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SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND JOINS LEADING KOSOVO RELIEF EFFORT |
 Villagers of Velika Hoca in southwestern Kosovo light candles on the Feast of St. Jovan Preteca. The same day, they celebrated the opening of a new community center built by IOCC. (photo credit: IOCC Serbia)
Baltimore, Maryland — A matching gift fund first announced last month by International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) for aid projects in Kosovo has increased through a gift of $50,000 by His Grace IRINEJ (Dobrijevic), Bishop of Australia and New Zealand of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The gift brings the total matching funds available for projects in Kosovo to $100,000.
“Bishop Irinej has been a faithful advocate for the needs of the Serbian people and especially the suffering people in Kosovo,” said Constantine M. Triantafilou, IOCC’s executive director and CEO. “The expansion of this matching gift fund for Kosovo is a tremendous opportunity for IOCC and its supporters to move significantly closer to our goal of providing critical programs for families to secure a brighter future.”
Each dollar contributed to IOCC Kosovo projects up to $100,000 will be matched by The John G. Rangos Sr. Family Charitable Foundation and Bishop Irinej. The funding will allow IOCC to expand efforts to provide educational programs, sustainable agricultural training and other projects that provide employment and stimulate wider regional cooperation. All funding received will go toward IOCC’s broader goal of providing half a million dollars in assistance to Kosovo and for aid to some of the approximately 225,000 people who remain displaced from the region.
The $50,000 gift donated by John G. Rangos, a founder of IOCC and past board chairman, was made in memory of George P. Kokalis, a prominent member of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and a friend to IOCC.
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