Short Summary
Thousands of refugees - mostly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq - have attempted the short but perilous boat trip, often in rough seas, in order to escape from their country and its horrible living conditions. The "refugee situation" in Greece is so overwhelming that the Greek government cannot provide what is necessary for these refugee families to survive. However, activist organizations, together with many volunteers, are trying to help and comfort the lives of these people.
Our Goal
Our goal is to help the refugee families and bring some joy to the helpless children during this migration. At the end to October, 2015, we will visit the refugees and we will give small children something that will brighten their day: toys. Whether a small car they can roll around on the ground or a little teddy bear to hug when they go to sleep at night, there is nothing that will comfort a child more than a toy - a way to take their mind off their current predicament and to feel, once again, like normal children.
Our fundraising goal is $5,000. This will allow us to buy enough toys for several hundred children. If we exceed that goal, we will buy more toys! We will not be able to give a toy to each refugee child, but we are sure they won't mind sharing. 100% of the funds raised by the campaign will go towards purchasing toys. The team will not keep any of the funds for expenses related to the distribution of the toys - all such expenses will be covered by them.
Almost 400,000 people arrived in Greece this year. We are trying to raise awareness for these families who do not live the life they dreamed of. We hope that our fundraiser will achieve its goal so that we can help thousands of refugees in Greece and alleviate the grief from both children and adults.
The Story Behind This Project
Emillia-Anna Sioka and Konstantinos Alexopoulos, two seniors at the American Community School of Athens, were shocked to learn the vile conditions the refugees live in. They sat down and thought of possible ways they could help out. They were amazed that many people did not know about the thousands of refugees that are now in the Greece. They created a small video/clip in order to raise awareness. George Srouji, a classmate of Emilia-Anna's and Konstantinos', saw the video and was willing to help out in this project.
The three of them brainstormed on what these people needed the most and what existing humanitarian efforts were providing. Naturally, they realized that small children are the ones who suffer the most. While many campaigns and humanitarian efforts have been focusing on food and clothing - no doubt basic and important necessities for survival - our team thought of the huge impact a small, cheap toy, could have on how children felt. They wanted to bring smiles to the faces of these children refugees and decided to create a campaign to raise money and provide toys to these children.
Following the completion of this campaign, the three high school students will visit the refugees to deliver the toys and also make a video of the whole experience. They will interview refugees, other organisations that help refugee families, but most important, they will capture the smiles on the children's faces. :)
We know that not everyone is able to donate money and we understand that, but we ask you to SPREAD THE WORD by sharing our page.
