On Mr. Evangelos Marinakis’ initiative, the team visited the Pediatric Oncology Unit on Wednesday, January 29, 2020.
Mr. Marinakis and Olympiacos’ team were welcomed by the President of the Association “ELPIDA – Friends of Children with Cancer”, Ms. Marianna V. Vardinoyiannis, the Director of the Pedriatic Hospitals “P. & A. KYRIAKOU” and “AGHIA SOPHIA”, Mr. Manolis Papasavvas, as well as members of the Boards of the ELPIDA and ORAMA ELPIDAS Associations.
Also present there were the Mayor of Piraeus, Mr. Giannis Moralis, the team’s Honorary President, Mr. Savvas Theodoridis, team executives, as well as its coach, Mr. Pedro Martins, together with his associates.
“Every year, on the day of your visit, there is a great excitement on our little patients, their families and the staff and members of ELPIDA! Your visit is a special moment in the life of the Hospital that gives us strength and expresses the deep sensitivity of Olympiacos FC, of Mr. Evangelos Marinakis, of the team executives and athletes, as well as the whole of Piraeus through the presence its Mayor, Mr. Giannis Moralis. I would like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your precious support, for the smile and the glow you bring to the children’s face and for the message of support and the fighting spirit you convey to them”, declared Ms. Vardinoyiannis, as she welcomed Mr. Marinakis and Olympiacos’ team.
“I am delighted to be here with you today for the tenth year in a row and I would like to highlight two important points. First, the success of Mrs. Vardinoyannis and the ELPIDA Association in helping children with cancer. This year marks your 30th anniversary and I wish you a hundred more years filled with the same intensity, passion and success. As you already said, in the beginning it was extremely difficult for children to live and recover. Today you have reached a point where three out of four children get well and now the aim is to reach four out of four children. We have something in common, because ELPIDA and OLYMPIACOS we have both learned to be winners, in any match and training, in life. And you do the same every day. OLYMPIACOS is unbeaten in Greece this season and my hope is that you will be, too, and that all your children get well.” declared Mr. Marinakis.
At the same time, Mr. Marinakis reassured Mrs. Vardinoyannis that both Olympiacos and Piraeus will be on her side on the occasion of «Thermopylae-Salamis 2020» to commemorate this important anniversary.
“I would like to stress that you will have our support for the anniversary of the Battle of Salamis, which took place just outside our Pireus. This naval battle changed the course of Western history. We will be there to help as much as we can and we will be close to you.” stated Mr. Marinakis.
Immediately afterwards, once again this year the leader of our club handed over to Ms. Vardinoyannis a check in support of the work of the Pediatric Oncology Unit. Ms. Vardinoyannis, on her side, in recognition of the huge support by Olympiacos FC and by Mr. Evangelos Marinakis personally, offered him an olive wreath, thus symbolically honouring him for his significant contribution to the work of the ELPIDA Association.
Ms. Vardinoyannis also honoured the Mayor of Piraeus, Mr. Giannis Moralis, the Honorary President of the team, Mr. Savvas Theodoridis, the team’s coach, Mr. Pedro Martins, and granted the “Supporter’s Medal” to all the team’s players.
Right after, the players visited the Unit’s young patients, took pictures with them and offered them a ball with their signatures, an Olympiacos scarf and a beanie.
These were the players that visited the Pediatric Oncology Unit:
José Sá, Bobby Allain, Konstantinos Tzolakis, Ilias Karargyris, Kostas Tsimikas, Omar Elabdellaoui, Vasilis Torosidis, Ousseynou Ba, Rúben Semedo, Pape Abou Cissé, Avraam Papadopoulos, Yassine Meriah, Svetozar Marković, Andreas Bouchalakis, Guilherme, Μady Camara, Giorgos Xenitidis, Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, Kostas Fortounis, Giorgos Masouras, Lazar Randjelovic, Maximiliano Lovera, Mathieu Valbuena, Bruno, Hilal Soudani, Youssef El Arabi, Ángel Guerrero.
