Among IOCC’s projects in Greece has been supporting the largest soup kitchen in Athens. The Athens main soup kitchen run by city hall is also funded by IOCC feeding the poor and homeless twice a day. (Photo by International Orthodox Christian Charities/Eirini Vourloumis)
Source: The National Herald
BALTIMORE, MD – From October 2017 through February 2018, IOCC supporters gave more than $1.2 million under the Jaharis Family Foundation Inc.’s $1 million matching challenge to help people in need in Greece, IOCC announced on May 1.
In October 2017, IOCC announced the foundation’s challenge, issued to help support emergency and development projects in Greece. The Jaharis Family Foundation Inc. offered to match donations to IOCC’s Give for Greece program, dollar for dollar, up to $1 million.
IOCC issued a call for donations, and supporters across the country and the world responded.
Projects in Greece, implemented in partnership with Apostoli, the humanitarian organization of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Athens, offer sustainable access to safe and nutritious food for children, families, and the elderly, and provide relief to refugees. The funds from this match will further the work IOCC has been doing over the past six years to address critical health and nutritional needs emerging in Greece, to support the development of agricultural cooperatives and small businesses that provide jobs and food, and to offer educational programs for students from low-income and refugee families.
Donor support for IOCC’s efforts in Greece will help provide fresh food, supplemental food assistance, medical aid, support for agricultural associations and small businesses, refugee assistance, and other relief over the next two years, benefitting an estimated 50,000 families throughout the country—among them farmers, small businesses, refugees, schoolchildren, and others.
“We are deeply grateful to the Jaharis family for the opportunity to continue offering vital assistance in Greece,” said Constantine M. Triantafilou, IOCC Executive Director and CEO. “Many families there still face difficulty, so IOCC aims to offer immediate assistance while also creating longer-term opportunities like jobs and skills training. This gift from the Jaharis family and from all who responded to the challenge will keep this work going strong.”
Although the match has ended, donations are still welcome. Visit iocc.org/giveforgreece to become part of these efforts.
IOCC, the humanitarian and development agency of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, was created in 1992 in response to the collapse of the Soviet Union and to support innocent people affected by conflict in the former Yugoslavia. Today, the organization applies its expertise in humanitarian response to manmade and natural crises in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the United States. The organization has, since its founding, distributed aid worth over $625 million in more than 60 countries around the world, and offers assistance based solely on need.
