At a time when the limits of our country’s social and welfare structures are being tested by the pandemic crisis, the Olympia Group is supporting the children housed at 16 social welfare structures across Greece, from Drama in the north to Crete in the south.

We responded immediately to the initiative launched by Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Domna Michailidou. The Group’s workers selected a number of high-quality children’s books from Minoas Publishing and toys by AS COMPANY from the range offered at Public, spreading Christmas joy to more than 500 children living at these units. These children, lacking a suitable family environment, are hosted at child protection structures.

The Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs responsible for social welfare and social solidarity, Domna Michailidou, stressed that “During these difficult times, when we will all be spending the holidays under new conditions, our thoughts go out to the children housed at child protection structures throughout Greece. We have achieved a great deal to date, through hard work, aiming at de-institutionalisation of these children Today, for the first time and after thorough record-taking, we know exactly how many and which children are housed at each structure. For the first time, children and prospective parents are linked through a single national system. We ensured the staffing of these structures with social workers in order to accelerate the processes under way. We trained social workers in order to ensure that social research progresses swiftly. We simplified the issuance of medical certificates to prospective parents and are continuing our meaningful actions to prove that, even during a pandemic, the legislative work never ceases. We are supporting these children, who need us now more than ever. With the assistance of private citizens, we are making their day-to-day lives better and ensuring a better future for them.
So, we are glad that – during this holiday season and under these circumstances – our endeavor to spread joy and optimism was supported by the Olympia Group. We thank the Group for its meaningful support for our initiative.”

The Chief Communications Officer of the Olympia Group, Anthi Trokoudi, underscored that “Any action focusing on children touches on everyone’s future. The Olympia Group’s priority is to shape a better future for the communities where we operate and for the people in these communities. The Group’s people embraced this important initiative by the Ministry and are sending Christmas gifts accompanied by a message of joy and optimism, bringing smiles to the young faces at Social Welfare Centres throughout Greece.”