Providing hope to Greece’s most vulnerable people was the goal when we created Project Hope for Greece and a recent grant has accomplished this in a direct way.
New York City businessman and film producer Chris Papavasiliou became an Ambassador of Hope with a direct donation to Project Hope for Greece, earmarked to support the efforts of Maria Makrogianni, also known as Mama Maria, on the Greek island of Samos.
For the past few years, Maria’s restaurant has been a space for support for thousands of refugees who have arrived on the island and in need of food and dry clothing.

Maria, in the true spirit of philanthropy, philotimo and philoxenia, never questioned who was entering her restaurant or where they came from. She realized that her island was the destination of thousands of people in need and she immediately began cooking warm meals from the kitchen of her taverna that once served tourists and locals.
The monies donated to Maria were earmarked for direct food purchases to support her efforts and were delivered by Greek America Foundation Founder & President Gregory Pappas in February.
Since its inception in 2013, Project Hope for Greece has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charitable and humanitarian endeavors in Greece.