The Greek America Foundation is proud to announce a grant of 2,900 euros (approximately 2,900 USD) to one of our charity partners in Greece which has been on the frontlines of recovery efforts on the fire-stricken island of Evia.
Thanks to the generosity of our donors and supporters in North America, this summer our partners from we4all were able to purchase two water tanks for the village of Kato Monokaria, which was gravely affected by the devastating wildfires in Northern Evia last summer.
The 2021 blaze on Evia, Greece’s second-largest island, came during a historic heatwave for the country and burned down large forested areas, homes and businesses, forcing thousands to evacuate by sea to save their lives.
Following the fires, volunteers from we4all planted trees in the area and have provided water tanks, including those donated by the Greek America Foundation, which will be used to water the new trees and protect the village from future fires.
Greek news media had reported that numerous water tanks were sabotaged during the fires which made circumstances increasingly difficult for firefighters attempting to battle the blaze. For this reason, our partners from we4all insisted that replacing these tanks would be crucial in recovery efforts.
The Greek America Foundation sponsored a 10-ton (750-gallon) and 5-ton (3750-gallon) water tank, the latter of which will be mobile and used to assist two neighboring villages.
For three summers the foundation has had fruitful collaborations with we4all, one of Greece’s leading environmental charities which was established during the aftermath of the devastating summer 2018 wildfires in Mati.
In the past four years, we4all has planted more than 225,500 trees while collaborating with local municipalities and government officials in the greater Attica region. Among other activities, the organization focuses on tree planting and reforestation, watering and caring for planted trees and protecting and preserving forest land.
During our 2021 Greek America Corps summer volunteer program, our team of North American volunteers worked alongside we4all to plant more than 600 trees in Gerakas, a suburb north of Athens.
This grant was made through our Project Hope for Greece, an initiative which encourages our followers to engage in philanthropy through fundraising and awareness programs with a goal to support vulnerable populations in Greece.
In order to maintain utmost transparency with our donors, especially those who feel uneasy about donating to foreign charities, we’ve created a transparent process for sending funds to organizations and individuals in Greece.
We offer special thanks to the following generous donors who made this grant possible.
- Ellen Kern in memory of Joyce Louise Johnson Allely
- Jaime Rocco in loving memory of Lambros Paxos
- Nick Ricciutti in memory of Mama Markakis
- Jessica Ann Hessel – Yianni Markakis – in loving memory of your mother
- Anonymous
- Linda Nestor in honor of George Sokrates Horas
- Anonymous
- Kassiani Smyrnis & UKC friends
- Mart and Lea Magi
- Cleo Lazos
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
- Derek Hansel
- Theodore Katsigianis
- Michael Cassaras
- Christos Voutsakis
- Anonymous
- Lena Habib
- Barbara Greekish
- Helen Atsaidis
- Nikoletta Antonakos
- Magda Menounos
- Kathy Tsigkounis
- Venetsiana Kelepouris Agnos
- Anonymous
- Afstratios Zevlikaris
- The Brickman Family
- Catherine Vourakis
- Lia Diamandas
- Effie Koliopoulos
- Katerina Burns
- Stacy Tsihlopoulos
- Marina Zouzias