Chairman: Stavros Tsinalis
Vice Chairman: Dr. George Tsoukas
Treasurer: Tassos Papacostas
Secretary: Voula Ambelakioti
Honourary President: John Moukas
Members:
Angie Vourthis
Emmanuella Lambropoulos
Dr. Michael Tsoukas
George Tsitouras
Andrew Christopoulos
Dr. Miltiades Georgiopoulos
Tassos Xipolitakis
George Koufalis
Demetre Costopoulos
Panagiotis Pliakas
Dimitris Xenos
Christos Papachristopoulos
Nicholas Georgiades
Angelos Eleftheriotis
George Amanatidis
Ex-Officio:
HCGM President: Andreas Crilis
HCGM Exec. Vice President: Constance Karvelas
HCGM Treasurer: Voula Neofotistou
HCGM Public Relations & Marketing Director: Paris Petrou
It has already been six months since I was nominated as Honorary Chair of the Fundraising Committee (FRC) of the HCGM, and the achievements, as well as milestones realized by the FRC are impressive, to say the least. As of date, we have not only raised nearly $300,000, half of the projected funds, for the "I Stand For Our Schools'' campaign, but we have also applied same for the realization of certain school projects, such as, the upgrade/renovation of infrastructures of the school buildings (painted schools, redid asphalt/paving/playgrounds, and replaced water fountains, amongst other ameliorations). We also invested in materials and technology to support pedagogy. For a second year in a row, we financed all of the instructional materials for our Saturday schools. This week we began installing brand new, easy to use and high performance Smart TVs at all our campuses.
I would like to take this opportunity to commend my colleagues at the FRC, as well as in the HCGM, for their passion, conviction, devotion, and commitment to the underlying cause(s) of the FRC/HCGM, more particularly, help develop our children, the leaders of tomorrow, in the learning institutions of the HCGM, with the core constituents of principals, virtues, morals and values, of our Hellenic heritage, as embodied in our history, language and culture, encompassing pride, honour and decency.
I am not only encouraged by the support that we have received from donors (Greeks and non-Greeks alike) thus far, but I am more hopeful and confident we will have even greater support for our fundraising activities, especially once the community and donors see the FRC’s and HCGM’s performance and administration of its funds, commitments, duties, and deliverables, over the past 6 months.
Our work is NOT COMPLETE, and yet, we are up to the challenge! WHY? The feelings of accomplishment for the wellbeing of our children, within the conforms of our language, culture and heritage of Hellenism, are blissful and fulfilling! I do not believe anyone can tell me otherwise!
CHALLENGE. That is an exciting word born out of the best and the worst of times.
These are times of true and exciting summons to contest, but they are also times of uncertainty. Failure to meet the objectives we have set, to rebuff the problems of decline and deterioration of our school buildings, and to reject our plans for growth and improvements is a frightening scenario. To meet a challenge and succeed in the same requires a new perspective, talent, inventiveness, daring and commitment to address and execute. Nothing less will suffice.
As Honourary Chairman of the Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal's Fundraising Committee for the I STAND For Our Schools campaign, I feel humbled and privileged
For all those involved in the I STAND For Our Schools initiative, there is excitement around how we can accelerate the growth of, and enhance the programs offered by, our trilingual day school and our supplementary education schools. We know where we have to go to reach our milestones and how to achieve our goals.
The HCGM Fundraising Committee has launched a campaign to raise, by this year’s end, $600,000 to invest in pedagogical tools and materials, to contribute to initiatives that will increase student enrollment, to provide financial aid on tuition and to finance upgrades/renovations to our school buildings.
With your donation, you will stand for our schools and together we can continue to build on their well-established record of achievement. It is our obligation as Hellenes to continue this legacy and help our schools to achieve an even higher level of excellence! Stand for our schools as we launch this fundraising initiative! No donation is too small! I believe that if everyone contributes to a common cause - our schools - together we can make a huge impact. Nothing is more fulfilling than giving to our children! Let’s give our next generation the tools to grow, to appreciate and to carry on the spirit of Hellenism. It is the right thing to do. It is a gracious thing to do. It is the honorable thing to do. It is pride. It is family. It is the Greek paradigm of “PHILOTIMO”!
The pandemic has had a sobering impact and has taken its toll on our schools. Now more than ever, we must stand for our schools and support their plans for the future. To meet a challenge and succeed requires a new perspective, talent, inventiveness, daring and commitment to address and execute. Nothing less will suffice.
Thank you in advance for your generous contribution.
