Our beloved St. Demetrios Orthodox Church in Calgary needs your help. With the COVID-19 lockdown and restrictions, our Church is in desperate financial need to survive. 

Over the past 60+ years, St. Demetrios has been here to meet the ecclesiastical needs of our community. The Church operated annually on a break-even basis, relying heavily on donations from our members and Council initiated and run fundraisers to subsidize the day to day operations of the church. We are in a financial crisis because we are unable to operate on a normal, full scale basis. Without our ability to fundraise with annual events like the St. Demetrios Party, the New Years Eve Party, Palm Sunday Luncheon, Food, Golf or Muay Thai fundraisers, we fall short approximately $65,000 per year.

With our capacity for church attendance reduced dramatically to only 75 or so people per service, we have a 43% drop in Candles and Offerings, with a shortfall of approximately $40,000. 

Without the ability to rent out the hall, the Hellenic Society is unable to pay their lease which adds another shortfall of $40,000.

Council has taken several steps to reduce our operating expenses with measures such as staff and salary reductions, suspending the $40,000 payment to the Metropolis and we are applying for as many grants and government loans as possible. Unfortunately, even with cost cutting measures and government support programs, our Church is operating on a negative balance of $5,000 to $7,000 per month. 

We do not expect restrictions to be lifted in 2021 and we therefore are projecting an operational loss of over $100,000 for 2021. We have no reserve fund to cover that shortfall. That is why we need your help. We have over 900 names and families in our data base. We have over 500 families who are active in our community. We are seeking $100,000 in donations. 

A $200 donation from each family to be used only to cover our utilities, insurance and maintenance costs for 2021, will ensure that St. Demetrios is still there for you in the years to come. We need your help -this is a time of crisis.

How to donate:

• Please make cheques payable to: Hellenic Community of Calgary
• E-transfer to admin@calgaryhellenic.com
• Monthly recurring donations (ex. $20/month x 10 months = $200) 
• Call (403) 246-4553 ext 3 or drop off to any council member during church services
  *All donations will receive a tax deductible receipt
  

Grateful for your support! 

Calgary Hellenic Community Council
Rev. Father Peter Rougas