IOCC’s history in Greece began with the Athens field office, a regional hub during 1993–2009. Since 2012, IOCC has worked closely with Apostoli, the philanthropic organization of the Archdiocese of Athens under the Church of Greece, responding to the extensive financial crisis with more than $60 million in monetary and in-kind support, including generous gifts to IOCC from the Jaharis Family Foundation Inc. and the John L. Santikos Foundation, a fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation.
Securing Access to Food
Since 2013, IOCC has offered prepaid grocery cards so families in need can purchase Greek-grown produce, dairy, and more, helping over 8,800 households in Attica. IOCC also funds Apostoli’s monthly dry-food parcels for unemployed and elderly people, plus ready-to-eat meals for refugees and people facing homelessness (137,000 parcels, 800,000 meals, and 28,800 weekly food portions in the last eight years).
Offering Emergency Relief
Following the fires of summer 2021 across Evia, Attica, and the Peloponnese, IOCC helped about 600 families with home-equipment vouchers, monthly supermarket vouchers, business and agriculture supplies, and ambulances for two public health centers. In July 2018, when fires devastated communities in east Attica, IOCC responded immediately so families who’d lost their only homes could purchase food, school supplies for their children, and basics like beds and kitchen appliances. In 2015–2017, IOCC helped more than 250,000 refugees in Greece with over $3 million in aid like hot meals, emergency food, and water/sanitation infrastructure in camps.
Creating Jobs, Strengthening Livelihoods
Since 2015, IOCC has helped more than 175 microbusinesses and agricultural associations throughout Greece with over $2 million in new production equipment, technical services, and business mentoring—improving productivity and profitability, and helping them become sustainable employers in their communities.
Equipping Hospitals for Service
Amid economic crisis, IOCC has helped public hospitals care for people with over $40 million worth of essentials like surgical gloves, syringes, and blood-sample vials. Since 2011, IOCC has delivered 46 forty-foot containers of medical supplies throughout Greece.
Growing Businesses and Promoting Economic Stability in Greece
Mentoring Program Leads to Success
For more than a decade, families in Greece have faced intense economic pressure—still they remain committed to finding a path forward. Since 2015, working with Apostoli, the humanitarian arm of the Archdiocese of Athens, IOCC has helped small agricultural and manufacturing enterprises grow and expand their markets through a special mentoring program.
The program connects business owners with experienced executive mentors who volunteer through IOCC partner KEMEL (Center for Volunteer Managers of Greece). Mentors help their protégés create a business plan by providing guidance on factors like marketing, pricing, and production efficiencies. Entrepreneurs know that they must focus on the quality of their products, but mentoring can help them realize that sometimes they must make bold decisions too.
For example, one microenterprise that sells wooden toys was turning down orders because they didn’t have the equipment they needed to scale up and hesitated to try something new. After consulting with their mentor and receiving new equipment from IOCC, the owners decided to move to a bigger facility. With more efficient production, they are now forecasting increased sales.
Mentoring was also liberating for Vasilis, whose company processes lemon juice for cooking, baking, and salads. “For the first time,” he said, “I don’t feel alone in this, and I feel confident [I can] disengage myself from the production process and commit mainly to implementing my business plan and promoting my company.”
While the program also donates equipment to growing businesses, mentoring, as one new business owner stated, “was just as valuable as the donated equipment.” So far IOCC has helped more than 175 microenterprises, 50 of which have received mentoring to grow their businesses and thrive, even in a challenging economy.
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