NEW YORK – When We Band Together (WWBT) co-founders Xander Schultz and Zoë Pappis shared an update on the organization's latest project, a Sports, Arts and Wellness Center, now up and running in Lesbos.
Schultz said via email, “After a crazy year where we opened a COVID Hospital, provided temporary shelter when the Moria refugee camp burnt down, and partnered with the Red Cross to distribute emergency aid - we're looking towards a more stable 2021 where we can provide community centers where people can find joy, purpose, and dignity.”
A young refugee with his drawings. Photo by Zoe Pappis-Schultz
WWBT is also “looking to chat with people, groups, foundations, companies, etc. that would like to provide a significant grant for the center, adopt one of our recreation areas (soccer field, basketball court, martial arts gym, etc.), and/or sponsor or lead the fundraising for a program that will be hosted at the center (art classes, music lessons, dance classes, martial arts, etc.).
More information about adopting a program is available online: https://www.wwbt.org/adopt-a-program.html.
Named in honor of Schultz's late father Dave Schultz, the center is “a beacon of light within a very dark situation on Lesvos,” Schultz noted in his email.
An image of the debris left behind by refugees on the island of Lesvos. Photo by Zoe Pappis-Schultz
Schultz and Pappis founded WWBT after spending a month volunteering on Lesbos at the height of the refugee crisis in November 2015, “as a way to continue helping from afar,” Pappis told TNH in a previous interview. “We started by selling bracelets made from the life vests with the goal of spreading awareness and driving support from the west. 100% of the proceeds we raised were brought back to Lesvos to purchase aid locally for the people in the camps. The bracelets were also a way to clean the beaches and employ local Greeks whose tourist economy was so badly affected by the influx of refugees.”
More information about WWBT is available online: https://www.wwbt.org/.