The charity organization APOSTOLI of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens was founded in 2010 as a non-profit organization with national and international scope, which mainly operates in the humanitarian and development areas. APOSTOLI aims at a systematic and dynamic involvement in projects of both humanitarian and development dimension, focusing in the areas of social care, cohesion and welfare, health care, culture, environment and education in Greece and the world, providing services to over 227.000 people per month.
In 2020 the organization has implemented a series of projects, actions and initiatives, as follows:
1. FIGHT AGAINST HUNGER
1.1 «CHURCH IN THE STREETS»
Within the framework of its campaign against poverty and social exclusion, APOSTOLI implements the «Church in the Streets» project in the downtown Athens. Through the project, it performs free distribution of food every day, 365 days a year, to needy persons.
1.1.1 “DAILY SOUP KITCHEN»
Objective: Distribution of warm meals daily
Beneficiaries: 450 people from vulnerable social groups
Portions of food: 40.500
In addition to the warm meals, due to the COVID-19 restrictions, APOSTOLI offered customized food services to the homeless and people living in extreme poverty in Athens.
Objective: weekly supply of basic food items (canned goods and pastries)
Beneficiaries: 350 particularly susceptible individuals
Quantity: 13.525 bags of food
1.2. “CHURCH AT HOME”
Distribution of food parcels (flour, legumes, sugar, pasta, oil, milk etc.) to families living on the poverty line.
1.2.1 Parcels through the parishes of I.A.A.
Objective: to provide basic goods food parsels on a monthly basis
Beneficiaries: 1.563 vulnerable families on the basis of socio-economic criteria & 3.331 individuals
Packages: 11.474
1.2.2 «Food and Basic Household Goods Assistance, in 4 Regional Units of Attica and the City of Athens – Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD)»
Objective: to provide personal and domestic hygiene, grocery & butchery as well as fruits and vegetables
Beneficiaries: 2.665 persons
1.2.3 «Together where there is a Need»
Objective: to provide food packages to socially vulnerable families of Northern Greece
Packages: 9.360 in 28.080 beneficiaries
1.2.4 Response to emergency requests for assistance
Objective: to provide support through long-lasting food items
Beneficiaries: Soup Kitchens, Social Grocery Stores of Churches in various parts of Greece, Dioceses, associations, institutions, individuals or families, vulnerable social groups such as refugees, immigrants, prisoners etc
Parcels: 3.932 in 14.751 beneficiaries
1.2.5 «Prepaid fresh food cards »
Objective: to ensure quality food for vulnerable families with fresh food and dairy products through a 50€ monthly prepaid card
Beneficiaries: socially and economically vulnerable families (three-member family, large and single-parent families)
Prepaid Cards: 350 cards corresponding to 49 tons of fresh food to 1.460 beneficiaries
1.2.6. «Emergency humanitarian interventions – Christmas-New Year’s and Easter 2020 in cooperation with the Municipality of Athens»
Objective: offering decent living conditions and quality food products for the less privileged during the holidays of Easter and Christmas.
Beneficiaries: 20.000 individuals
Parcels: 3.200
1.2.7. «APOSTOLI Supporting Health Professionals»
Objective: The symbolic recognition and expression of gratitude of APOSTOLI through the offering of festive Christmas baked goods and traditional deserts to the medical and healthcare personnel of Athens’ hospitals.
Parcels: 500
1.3. SOCIAL GROCERY STORES
Social Grocery stores provide individuals in need with standard food items such as oil, milk, pasta, beans, canned goods, flour, and articles of personal hygiene and cleaning. Products are provided free of charge and the selection of beneficiaries is made on the basis of specific economic and social criteria.
Objective: to provide food, personal hygiene & household cleaning goods
Beneficiaries: vulnerable individuals and families
1. Moschato – Tavros Social Grocery Store:
Bereficiaries: 368 individuals & 286 parcels
2. Orestiada, Thrace, Northern Greece Social Grocery Store:
Beneficiaries: 250 individuals & 471 packages
3. New Philadelphia, Attiki Social Grocery Store:
Beneficiaries: 165 individuals 173 parcels
4. New Heraklion, Attiki Social Grocery Store:
Beneficiaries: 239 individuals & 218 packages
Total beneficiaries: 1.022 individuals
Total food packages: 1.148
- HEALTH
2.1 APOSTOLI Social Clinic – Athens
Objective: offering primary health care by volunteer doctors
Beneficiaries: 4.750 uninsured and vulnerable people
2.2 APOSTOLI Social Pharmacy – Athens
Objective: to provide free drugs and medicines
Beneficiaries: 4.620 uninsured and vulnerable individuals
2.3 Mobile Health Unit
Objective: to provide primary health care by volunteer doctors in Athens (reduced number of beneficiaries due to the restrictive measures against the COVID-19 pandemic)
Beneficiaries: 20 uninsured persons
2.4 «Distribution of Medical Supplies in Greece’s Public Hospitals»
Objective: Management and coordination of import and delivery (logistics) of five (5) containers with disposable sanitary material 36.713 kg in Greece’s Regional Health Authorities, sent as a donation from USA to Greece through the International Christian Charities Organization (IOCC).
