Greek wildfires this week have killed over 63 people, destroyed many homes. left many homeless, and destroyed forests throughout Greece. Among the many ways to contribute is directly thru a Greek Foreign Ministry office in Chicago.

The World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) (U.S.A. Regional Office in Chicago), a Greek government sponsored organization providing services for Greek immigrants worldwide, issued this statement for potential donors:

“SAE / USA is appealing to all Hellenes to contribute whatever you can to the bank account listed below to provide relief, through the (Greek) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to families victimized by the fires and to fund reforestation of devastated areas through the SAE / USA project “Plant Your Roots in Greece.””

“IT is now a catastrophe of Biblical proportions. Fires in almost all regions in Greece have decimated forests, torched hundreds of homes and wiped out the entire livelihood of hundreds of families.

It is an unprecedented tragedy. We are already lamenting 51 dead in Eleia and Laconia. The estimate of people trapped by fires or suffering severe burns is much greater and we fear that the number of victims will increase dramatically. At least three prefectures, Messenia, Laconia and Eleia, have been declared disaster areas.

Greek media are talking about “a national tragedy” and portray a nightmarish picture of the fires that have reached 170 in number in the past two days. “

Ted G. Spyropoulos, Coordinator

Full article from Greek office in Chicago regarding wildfires, including info on Chicago Bank info for donations: