NEW YORK – Children worldwide celebrated Make A Difference With Loukoumi Day on October 24 with a Virtual Good Deed Event followed by in person Good Deed car caravans in 10 cities around the globe.

Each year the Loukoumi Make A Difference Foundation, a 501c3 that teaches children to make a difference in their lives and the lives of others, unites 100,000 children to do good deeds. On Make A Difference with Loukoumi Day the Foundation annually hosts good deed bus trips in select cities, where children engage in good deed projects with their families throughout the day, but this year, due to the pandemic, The Loukoumi Foundation reinvented its program.

The virtual event featured good deed projects with Loukoumi Foundation partners St.Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Broadway musical Come From Away, Celebrity Chef Maria Loi, and the organization, 3 Wishes for Ruby’s Residents, which fulfills wishes of nursing home residents. Eleven nursing homes have been selected to participate.

The moving presentation highlighted the wonderful efforts of young people who have been inspired by the Loukoumi Foundation to give back to the community in a variety of ways. Caesar Samayoa, one of the stars of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Come From Away, read the book Loukoumi’s Good Deeds translated into Spanish during the event. 

After the Virtual Event, children and their families mobilized in 10 cities around the

world to do additional socially distanced good deeds through the car caravans. These included dropping off gifts from the wish lists to nursing homes and delivering food to homeless shelters. The food, a delicious dish with healthy vegetables, Loi olive oil from Crete, and kritharaki (orzo), was cooked during the virtual event in the cooking lesson with Chef Loi. Additional stops included visits to animal shelters, soup kitchens, and foster homes.

“The Loukoumi Foundation’s mission of spreading kindness is as important as ever during these difficult times,” said Loukoumi Foundation President and Founder Nick Katsoris. “The pandemic has made us reinvent our program, but at the same time the virtual aspect of the day will permit us to unite more and more children, who through the good deed projects will certainly put smiles on a lot of faces around the world – something that is needed more than ever right now.”

Participating cities/areas included: New York; Boston, MA; Chicago/Deerfield, IL; Gander, Newfoundland, Canada; Washington, DC/Virginia; Puerto Rico; South Florida; Los Angeles, CA; Dallas, TX; Ann Arbor, MI; and virtually around the world.

Katsoris concluded by thanking all those who participated in the virtual event and everyone for the good deeds they do and making a difference, encouraging all to continue doing great things. It should also be noted that the Virtual Mediterranean Tasting Event with Chef Maria Loi and Friends takes place on November 10 in support of the Loukoumi Feeds the Hungry initiative.

More information is available online: https://www.loukoumifoundation.org/.