- MENTAL HEALTH
3.1. «Rehabilitation,» A Boarding House for the Chronic Mentally Ill – Kypseli, Athens
The Boarding House provides comprehensive psychosocial and medical support to individuals with mental disorders, aiming to ensure that residents remain active and alive within the community (de-asylumization policy).
«Rehabilitation» hosted 16 beneficiaries during 2020.
3.2. Protected Apartment – Kypseli, Athens
The protected apartment constitutes a form of semi-autonomous living for mentally ill individuals who are able to work and socially interact while receiving psychosocial support, social mobilization initiatives etc. The residents also participate in educational, inclusive programs, and volunteering.
4 residents resided in the Protected Apartment within 2020.
3.3 Mental Health Day Centers – Argostoli Kefallonia, Chios, Ierapetra and Neapoli Crete
Multi-disciplinary professionals provide individualized holistic therapeutic care, medical monitoring, psychosocial support, and enhancement of social skills to adults who are experiencing mental health issues. At the same time, the Centers work within the community on prevention by raising awareness, organizing thematic group workshops and promoting networking and local stakeholders solidarity.
The multidisciplinary therapeutic teams of the Day Centers have finalized a total of 14.148 therapeutic sessions for 743 unique beneficiaries during 2020.
3.4 Mental Health Mobile Units– Regional Units of Karditsa and Lakonia
Karditsa Mobile Unit: a. Department of Adults, b. Children’s Psychiatric Department
Lakonia Mobile Unit: a. Department of Adults, b. Children’s Psychiatric Department, c. At Home Mental Health Unit
Mental Health Mobile Units, provide comprehensive therapeutic care, psychosocial support, a systematic medical monitoring, and preventive services, diagnostic assessment and treatment, and care at home for adults and minors, covering the whole territory of Karditsa and Lakonia Regions. Mobile Units work closely with the Social Services of Municipalities & Regional Authorities, Health Centers, Schools and Children’s facilities, and engage in prevention actions, sensitization and awareness against social stigma and networking.
The sessions of therapeutic work carried out by the two Mobile Units in 2020 amounted to 9.476, while 4.526 beneficiaries received services of health care professionals in the two K.M.
3.5 Integrated Response Unit for Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease -Halandri Attica
3.5.1 Τhe Boarding House
The Alzheimer’s Boarding House offers long and short-term accommodation to people suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The House provides a complete range of medical, nursing and psychosocial support services with the aim of slowing down the residents’ mental and cognitive degeneration as well as their socio-kinetic empowerment and decent living.
The Boarding House accommodated a total of 31 guests.
3.5.2 The Day Center
The Alzheimer’s Day Center provides a broad range of medical and psychosocial support, mental and cognitive empowerment, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and kinetics to diagnosed individuals with dementia and alzheimer’s disease. At the same time, the Center provides diagnostic services through its Memory Clinic. Apart of its therapeutic work, the Center carries out educational programs for caregivers, students and volunteers. The Center’s therapeutic team also provides counseling and support services to beneficiaries’ family members.
The Day Center held 552 therapeutic sessions to a total of 241 people.
- EDUCATION
4.1. SUPPORTIVE EDUCATION
4.1.1 «Social Tutorial Service», Athens, Greece
Objective: to provide tutorship to high school students and preparatory classes for entrance examinations to Higher Education (University).
Beneficiaries: 191 economically vulnerable students
4.2 CHILDREN’S AFTER SCHOOL CREATIVE CENTERS
Objective: Personal empowerment, development of life & social skills, promotion of knowledge & creativity through group work, educational entertainment, sports, music, the arts and science.
