In the early twentieth century, a wave of Greek immigrants departed their homeland in search of a new life. Among them were men and women from Kollines, a village nestled in the mountains of Greece, who found their way to the city of Chicago, Illinois.
Bound by the same language, the same memories, and the same longing for the village they left behind, these pioneers established the Syndesmos Kolliniaton of Chicago in 1919. What began as a gathering of neighbors became an enduring institution — a home away from home for generations of Kollines families.
For more than a century, the organization has been the living thread connecting Chicago's Greek community to the ancestral village. Through celebrations and sorrows, through decades and generations, the bonds forged in 1919 have never been broken.
Today, the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of those original founders continue to gather — preserving language, honoring memory, and strengthening the family that spans an ocean.