AHEPA’s Humanitarian Campaign for Greece Addresses Medical Supply Shortage;
Helps Secure $650,000 Shipment
With Greece’s Public Health Budget Slashed, AHEPA and IOCC Secure Medical Aid for AHEPA Hospital in Thessaloniki
AHEPA Canada Donates Vital Medical Equipment to Evangelismos Hospital
WASHINGTON – A shipping container filled with more than $650,000 worth of medical supplies and equipment is bound for the AHEPA Hospital in Thessaloniki thanks to the efforts of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), a leading membership-based association for the nation’s millions of American citizens of Greek heritage and Philhellenes, which donated $15,000 to secure the shipping container and to the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), which worked diligently to coordinate the assembly of the medical supplies, announced Supreme President Dr. John Grossomanides. The container left for Thessaloniki this week.
“Austerity measures have cut public health spending in Greece by 25 percent or 12 billion dollars,” said Supreme President Dr. Grossomanides. “This has had a devastating impact upon the ability of hospitals to purchase medical supplies and equipment. The need is very real, and AHEPA, working in cooperation with the IOCC, is proud to be able to facilitate the shipment of a significant amount of aid to help address the medical supply shortage in Greece.”
The medical supplies range from syringes to walkers to catheters and nebulizers. According to Dr. Grossomanides, some of the supplies will also be transported to Evangelismos Hospital where AHEPA has a wing named after it.
“We thank the community for helping to make this important shipment of medical supplies a reality through its contributions and donations,” said Dr. Grossomanides. “The spirit of philanthropy is alive and well and it must continue to flourish if we are to meet the dire needs the people of Greece are enduring during this most difficult time. We are proud of the Greek American community’s action, and we encourage individuals and organizations to continue to donate to worthy causes that help Greece.”
In October 2012, a $5,000 AHEPA donation helped to secure a shipping container filled with more than $650,000 worth of medical and surgical supplies by the IOCC for Chios. Working together, AHEPA and IOCC have secured the shipment of $1.2 million of medical supplies thus far to Greece.
AHEPA Canada Donates Vital Medical Equipment to Evangelismos Hospital
In addition, AHEPA Canada announced the donation of much-needed medical equipment to Evangelismos Hospital in Athens, Greece. A rigid bronchoscope machine valued at 10,000 euros (or approximately $12,000 Canadian) has been purchased and donated to the hospital, as the result of a call for aid from hospitals in Greece.
“AHEPA in Canada has always been in the forefront of assistance to Greece,” said George Vassilas, Canadian president. “We are extremely proud of the donation of this equipment, which was purchased through generous donations from our members.”
AHEPA is especially grateful to AHEPA Past Canadian President Nicholas Aroutzidis for his generous donation of $10,000 which made the purchase possible.
“This donation by AHEPA Canada is a concrete example of the spirit of solidarity of the Greek Diaspora in Canada with the Greek people and a continuation of the many contributions of this organization to their Motherland,” said Greek Ambassador to Canada Eleftherios Anghelopoulos. “AHEPA continues to provide aid whenever they can to the people of Greece to help them through these difficult times.”
The rigid bronchoscope is a tool used for many different indications, but the machine donated to Evangelismos Hospital will be used exclusively to prevent lung bleeding while positioning stents in tumors.
Campaign to Feed the Needy Continues
As part of the AHEPA family’s (AHEPA and Daughters of Penelope) humanitarian campaign for Greece, the organization has donated nearly $100,000 to Apostoli Mission to help feed the people of Greece and will continue to do so. Each $10,000 donation prepares about 500 food package kits. Each food kit contains dry food and goods that will last a family of four about 20 days. Some food packages are tailored specifically for a family’s needs, for example, containing powdered baby formula and diapers for families with babies.
To date, the AHEPA family has raised nearly $200,000 for humanitarian aid for the people of Greece.
How You Can Help
To contribute to the AHEPA family’s humanitarian aid effort, please click here.
About IOCC
IOCC is the official humanitarian aid agency of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America. Since its inception in 1992, IOCC has delivered more than $400 million in relief and development programs to families and communities in 50 countries. For more information, please visit www.iocc.org.
About AHEPA
Founded in 1922 in Atlanta, Georgia, to protect individuals from the evils of bigotry and discrimination, AHEPA is the largest and oldest grassroots association of American citizens of Greek heritage and Philhellenes with more than 400 active chapters across the United States, Canada, Greece and Cyprus. The mission of AHEPA is to promote the ancient Greek ideals of Education, Philanthropy, Civic Responsibility, and Family and Individual Excellence through community service and volunteerism.
For more information, please visit www.ahepa.org.
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