1:00 pm ET, 11:00 am MT, 10:00 am PT, 20:00 Greek time) 
- Welcome and Introduction of Board of Directors
- Overview of TEP and assistance provided
- Advocacy on behalf of all Greek-born adoptees
- Contact information
- Live Q&A
1:00 pm Sam Williams
- Unraveling the Mysteries of DNA in the Search for Family
- Join Sam as he breaks down DNA and family relationships (what’s a second cousin once removed, anyway?) and compares the various DNA platforms and the information each provides. Followed by live Q&A
2:00 pm Virtual Greek Coffee Hour and Adoptee Story Time
- Interactive hour of meet and greet, an opportunity for Greek adoptees to introduce themselves to their fellow adoptees and tell their stories – grab your coffee and join us!
3:00 pm Gregory Kontos of Greek Ancestry
- Searching for and Accessing Records in Greece
- Join Gregory as he gives an overview of Greek Ancestry, records that are available in Greece that may have relevance for adoptees and how to access these records. Followed by live Q&A
4:00 pm Closing
- Virtual tour of the major Greek orphanages and their home cities
- Live Q&A for any other questions
- Closing remarks

Sunday, August 8, 2021
1:30 pm CT (2:30 pm ET, 12:30 pm MT, 11:30 am PT, 21:30 Greek time) Opening session
- Welcome and Overview of today’s activities
- Preview of 2022 in-person First Annual Greek Adoptee Reunion in Nashville, TN
- Announcement of location for 2023 Second Annual Greek Adoptee Reunion
2:00 pm Andreas Tselikas, Alexandria Institute, Athens, GR
- It’s All Greek to Me: Our Greek Language
- Join Andreas as he explores the origins of our Greek language and why it’s known as the most difficult language in the world with the exception of Chinese. Followed by live Q&A
3:00 pm Elena Giannoulaki, Thessaloniki, GR
- The Agios Stylianos Adoption Scandal
- Join Elena as she presents us with her research into one of the most notorious Greek adoption scandals. Followed by live Q&A
4:00 pm Closing
- Recap of reunion and thanks to our speakers
- Reminders about 2022 and 2023 in-person reunions
- Any remaining questions and closing remarks

The Board of Directors of The Eftychia Project would like to thank all of you for your generous support. 
We could have not accomplished all that we have without you.
We have a long list of goals and dreams for the future of TEP.


Donations

$25

Donation Amount

ADVOCACY






***THE EFTYCHIA PROJECT LAUNCHES GREEK-BORN ADOPTEE-LED INITIATIVE FOR A DIALOGUE WITH THE GREEK GOVERNMENT CONCERNING TRANSPARENCY, ACCESS TO RECORDS, A DNA DATABASE AND GREEK CITIZENSHIP FOR ALL GREEK-BORN ADOPTEES***
***GREEK-BORN ADOPTEES, WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!***
TEP is passionate about furthering the quest of a growing chorus of Greek-born adoptees for the Greek Citizenship they so rightfully deserve. We are beginning work on a plan for a path to citizenship for Greek adoptees that we hope to present to the Greek government in the coming months. But there are other pressing issues of supreme importance to all Greek-born adoptees/Greek biological families that need to be addressed by the Greek state which, at the very least, owes us the opportunity to present our concerns and the courtesy of hearing us out:
(1) We believe that the knowledge of their roots and their biological family origins are basic human rights of all adoptees
(2) We believe that Greek-born adoptees and Greek biological families are entitled to transparency from the Greek government and all Greek adoption-related institutions and organizations reagrding these adoptions 
(3) We believe that Greek-born adoptees are entitled to unfettered access to Greek court, orphanage, institutional and organizational records related to their adoptions, as well as copies of ALL of their adoption-related documents
(4) We believe that Greek-born adoptees and Greek families are entitled to the establishment of an adoptee/biological family DNA database by the Greek state for the purpose of reuniting adoptees and their biological families, at no cost to either the adoptee or the biological family
(5) We believe that all Greek-born adoptees are entitled to Greek citizenship, and that the pathway to Greek citizenship should be streamlined, with minimal bureaucratic processes and at minimal or no cost to the adoptee
If you are a Greek-born adoptee, your input is vital for formulating this citizenship plan and presenting these issues to the Greek government. Your lived experiences are crucial to this initiative. If you would like to participate, please email us as soon as possible at theeftychiaproject@gmail.com and let us know of your interest and your contact information. We will then email you information regarding partcipation. It is our hope that by Greek-born adoptees working together, we will be able to begin a dialogue with the Greek government to right the wrongs of the past, to open the door to those documents and records to which we are entitled and to which access for many of us has been denied, to establish a DNA database through which we might be reunited with our biological families, and to reclaim the Greek citizenship that is our birthright. There is strength in numbers - let's work together and make what has long been a dream into a reality!