The Pancretan Association of Melbourne raised a record breaking $80,000 for the Good Friday Appeal at their annual charity dinner dance last Thursday.
Pancretan Association president Tony Tsourdalakis together with children from the Pancretan Junior Dance Group presented the cheque at the Good Friday Appeal telethon broadcast by Channel 7 on Good Friday.
“I am very pleased and we thank the 700 people that attended, because at the end of the day it was not just the Pancretan association, but a whole Greek community effort,” Tsourdalakis told Neos Kosmos English Edition(NKEE). “I feel honoured that our hard work over the last few months has put the Greek community in the positive eye of the Australian community.”
The charity dinner, held at The Grand in Wantirna South saw Greek-Australians dig deep, not only for their ticket fee but for the impressive selection of raffle, live and silent auction items.
Amongst the many auction items included a 2007 C 200 Black Mercedes Kompressor, a return airline ticket to Greece donated by Parthenon Travel, and a signed and framed Carlton Footballer Chris Judd Jumper (which managed to attract a higher bid than the Essendon Football Club Team Jumper).
Guests enjoyed a three course meal, a Pandora Fashion show featuring collections from Andre J and Allan Kay, and live performances by the Filarakia band and Kinisi Live singers, Maria Maroulis and Steve Fanariotis.
The event raised $90,000 in total with $10,000 donated to Agapi Care Centre.