1995-2019: In 24 years of action "The Smile of the Child" supported 245.466 children and their families in the field of health, while more than 1.500.000 through all of its actions

PRESS RELEASE

Athens, 1 October 2019

1995-2019: In 24 years of action "The Smile of the Child" supported 245.466 children and their families in the field of health, while more than 1.500.000 through all of its actions

"The Smile of the Child" celebrated its 24 years of action in the field of Health during an event held at the Zappeion Megaron Hall of Athens on Tuesday the 1^st of October, in the presence of H.E The President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopios Pavlopoulos.

The event was held in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Health, Mr. Vassilis Kontozamanis, who represented the Greek Government, the Secretary-General of the Presidency of the Hellenic Republic, former Ambassador Georgios Gennimatas, the Head of Agia Sofia and Aglaia Kyriakou Children’s Hospitals, Mr. Evangelos Trigonis and the Deputy Head of Agia Sofia, Mrs. Anna Zirou. In addition, institutional actors, supporters, friends, staff and volunteers of the Organization were present at the event. The event was moderated by journalist Irene Nikolopoulou.  

In the opening speech of the event, the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos, said that: "24 years ago a child's life, Andreas's life, went away, and in its place a smile, “The Smile of the Child” blossomed. A Smile that has been transmitted to many thousands of children and has taken an impressive dimension in the country and beyond”, while he added: “Today we understand how valuable this smile is. What "The Smile of the Child" has achieved is an example for everyone. Everyone knows how important it is for our society to have all forces united”.

A short greeting was extended by the Deputy Health Minister, Mr. Vassilis Kontozamanis, who emphasized that "The Smile of the Child" is an example of volunteerism and solidarity, which the state must also follow by filling in the gaps and these important efforts for the society.

The President of the BoD of the Organization "The Smile of the Child", Mr. Costas Yannopoulos presented the actions of the Organization in the field of health, while he stated: “In 24 years of action and through daily struggles we have been able to holistically support 245.466 children and their families. We have achieved this thanks to our specialized scientific staff, more than 760 volunteers who are doctors all over Greece working in Hospitals, Health Centers, Medical and Dental Associations and more than 500 companies. Through institutional partnerships and synergies we are supporting the institutional actors and filling in the gaps, while our goal is to continue this work by keeping alive the soul of our 10-year-old founder, Andreas Yannopoulos".

The Andreas Yannopoulos Award was given by the President of the Organization "The Smile of the Child" to the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Mr Christos Stylianidis in recognition of his work, in particular for promoting and providing assistance to vulnerable children in Greece and around the world.

“I feel like a member of the family of “The Smile of the Child”, said Mr. Stylianidis, praising the work of the Organization, the quality of its services and its team spirit. "'The Smile of the Child' has managed to become the European Commission's official partner in the field of humanitarian aid (DG ECHO), the only Greek organization to have achieved this, passing all assessments and offering holistic assistance to refugee and migrant children", he added.

For his longstanding dedication and daily commitment to the mission of protecting and caring for all children with health problems, the Andreas Yannopoulos Award was also given to Mr. Christos Kamililatos, General Doctor, Volunteer and Secretary General of the Board of Directors of "The Smile of the Child”.  

At “The Smile of the Child" I fulfilled myself as a doctor and as a human being," said Mr Kamilatos, adding in a clearly emotional way that “thanks to the specialized Mobile Medical Units we have been able to carry out thousands of medical transfers and save thousands of lives of newborns and children”.

In the outdoor facilities of Zappeion Megaron Hall of Athens the 4^th specialized Mobile Medical Unit was inaugurated, a state-of-the-art Multi-Medical Center, which was made possible thanks to the generous donation in the memory of late Alexander Slafovits, the donation of Konstantina Angelique Gribilas Fund, of the Pantoulakis family, of Ken FM - Dr. Athanasios Giannis and of the company of Papapostolou “Medical Equipement”. The action of the preventive medicine is supported for the second year by OPAP.

Watch the full event here

More photo material available here.

Briefly, “The Smile of the Child”:

• In 24 years of action "The Smile of the Child" supported 245.466 children and their families in the field of health and more than 1.500.000 children in total through its entire actions
• Since 2002 it has provided in the field of Preventive Medicine medical examinations to 132.519 children across Greece with 3 specialized Mobile Units of Preventive Medicine and Dentistry and the Hippocrates Multi-Medical Center.
• Since 1999 it has supported 78.765 children through Creative Recreational activities at Children’s Hospitals in Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras thanks to the support of volunteers.
• Since 1997 it has provided transfers for 22.834 newborns and infants thanks to state-of-the-art Mobile Intensive Care Units for Infants and Children incorporated to the public-run Ambulance System (EKAV).
• From 2017 to-date it has supported 787 children in Athens and Thessaloniki through the action of Pediatric Care at Home for children with severe and chronic health problems.
• • Since 2016 it has hosted 10 families in apartments in Athens and Thessaloniki.
• Since 1995 it has supported 10.465 children through social and counseling services, such as medical coverage, mobilization of blood donors and platelets.
• In 2019 the Nationwide Center for Health and Social Care was inaugurated offering services to every child and coordinating the actions of the Organization throughout Greece.

“The Smile of the Child” would like to thank the following sponsors:

• LYXNIA
• HI POWER
• XLG ΕΚΤΥΠΩΣΕΙΣ
• PHOTOSHOP COMPANY
• ANAIS CATERING

For more information, please contact us at press@hamogelo.gr or at +30 210 3306 140.