NEW YORK – Due to inclement weather on the event’s original date, the Loukoumi Good Deed Bus made its stops on November 3. Loukoumi Make a Difference Day Foundation President Nick Katsoris, his wife Voula and their kids were joined by many enthusiastic volunteers, children and parents, as well as Loukoumi the Lamb on the Good Deed Bus.

They started off the day with a stop in Astoria Park to rake and collect the fallen leaves. Joining the group were students from St. Demetrios School in Astoria and New York State Assemblymember Aravella Simotas who noted the importance of doing good deeds, helping your neighbors, volunteering in the community, and helping to beautify Astoria Park.

Katsoris told The National Herald that the Loukoumi Good Deed Bus will be in Chicago in two weeks and the organization has plans to expand to ten cities across the country next year.

Also at Astoria Park, the event’s bus stop sponsor Ford Lincoln of Queens showcased the all new Lincoln line-up of cars including the Lincoln Navigator. For every test drive Lincoln agreed to donate up to $30 per person to The Loukoumi Foundation (up to a total donation of $8,000).

Librarian Sofia Zambrano from the Astoria Branch of the Queens Public Library read one of the Loukoumi books to the children in the park as they took a break from collecting leaves.

The next stop on the Loukoumi Good Deed tour was Fordham University in the Bronx for Family Weekend, together with Fordham Kiwanis and Up ’til dawn, to make a card and donate to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The third bus stop was Broadway’s Come from Away in Manhattan where the Loukoumi Good Deed Bus presented the Producers of the Tony Award winning play “Come From Away” with a Loukoumi Make A Difference Award and also delivered letters to them from the kids for the 9/11 Tribute Museum.

More information is available online: loukoumifoundation.org.

The Loukoumi Make A Difference Day participants posed with the bags of collected leaves. Photo by Eleni Sakellis

The youngsters sat on park benches for the reading from one of the Loukoumi books. Photo by Eleni Sakellis

Librarian Sofia Zambrano, from the Astoria branch of the Queens Public Library, read one of the Loukoumi books to the young people in the group. Photo by Eleni Sakellis

FILE – Participants in the Loukoumi Make A Difference Day posed for a commemorative photo. (Photo by Eleni Sakellis)

Everyone was welcome to participate in the clean-up at Astoria Park, including New York State Assemblymember Aravella Simotas. Photo by Eleni Sakellis