ATHENS – International non-profit organization The HOME (Help, Overcome, Motivate, and Empower) Project, which offers shelter and work for children and young refugees in Greece, has announced a first of its kind opportunity to grant 18 full-time scholarships for the American Community School (ACS Athens) during the academic year 2018-2019. This was made possible by The Shapiro Foundation. Founded in 2001 to support refugees, it is a close partner and valuable supporter of HOME Project Initiatives, having recently funded the creation of new shelters and jobs.

Through the Shapiro Foundation scholarships, children of The HOME Project will be enrolled in an ACS Athens inclusive educational program comprised of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), Greek as a Foreign Language (GFL), Mathematics, Computers and subjects such as music, art and theater. The students will be assessed at regular intervals during the year culminating with a final evaluation in June 2019.

Sofia Kouvelaki, The HOME Project Director said,“The Shapiro Foundation continues to support us in a multidimensional and meaningful way, and once again we express our joy and deep gratitude for this cooperation.”

She continued, “The sponsorship of 18 scholarships is extremely important for us, as the education of these young people is a key pillar in supporting them, equally as important as safe housing and the provision of necessary goods and services for their wellbeing. We thank the Shapiro family once again for their generosity and support of our aims and mission.”

ACS Athens is a K-12 international school that embraces the American educational philosophy, its principles and values. Dr. Stefanos Gialamas, President of ACS Athens, commented, “Today, more than ever, academic institutions must prepare students to transform society as architects of their own learning, guided by ethos.”

ACS Athens develops and implements innovative programs for serving humanity. One of these programs is the Youth to Youth program, which started in 2015. Since then, it has made educational opportunities available to unaccompanied minors. In 2016, ACS Athens and The HOME Project developed a meaningful partnership to enable this further.

Enrolling its children in the Youth to Youth program of ACS Athens is a valuable part of The HOME Project’s mission in providing a holistic educational experience to unaccompanied refugee children. From 2016, the Youth to Youth program has focused exclusively on HOME Project children.

The HOME Project continues to seek sponsorships and support to help combat the refugee crisis, which is the largest global humanitarian disaster since the Second World War. More than a million refugees, mostly Syrian, Afghanistan, and Pakistani nationals, have arrived in Greece since the beginning of 2015 in need of help and protection.

All donations received by The HOME Project go to directly benefit minors and child refugees by helping them to be safe, to have access to food and clothing, to have a home, and to be integrated into society. All donations are gratefully received by The HOME Project which looks to make an immediate, positive, and lasting impact on the lives of unaccompanied minors and all those affected by the refugee crisis.

Standing for ‘Help, Overcome, Motivate, and Empower’, The HOME Project’s mission is threefold. First, to bring unaccompanied minors to safety in dedicated shelters where they will be clothed, fed, and supported. Second, to source, refurbish, and convert unused buildings throughout Greece into shelters, bringing them back to life and into good use. Third, through the conversion, refurbishment, and ongoing operation of these shelters it is creating employment, including for refugees – 130 new jobs were created in its first year of operation. At the moment, The HOME Project is housing 200 children in ten homes and creating more than 130 jobs. The founding sponsor of The HOME Project is the Libra Group, a privately-owned international business.

www.homeproject.org.

ACS Athens is a non-profit K-12 institution incorporated in Delaware, USA, which has been operating in Greece since 1945. It is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and is authorized by the International Baccalaureate Organization to offer the IB Diploma. ACS Athens is a student-centered international school, embracing American educational philosophy, principles and values. Through excellence in teaching and diverse educational experiences, ACS Athens challenges all students to realize their unique potential: academically, intellectually, socially and ethically — to thrive as responsible global citizens.

www.acs.gr.

The Shapiro Foundation, founded by Barbara and Ed Shapiro in 2001, is focused on improving the lives of the world’s most vulnerable populations. The foundation’s primary focus is on children, refugees, and immigrants, as well as education, global health, and humanitarian aid. Support is provided for organizations in Boston and throughout the US, as well as Israel, Greece, Rwanda, Bangladesh and Liberia. www.theshapirofoundation.org.