February 13 – Olympiacos FC has made a €500,000 donation to the aid fund to support the residents of Greek island Kefalonia to recover from the devastating earthquake which hit the island two weeks ago causing substantial damage and leaving hundreds homeless.
Vaggelis Marinakis, the President of Olympiacos FC, announced that the donation wilused for the reconstruction of the schools that were left unsafe after the quake.
“Olympiacos stands next to the residents of Kefalonia, who suffer great
hardship. Solidarity and helping others are closely connected with the history,
principles and values of our club. It is essential to make the residents of
Kefalonia feel safe and secure and to make it possible for their kids
to continue their studies unobstructed,” said Marinakis
“For this reason, we undertook the initiative to cover the expenses for the
rebuild of the schools that were damaged by the recent seismic activity … Olympiacos is not only the biggest Greek club, but also a major European club both on and off the pitch.”
Located on the West coast of Greece, Kefalonia was the island, where Captain
Corelli’s Mandolin was filmed, starring Nicolas Cage and Penelope Cruz. The
Earthquake’s magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter scale destroyed buildings on the island but there were no casualties.
This is not the first time Marinakis has involved the club in public aid projects aimed at helping people get back on their feet. Other activities have included played a the ‘Match Against Poverty’; support for the Japanese after the powerful earthquake and the tsunami that hit its north-eastern coast; and the contribution to the Steven Gerrard Foundation.
Contact the writer of this story at paul.nicholson@insideworldfootball