Earlier this summer, nearly 40 volunteers of Greek descent from Ikaria performed a beach cleanup at a waste-ridden beach on their ancestral island.
On July 22, the team of 38 young adults descended onto the beach of Agia Kiriaki, where they removed more than 20 garbage bags of harmful waste from the shoreline.
The event was organized via a collaboration between the Pan-Icarian Brotherhood of America, Municipality of Ikaria and Faros Chapter. It marked yet another year of service for the Pan-Icarian Brotherhood, which organizes volunteer projects on the island every summer.
Teddy Poulos, a lead organizer from the Brotherhood, said the group’s summer service projects are of great importance to Ikaria’s youth — many of whom travel thousands of miles every summer to visit the island and pay tribute to their heritage.
“This event is an important tradition that brings us together to give back to the island that we all love,” Poulos said.
Pan-Icarian Supreme President Damianos Skaros said he was happy to report the event’s success and expressed his gratitude to participants.
“I’d like to thank the many volunteers who made this a success, the Pan-Icarian Youth for their participation, Teddy Poulos for his leadership on this effort and our local Ikarian coordinators Irene Mavrogiorgi and Faros Sylogo for helping us identify this project,” Skaros said. “I’m sure this annual event will continue to grow, and I look forward to participating in it with you all next year.
Ikarian event coordinator Irene Mavrogiorgi also shared her gratitude on behalf of the local municipality in a Facebook post. She wrote (translated from Greek):
“On behalf of the Municipality of Ikaria, a big thank you to the Youth of Panikarian Brotherhood of America and the Faros Chapter for the great cooperation in today’s voluntary clean up at Agia Kyriaki beach, which was literally full of plastic waste drawn in from the sea. We especially thank the volunteers for their hard work, the president of the Pan-Icarian Brotherhood of America Damianos Skaros and the president of the Faros Chapter Elias Roussos for their valuable help and Evon Plakidas for the lovely dinner he prepared for everyone!”
Photos before the clean-up
Photos after the clean-up
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