Press releases

Thousands of children’s Christmas wishes from “Together for children” association and “SOS children’s village” made true by OPAP

Social program “Wishing Ornaments” continues for third year

The heart of Christmas beats until December 31, 2016, at the four Christmas Galleries that OPAP has created in shopping centers The Mall Athens, Athens Metro Mall and Smart Park in Athens and Mediterranean Cosmos in Thessaloniki and at selected OPAP agencies.

For the third consecutive year, OPAP continues the great, lively celebration of love and donation, inviting everyone to pick their own Wishing Ornaments painted by children who are supported by the unions of the “Together for children” association and the “SOS children’s villages”, in order for them to see their Christmas wishes come true. Thousands of children have made drawings of the gifts they wish to get this Christmas and have written their Christmas wishes. People who will visit the four shopping malls will have the opportunity to see the paintings and make the children’s wishes true, by buying them the gifts pictured. When visitors deliver their gifts to OPAP’s Christmas Galleries at the shopping malls, they receive the children’s painting as a souvenir to remember their significant contribution.

Moreover, in the framework of its corporate responsibility program, OPAP is implementing works to improve infrastructure at the participant institutions, in order to improve the quality of the children’s lives and contribute to creating a pleasant environment for them.

Chief Customer Officer of OPAP, Petr Matejovsky, referred to the “Wishing Ornaments” Christmas initiative, stressing: “I am pleased that people all over Greece have embraced this initiative of love for the children. In the last two years we managed to offer thousands of children’s smiles and we continue dynamically this year too. We invite people to be a part of this effort and, at the same time, staying faithful to our vision to offer a better tomorrow to the next generation, we carry out works to improve infrastructure at the institutions we support ,in order to improve the quality of life for children who are in real need”.

On his part, “Together for children” association Board member, Giorgos Papadakis, noted: “Children themselves have responded enthusiastically to this coupling that OPAP has made and this clever idea that is being implemented for a third consecutive year. And we are very happy about this. Even though we were hesitant and skeptical about the action in its first year and we wondered how all of this would happen, this year we are sure it will succeed even more”.

The Director of Marketing & Fundraising of the “SOS children’s villages”, Elsa Stathopoulou, referred to OPAP’s important activity: “For us at the the “SOS children’s villages”, this activity by OPAP is very important because it gives us the chance to create unforgettable moments for our children, moments of family warmth and care that are even more important during Christmas and we know they will carry them for a lifetime”.

OPAP and thousands of people in Athens and Thessaloniki along with the company’s employees, have since 2014 offered more than 5,000 Wishing Ornaments, making the children’s Christmas wishes true. Moreover, it has carried out works on infrastructure at more than 10 institutions and unions of bodies which have participated in the program in previous years, substantially improving the quality of the children’s lives.