This holiday season, the Greek America Foundation proudly launched what we hope will become a lasting annual tradition in Athens: our Toys for Children Holiday Party, hosted at Mimi in Koukaki. It was an evening defined by generosity, music, and community—dozens of friends and supporters coming together with a simple but powerful goal: to bring joy to children who need it most.
Special thanks also to supporters from throughout the world who could not attend the event but who made generous donations to help us fulfill our goal.
Guests arrived carrying toys. We danced, we laughed, and we celebrated the true spirit of the season, with DJ Marios Kalergis donating his talent and keeping the energy high and the dance floor full. It was festive and joyful.
But it was also purposeful. Every toy collected that evening was destined for a child spending the holidays in a hospital room rather than at home. What we accomplished was to inspire our supporters to take a few moments out of their busy day to buy a gift for a child they didn’t know and probably would never meet.
Special thanks to our longtime supporter, Steve Kriaris and his company Kolonaki Fine Wines and Spirits from Toronto for the generous donation of wine for our event. Steve and his team have been at the side of the Greek America Foundation since the beginning with generous sponsorships of our events and projects, serving also as Care Partners with their regular annual support.
A week later members of the Greek America Foundation team attended the Christmas party at the Ronald McDonald House at Agia Irini Children’s Hospital in Athens, where the toys gathered at our Toys for Children Holiday Party were distributed directly to hospitalized children and their families.
Santa Claus was there to share smiles and holiday magic. Christmas carols filled the room. Together, we sang, laughed, and— most importantly—helped transform a difficult moment in these children’s lives into one filled with warmth and happiness.
This is where the real impact happened.
What began as a joyful evening among friends in Athens carried forward into something much deeper: a shared experience of giving, presence, and connection. It reminded us that philanthropy doesn’t end when the music stops— it continues when hands are extended, stories are shared, and time is given.
This Toys for Children Holiday Party marks the beginning of an annual commitment. As the years pass, we look forward to further engaging our Athens Greek America Foundation community, welcoming more supporters into this tradition, and expanding our partnership with the Ronald McDonald House so that even more children and families can feel supported during the holidays.
Traditions are built by showing up year after year. And in Athens, a new one has officially begun. We look forward to continuing and growing this tradition and making it an important part of the holiday season, while staying true to our manifesto with everything we do, with every action we take, with every event we plan.
From the Greek America Foundation Manifesto:
We do good– not for recognition or reward.
Not only because it feels good—
But because we carry a responsibility to those with less.
We volunteer not as charity, but as solidarity.
An act that transforms the giver as much as the receiver.
When we lift others, we elevate ourselves.
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