It was the first summer of the Covid-19 lockdowns throughout the world and Greece, like many countries across the world, were facing fear and uncertainty as the virus spread.

Seeking to protect its population, Greece did what practically every country did– close its borders to non-citizens traveling in and out of the nation.

This meant that millions of diaspora Greeks– second, third generation foreign-born citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia and dozens of other nations– couldn’t make the annual pilgrimage to the place of their ancestors’ birth.

I remember gathering with my team early in the spring and brainstorming how we at the Greek America Foundation, a charitable and philanthropic organization that I founded to support Greece and simultaneously keep the culture and heritage alive, could help the situation.

Everything was being done with Zoom and FaceTime. The meetings and the brainstorming sessions took place over a few days time and an idea was born to recreate a popular Greek island song that resonated with Greeks everywhere, while simultaneously doing something to support the struggling health care system in Greece which was being tested by the influx of Covid at the time.

I reached out to Glykeria and her team to make the pitch. She was the perfect voice for this project, which we named “Ellada S’Agapo” or Greece I love you. And over the next week, with FaceTime studio sessions we would come up with an amazing remix of the island song “Mes tou Aigaiou ta Nera” (In the waters of the Aegean).

On our end in the United States, we mobilized a team of graphic designers and social media marketers who shared the plan with our tens of thousands of supporters and followers, asking them to submit a photograph of their favorite Greek summer experience from years past. Along with the photo, we asked for a donation that would be gathered and sent to support Greek island hospitals treating those with Covid.

The end result– we raised more than $50,000 for Greece and created a stunning video collage with hundreds of images telling a beautiful story of what Greek summer meant to people from across the world. The song, too, was a huge hit, recreating a traditional island tune into a contemporary electronic vibe.