PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
PAA Donates Medical Supplies to Hospitals and
Medical Facilities in Crete
D
earMembers,
The Philanthropic Committee of the
PAA, chaired by Evangeline Alpogianis, along
with the PSK (World Council of Cretans),
whose new president is our very own Emmanuel Velivasakis, have agreed to donate the
$20,000 cost of shipping a container of medical supplies badly needed by the hospitals in
Crete. The supplies come from the extensive
inventory held by the IOCC, the International
John Sargetis
PAA President
Orthodox Christian Charities, an arm of the
[email protected] Greek Orthodox Church. The value of the supplies is well over a half million dollars.
Before my strong recommendation to the
committee to support this donation I carefully investigated whether there was a real need.
I had questions and doubts because it’s hard
for me to believe that in 2014, the state of the
medical system in Greece has so deteriorated
to the point that patients have to bring their
own supplies to the hospital—if they can even
get in the hospital in the first place to be examined and treated. It’s not my place or that
of the PAA to say who is at fault for the crisis.
If there is a real need the PAA is here to help,
regardless how the situation was created.
A major reason why the PAA was formed 85
years ago, as stated in our Constitution, was
to provide philanthropic aid. The PAA has a
separate IRS tax exempt trust specifically for
philanthropic aid.
I can also assure you the medical supplies
placed in the container are first class, in date
and actually needed by the hospitals. The
IOCC has contacts in all the hospitals in Crete
who provide them with a list of the needed
medical supplies. The container is delivered to
a center depository in Crete from where they
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KPHTH | OCTOBER 2014
are distributed to area hospitals according
to their need. In a recent newspaper article
Alexandros Sakellariou, a sociologist at Panteion University in Athens, stated: “The most
serious problem is not the doctors, who are
highly qualified, but the lack of funding for
materials that hospitals and doctors need.”
Certainly we have philanthropic needs
here in the United States and the committee has worked diligently to fulfill them.
However the need in Crete is immediate
and real. Let’s help our brothers, sisters and
friends there. From everything I have heard
they honestly appreciate and are thankful
for the container sent to them during the
John Manos administration and will be
grateful for what we are sending now. As
PAA members we can feel proud to be able
to help in this way. K
Fraternally,
John S. Sargetis )Aɕͥ