The Plant Your Roots in Greece program is organized by SAE U.S.A. and the World Council of Hellenes Abroad

 HABA supports SAE's efforts

and commends this program to HABA members and friends

Thursday, Sept. 20   

PRESS RELEASE                                 For information, 312-627-1821

SAE ‘s head seeks public, private support; channels 100% of each donation through ‘Plant Your Roots in Greece’ directly to relief

In his drive to maximize U.S. support for victims of recent wildfires and for reforestation in Greece, World Council of Hellenes USA Coordinator Theodore G. Spyropoulos is seeking both government funding and private contributions when he participates in a series of meetings and fund raisers in the next two weeks.

“It is imperative for us to have access to resources in the U.S. government even as we reach out to Hellenic communities, which are responding magnificently, and to private donors in this tragic hour for Greece,” states Mr. Spyropoulos who is also President of the 10-year-old, not-for-profit “Plant Your Roots in Greece” program.  “It is also important to continue receiving donations in any amount from both individuals and organizations in order to plan effective, long-term actions,” he says.

A conference to develop public-private partnerships for response to Greece’s wildfires was held today by USAID in Washington, D.C. Henrietta H. Fore, acting director of U.S. Foreign Assistance, and Stephen Jordan, senior vice president of the Business Civic Leadership Center, lead that meeting which was also attended by Andrew Natsios, advisor to President Bush. The group will seek an appropriation for fire victims and reforestation.

On Monday, September 24, Mr. Spyropoulos will participate in a meeting on organization response sponsored by Archbishop Demetrios at the New York Archdiocese.

These meetings follow closely the high-level conference held last week in Washington at the request of Mr. Spyropoulos, in cooperation with Hellenic American National Council, aiming at closer coordination of relief initiatives. Participants included Ambassador Alexander Mallias, Deputy Undersecretary of State Matthew Bryza and, by telephone, former Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis, President of Greece’s National Fund for victims of wildfires. Other participants were HANC President Manolis Velivasakis, PanMessinian Federation President Vasilis Bebonis, and Greek Studies Center President Dimitris Pallas.

“We have to maintain our momentum of giving,” Mr. Spyropoulos emphasizes. “Please remember that 100% of every donation through ‘Plant Your Roots in Greece’ goes directly to wildfire relief, either to victims or to reforestation, according to the wish of the donor. We have been helping to reforest Greece long before the recent catastrophe.”

Plant Your Roots in Greece

Greece: Devastated Environment

Fires, raging in almost all regions of Greece, are devastating forests and mountains and threaten a long-term, unprecedented ecological catastrophe.

Click here for the official contribution form

or visit the SAE website at http://www.saeamerica.org/