The members of the Holy Trinity Footscray Philoptochos in collaboration with the Greek Community of Melbourne and Victoria (GCM) made another charitable gesture, raising a significant amount of money in support of the Royal Children’s Hospital – Good Friday Appeal.

The members of the Philoptochos raised the sum of $5500, to which $1500 was added from the GCM and $500 from the GCM President, Mr. Bill Papastergiadis OAM. At an event held on Thursday, August 29 at the Holy Trinity Church, a cheque amounting to $7500 was presented to the Royal Children’s Hospital – Good Friday Appeal officials who organize the well-known fundraiser every year to support the needs of the Royal Children’s Hospital.

GCM President, Mr. Bill Papastergiadis OAM, whilst handing the cheque, stated the following, “This amount is an effort to help the children, not only of our community, but the wider society”.
Mr Papastergiadis congratulated and thanked the ladies of the Philoptochos for their effort.

Mrs Claire O’Riordan, spokesperson for the Royal Children’s Hospital – Good Friday Appeal, thanked everyone who contributed to this effort. Ms O’Riordan stressed: “It is a great pleasure & honour to be joined by you today and this generous donation, it will make a huge difference to this effort to bring relief to children in need of care.”

Mr. Papastergiadis also stated: “We are here at Holy Trinity of Footscray with Father Anthony, with Father Nicholas, with the Philoptochos who have raised a significant amount of money. Seven and a half thousand dollars for the Good Friday Appeal, an amount that will not only help the locals but also the wider community where we support, especially our children. We have Ms. Claire here, who will be collecting this cheque. We thank her. We thank the whole Philoptochos for their efforts. It’s very, very moving for us.

Ms Claire, thank you for being here, Agia Triada Footscray with Fathers Antoni, Father Nicholas and the Philoptochos, who have made a very generous effort in providing and presenting a check to you for $7500, for this very important appeal. It is for our children, our community and our society.”

Ms O’Riordan replied, “Thank you so much. On behalf of the Good Friday Appeal and the Royal Children’s Hospital, we are so thrilled and honoured to come out here and to see you in person. It makes such a big difference to us. We love coming out into the community and seeing the fundraisers that work so hard. So, it’s a privilege for us. Thank you so much, this money will make a huge difference to the sick kids. We can’t wait for next year.”

ABOUT THE GREEK COMMUNITY OF MELBOURNE
The Greek Community of Melbourne is a community organisation founded in 1897. It represents the large and vibrant Greek community in Victoria presenting Education programs to over 2000 students, Cultural programs that include the landmark Antipodes Festival and advocacy across a broad range of issues.