Daughters of Penelope

The Daughters of Penelope was founded in 1929 by Alexandra Apostolides Sonenfelds. Sister Alexandra formed the 1 st Chapter with 25 charter members on November 16, 1929 in San Francisco, California. The Hecabe Chapter #185 of San Antonio, Texas was established on September 24, 1948 by Sister Mary Vamvoras who had moved to San Antonio from New Orleans, Louisiana. She was our first President and was joined by 14 other founding members. Today, the Hecabe Chapter has 52 members.

The Daughters of Penelope are leaders in the ideals of Hellenism, Education, Philanthropy, Civic Responsibility and Family as well as Individual Excellence. We promote loyalty to the countries and fellow countrymen where we live with the help of the existing 350 local chapters in the United States, Canada, Greece and Cyprus.

Some of the Civic Responsibility through our community service both Nationally and Locally includes Penelope House Family Violence Center, Papanicolaou Cancer Center, Cooley’a Anemia, Multiple Sclerosis, Breast Cancer Vaccine Research, Lupus, St. Basil’s Academy, Special Olympics and the American Heart Association.

We also provide funding for scholarships, seminars, symposiums, lectures and other educational actives such as our Children’s Literacy Program.

Mary Vamvoras Scholarship

The Mary Vamvoras Scholarship Application and Instructions for 2022 are now available. The Scholarship is for current high school seniors and will be awarded for the 2021-2022 school year.

Mary Vamvoras Scholarship Application

Instructions for the Mary Vamvoras Scholarship