PRESS RELEASE
THE ‘MARIANNA V. VARDINOYANNIS’ FOUNDATION AND THE ‘ELPIDA’ ASSOCIATION MAKE A LOVING DONATION TO VULNERABLE GROUPS
Tuesday, 7 April 2020
The ELPIDA Association of Friends of Children with Cancer and the Marianna V. Vardinoyannis Foundation opened a great loving and caring embrace for our fellow human beings hit hardest by the coronavirus-pandemic crisis.
On the initiative of President Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, on Tuesday, 7 April, food was delivered to the Holy Metropolis of Nicaea, which supports 3,000 destitute families from seven Municipalities of Attica who are registered with the Welfare Department of the Metropolis of Nicaea and, due to the coronavirus crisis, are facing serious hardship.
Specifically, 1,000 boxes of food, such as pasta, legumes, olive oil, flour and biscuits, were delivered to the Cultural Center of the Holy Metropolis of Nicaea, to be distributed by the Metropolis’s Welfare Department to needy families in the Municipalities of Perama, Keratsini, Nicaea, Korydallos, Aigaleo, Agia Varvara and Chaidari.
Six hundred boxes of food were also delivered to the parishes of the Holy Churches of the Archangels and the Holy Trinity in Korydallos, which support 600 destitute families.
Mrs. Vardinoyannis conversed via Skype with the Very Reverend Archpriest Father Gerogios Zorzos, the Hierarchical Commissioner of Nikaia and Head of Welfare for the Metropolis of Nicaea, speaking to him from the heart to convey a message of strength and courage: “I am deeply moved to be communicating with you again, especially under these circumstances, which are unprecedented and difficult for all of us. These circumstances and the instructions for protecting everyone from the pandemic are keeping us far apart, but only physically. My thoughts are with you and with the needy families of the Metropolis of Nicaea, whom you have supported for years now with so much love, giving us, too, the opportunity to make a contribution. Our Foundation is always at your side to help our fellow human beings and support the social and humanitarian work of the Metropolis of Nicaea and your parishes. This year is part of that effort, and the ELPIDA Association is participating, dedicating money from the Social Solidarity Fund to support vulnerable groups hit by the pandemic our country and the whole world are experiencing. I deeply appreciate the work of the Most Reverend Metropolitan Alexios of Nicaea, whom I know through our long years of collaboration. This is the least we can do in support of his holy endeavour. Our best wishes for a Happy Easter and for the health and safety of all our fellow human beings in the seven municipalities covered by the Metropolis of Nicaea accompany this small show of support from us. I humbly thank you and hope that, with God’s help, our country will soon emerge from this difficult trial. I wish you a Happy Easter!”
The Reverend Archpriest Father Gerogios Zorzos thanked Mrs. Vardinoyannis for the significant support in these difficult hours, stressing that her support is very important, but that what stands out is the love with which this offer is made to our fellow human beings who have been hit so hard by this unprecedented crisis. He also thanked her on behalf of the Most Reverend Metropolitan Alexios of Nicaea and the priest of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Reverend Archpriest Father Dimitrios Papaspyros, for the many years of support from Mrs. Vardinoyannis herself and from her Foundation.
The donation from the Marianna V. Vardinoyannis Foundation was made with funds that had been earmarked for the Foundation’s actions for the ‘Thermopylae – Salamis 2020’ Anniversary Year, which will be used in full to support vulnerable groups, as announced recently.
ELPIDA’s contribution is being funded by the Association’s Social Solidarity Fund for 2020, in support of vulnerable groups impacted by the pandemic crisis.