May 2020 – Community Update

Dear members of our Community, καλησπέρα sas

Xristos Anesti,

I hope you are well

The Hellenic Community of Pretoria is facing one of its most difficult times since the Community was founded 112 years ago.  Whilst, we as a Council of the Community endeavour at all times, to uphold and maintain, our Benevolent and Philanthropic initiatives, our Orthodox Religion, our Hellenic Language, Culture and Traditions, we can only thrive and succeed as a Community with the ongoing support, involvement and philanthropy of all our members.  

The unfortunate reality is that, our Church and our Community is facing severe challenges during this unprecedented time.  As many of you know, the Community raises its funds from numerous sources, such as Church and Other Community based Donations, Weddings, Baptisms, Sunday Collections, Greek School & Dancing, as well as Renting of our halls and facilities.  

As a direct result of COVID-19 and the resultant lockdown, the Community’s ability to continue to raise funds through the offering of our ongoing Church and Community services, has ground to a complete standstill (and this unfortunate situation is expected to continue for the next 6 – 8 months).

For the Hellenic Community of Pretoria to survive, during this pandemic, we have launched a fund-raising initiative and established a committee to implement various strategies to raise these much-needed funds.  The funds raised, will be used to cover the ongoing running expenses of the Community but more importantly, through our Benevolent initiatives, will allow the Community to continue to provide care to those who need it most.  

We are looking at raising R1,000,000 to see the Community through to the end of the year and beyond.  We have already embarked on a cost-cutting exercise to see how we can reduce the day-to-day running costs of the Community and will continue to do so through this period.

We as the Council, appeal to you as members of the Hellenic Community of Pretoria, to please assist us through these trying circumstances so that we can maintain and support our Community.  Any donations, big or small will be greatly appreciated.  We need you, our members, to participate actively in all our fund-raising activities. Without these donations and your support, our Community and Church, will be severely jeopardised.  With our unity or αδερφικη αγαπη, we can preserve our Orthodox Religion, our Language, Culture and our Traditions.

I would like to thank the members of the Community, who during these difficult times, have continued to support the Community through paying of fees and amounts due, as well as those who have donated so generously to the Community and the Church.

Over the next few weeks we will be updating our BeHellenic Website, Instagram and Facebook pages, so that we can keep you, our members informed of what is happening in our Community, as well as on the progress of our Fund Raising.

If any of you would like to join the fund-raising committee or have innovative ideas to assist the fund-raising committee, please contact us on office@behellenic.co.za or you can contact the office on 012 362 1400. The Community’s banking details can be found on our Website or from the office..

On behalf of the Council, I wish all our members well, and to please remember to wear a mask and Stay Safe!   We will get through this Together!

“Wait for the wisest of all counselors,   time.”

ARISTOTLE

Philosopher of the 5th century BC

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