On July 1st, Greek America Foundation supporters Lea Soupata and her husband Sotiris Zervoulias presented a check for $5,000.00 from the Chicago based Greek America Foundation (GAF) to Desmos, a non-profit organization that has helped thousands of people in need throughout Greece.
Project Hope for Greece is an initiative of the Greek America Foundation that is raising funds to support nonprofits in Greece working towards better futures for its people and country. Since January 2013, the program has donated $95,000.00 to seven charities in Greece through the generosity of Greek America Foundation supporters, members and Ambassadors of Hope.
The campaign has enlisted broad grass-roots support from throughout the United States and Canada, offering anyone who either donates $1000 or hosts an event that brings in a minimum of $1000 to be listed as an “Ambassador of Hope.” The campaign also attracted several high profile names like menswear designer John Varvatos, Walt Disney World President George Kalogridis and actress Melina Kanakaredes, all of whom became Ambassadors of Hope.
This is yet another gift made possible by the supporters of the GAF and their Project Hope for Greece campaign. To date, the organization has distributed $95,000.00 to seven charities helping those in need in Greece.
Desmos is a new non-profit organization in Greece playing an important role matching local and international donors (people, organizations and corporations) with Greek charities.Their mission is to ensure that each and every donation to a Greek charity makes the biggest possible impact. Over the past year, they have been working around the clock to assist more than 65 Greek charities, including orphanages and soup kitchens, meet their daily needs.
Longtime Greek America Foundation supporters and Project Hope for Greece Ambassadors of Hope, Lea Soupata and Sotiri Zervoulias, have made earmarked this donation of $5,000 for Desmos, their second $5,000.00 donation to the charity. Lea retired from UPS after 37 years of service. She was Senior Vice President of Human Resources, with 400,000 employees.
Sotiri is a retired life skills psychologist who taught at the Center of Human Skills in Athens, Greece. After visiting with Demos during the 2013 summer, Lea and Sotiri were so moved by Desmos’ work and commitment to assist families they decided to make another generous donation.
“The Greek America Foundation has given us an opportunity to reconnect with our heritage through their various programs. We were impressed with their commitment to financial prudence– maintaining low administrative expenses through a strong volunteer network. We were especially proud of GAF’s Project Hope for Greece. We were honored to be Ambassadors for this worthy fundraising opportunity which will aid those is need in Greece.”
To date, the GAF’s Project Hope for Greece has donated $15,000.00 to Desmos. Donations have gone towards Desmos’ “Desmos Gives Warmth!” program, which provides heating fuel for schools and social service providers in Greece that otherwise risk not being able to operate regularly due to winter weather and the budget cuts in social welfare across Greece.
