Big hugs for the children of “ELPIDA” have again opened the officials and the football players of the “F.C. Olympiakos”. On the initiative of the President of F.C., Mr. Evangelos Marinakis, all the football players visited the Children’s Oncology Unit “Marianna V. Vardinoyannis-ELPIDA” on Tuesday February 7th 2023, offering presents and smiles of joy and strength to the children under treatment in the Unit.
The President of the Association “ELPIDA – Association of Friends of the Children with cancer”, Mrs. Marianna V. Vardinoyannis and the Administrator of the Children Hospital, “P&A Kyriakou and “AGIA SOFIA”, Mr. Manolis Papasavvas, have welcomed Mr. Marinakis and the football Team of “Olympiacos”.
There were present also, the Vice-President of the Team and Piraeus Mayor, Mr. Yiannis Moralis and the team’s coach, Mr. Mitchel.
In a gesture of gratitude for the team of Olympiacos support all these years which stands to the side of “ELPIDA” from the year 2011, Mrs. Vardinoyannis has again awarded the title of “Champion for Elpida” for the year 2023-2024 renewing in this way the “title of love and offer”.
“As a minimum recognition of your huge offer to the fight against the Children’s cancer, our Association has the honor to award to Olympiacos, the title of “Champion for ELPIDA 2023-2025” renewing in this way the “title of love near the children”which worthily possess the last years with your contribution to their fight for life. It is a difficult fight but we don’t accept any defeat but only the win!. As Olymiacos also wants! It is a historical Sports Club with more than 90 years of distinctions in national and international level. Its offer to the Greek sports is enormous as it is as well its offer to Greece. I would like to say a great thank you to Mr. Evangelos Marinakis, the President of the team and Honorable also member of our Association. It is an invaluable supporter for us and he sends with his support a strong message of social solidarity” Mrs. Vardinoyannis characteristically said.
“As of the year 2011 and to date is the 13th time that we are coming. It is tradition for which we are proud. Olympiacos is a champion the most of the years, it has the personality of a champion and the children which are here and what you are doing here is a top-class sport for the lives of the human beings and for the lives of the young children. We wish to thank you for that and you must be confident that, we will be at the side of your efforts for the years to come. What we can only do is to support this attempt with all our strength and our players are here to give courage to those children. You must know that, we will always be at your side to what you are doing. I would like to wish a happy new year, to have health because we have faced a lot during the last period of time from the epidemic. We have also seen yesterday this tragedy from which Turkey suffers. We would like to support the people of Turkey as much as we can. We must be all together united and I wish once again to all of you Mrs. Vardinoyannis health and to continue with the same strength this blessed effort”, said Mr. Marinakis.
Mr. Marinakis has handed over for one more year, a check to Mrs. Vardinoyannis in support of the Children’s Oncology Unit and the two of them have placed thereafter on the “wall of Stars of ELPIDA”, the stars of Olympiacos F.C. and Champion for ELPIDA.
Mrs. Vardinoyannis has honored once again for his support to “ELPIDA”, the team’s Vice-President, Mr. Yiannis Moralis who, thanking her for her offer to the fight against the children cancer, mentioned that, the Municipality of Piraeus will honor her in a special event. Mrs. Vardinoyannis has also awarded an honorable distinction to the team’s coach Mitchel while she offered to all players the blouse of the “Champion for ELPIDA 2023-2025” and a Diary that had made the children of the Oncologic Unity.
A very emotional moment was when the littlie patients offered handiworks and paintings to the President and the members of the team expressing in this way their love and admiration.