4.2.1 «Dimitreion» Children’s After School Creative Center – Moschato, Attica
Beneficiaries: 107 children aged 6-12 years
4.2.2 «Archbishop Ieronymos II» Children’s After School Creative Center – Ioannina, Epirus
Beneficiaries: 264 children aged 5-12 years old
- «Saint Ephraim» Children’s After School Creative Center – Lamia, Fthiotida, Sterea Ellada
Beneficiaries: 133 children aged 5-12 years old
4.2.4 «Fulfilling Students’ School Needs«
Objective: to respond to preschool and school-age students’ needs with supplies and school kits)
Beneficiaries: 8.105 Greek and refugee children in Greece.
- CULTURAL HERITAGE AND CULTURE
5.1 Palaiologos-Benizelon Mansion – House of Agia Filothei of the Athenian Museum
Objective: The acquaintance of the Museum’s visitors to the Mansion and its uses, the historical context, the city of Athens throughout time, and the work and life of Agia Filothei through tours and interactive educational resources.
Visitors: from the beginning of the year until the enforcement of the COVID-19 lockdown (mid-March) 320 individuals, and in addition 15 schools (750 students).
- ENTREPRENEURSHIP, EMPLOYMENT &
VOCATIONAL TRAINING
6.1 «Rural Aid and Support of Entrepreneurship»
Objective 1: Empowerment with state of the art production equipment, educational activities, activities to promote products and product certification.
Beneficiaries: 25 cooperative enterprises, enterprises of agri-food production, food industry, cultural and creative industries.
Objective 2: Free business mentoring in collaboration with the Center of Volunteer Managers Greece (ΚΕΜΕL) to companies benefiting from production equipment.
Beneficiaries: 10 companies in 2020
- WELFARE ACTIONS & PROGRAMMES – IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES
7.1 FACILITIES
7.1.1 ESTIA Guest House for Refugee Unaccompanied Minors – Agios Dimitrios Attica
Objective: Reception, hospitality, psychosocial support, medical monitoring, legal assistance, education & tutorship, outdoor cultural and sports activities, developing social and life skills, personal empowerment.
Beneficiaries: 45 unaccompanied minors.
7.2. EDUCATION AND INCLUSION
7.2.1 «Educational Center APOSTOLI for the Refugees and Migrants» – Athens
Objective 1: Offering Greek and English language courses and supportive education
Beneficiaries: Children and adolescents aged 6-17 years old
Objective 2: (1) Offering Greek and English language courses with a view to obtain the national language examination certificate in Greek and English, (2) the development of social and life skills within a new social and cultural environment for adults, (3) training, guidance and skills for job search (resume, interview skills).
Beneficiaries: 223 minors & adult students
7.2.2 «Greek Language-Greek Civilization»
Objective: the development of Greek language and culture skills in order to succeed in the national language examination certificate as well as to prepare for the national naturalization exam.
Beneficiaries: 150 immigrants and foreigners
- MISCELLANEOUS AD HOC ACTIONS OF RELIEF AND SUPPORT
8.1 VOLUNTEERING AND OFFERING
8.1.1 «Help for Help «: Applying for volunteer
Objective: Promotion of volunteering and support APOSTOLI’s charity work
8.2. Raising Awareness of APOSTOLI’s Work
Objective: Sensitizing, awareness raising, and mobilizing the community on APOSTOLI’s work
8.2.1 The HHS Piraeus Smart Move Program («ING Piraeus Bank “Child and Future Project»)
8.2.2 Strengthening the visibility of “Mission for the Homeless» and «Church in the Streets» projects.
9. DISSEMINATION, PROMOTION AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
9.1 Participation in various international fora
Objective1 : Presenting and promoting APOSTOLI’s projects & activities as interventions in the existing socio-economic, developmental, educational needs (EURODIACONIA)
Objective 2 : Networking and cooperating with networks and organizations in Greece and globally.
9.2 «APOSTOLI GIVES VOICE TO WOMEN, VICTIMS OF GENDER-BASED AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE”, a video aiming at raising awareness on violence against girls and women (VAGW)
Objective: raising awareness and sensitization on the global pandemic of domestic and gender-based violence.
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Ποιοι Είμαστε
Επικοινωνία
ΜΚΟ ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΗ
Ήρας 8 & Δέσπως Σέχου
Τ.Κ. 117 43 – Νέος Κόσμος
Τηλ.: 213 0184400-99
Fax: 210 9246740
Email: info@mkoapostoli.gr