HAVE GOOD-
WILL TRAVEL
Ginny, Marc and Velos Youth Centre in Athens

Hello friends 🇬🇷🇬🇷      We’ve just found out that our great friends at Velos Youth Centre (Athens) are facing a funding crisis.       Velos is losing funding for their very, very important (part-time) attorney. She is responsible for handling the immigration/asylum cases of all of Velos young people seeking asylum. That's essentially all of them. Funding cuts in USAID and EU sources have a trickle-down effect and the impact is evident here.  Eirini Gravani is currently fu

A goofy and fun way to end our year...another Halloween. Young people helped decorate and the dance party was epic. We counted eight countries represented among the young people. I can't show you all the video because I can't edit all those faces! We sang. We danced. It's one of the amazing things that Velos provides- some joy, some hope, some moments of regaining a childhood lost. After two years of journey...in a small boat across the red sea..through Yemen, Saudi Arabia,

This is not the face of a 17 year-old from Cameroon. As with any face of a young person you see, AI has helped to change their facial features so their identities are protected. He is only 17, yet he has arrived in Athens after a harrowing journey unaccompanied by any relatives. His story and his words are best discovered on Velos Youth Centre's instagram site. To be trusted to be in the room as he shared his essay is an honor.

EDUCATION! Yes, Marc and I have devoted much of our lives to education. I spent 18 years as a teacher working with middle level students, mostly 8th graders. I loved it and I loved them. Every day, I hoped, could open hearts and eyes to how every person can make a difference. My desire to help school be a better place for students and teachers eventually led me to become an administrator, working with young people in a different way and giving them greater voice. I loved

In 2024 when we toured Saffron Kitchen Project, we bought branded cooking aprons they provide as a fundraiser. Every time I wear mine, I think of Saffron. With permission from Ludo, Gina and Mustafa, we designed shopping bags and tshirts that Velos can utilize similarly. We used Jason at Apollo Ink Printing in Boulder to do the graphics and printing. And, yes, we dragged them to Greece from Colorado. In addition to providing happily worn staff shirts, there's talk of setting