AHEPA Unit 2 Athena, Daughters of Penelope, held its annual luncheon on Sunday, March 22 at the Manningham Hotel in Victoria. The event raised $26,000, surpassing its target of $20,000, for Head and Neck Cancer Australia – HANCA.
A capacity crowd of 280 women filled the venue to enjoy a lovely lunch, participate in some cozy and sometimes lively conversation, have the chance to win some great prizes, and of course contribute funds to HANCA.
HANCA is the only national charity dedicated to supporting people affected with head and neck cancer. This form of cancer is less common, but for the people that are affected, life can change profoundly.
Stella Salpigtidis, Senior Speech Pathologist with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and Ron Bongetti, Director of HANCA since 2023 and survivor of head and neck cancer, took to the stage and presented a very informative and somewhat heartbreaking account of what people experience and how they deal with the situation once they are diagnosed with this type of cancer, and how they cope during the various stages of treatment.
To honour the people who have lost their voice to this devastating disease, the audience was entertained by Marianthe Hargreaves, who led the women in an emotional rendition of “You’re the Voice” made famous by Australia’s much-loved performer, John Farhman.
John, who has faced his own battle with head and neck cancer, would not have known just how pertinent and powerful the message was in this song, when it was released more than 30 years ago.
Nina Garofallou, the President of the Chapter said, “On behalf of AHEPA, I would like to thank all our wonderful sponsors and supporters, the donors of gifts for the raffle and the silent auction, all the people that generously donated through the link available in the last few weeks, and of course all the lovely ladies who attended the lunch.”
“A special thanks goes to our corporate sponsors: Voula Stamatakis from Thalassea; Deane Tsotras from Nissi Collective; George Galanis from Galanis Brothers and Didi Muccio from MG Element. AHEPA acknowledges their very significant contribution to the day,” Ms Garofallou concluded.
Nadia Rosin, CEO of Head and Neck Cancer Australia said, “On behalf of the Board and team at Head and Neck Cancer Australia, we extend our heartfelt thanks to the AHEPA Victorian Division for their extraordinary efforts in raising funds and awareness for Head and Neck Cancer at the annual Ladies Luncheon.”
“Hearing that several women have already committed to getting symptoms checked, following HANCA Board Director, Ron Bongetti’s speech at the lunch about his own cancer experience, is an important reminder that Head and Neck Cancer awareness and early detection truly saves lives,” Ms Rosin added.
“We also sincerely thank the organisers and supporters who worked tirelessly behind the scenes, particularly Stella Salpigtidis for ensuring the funds raised will support HANCA’s work. AHEPA’s ongoing leadership within the community has made a real and lasting impact for Greek Australians affected by Head and Neck Cancer.”
AHEPA, the Australasian Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, is the world’s largest Hellenic Association encouraging community participation in cultural, charitable, educational and social activities for Australian-Hellenic citizens.
One of AHEPA’s objectives is “dedication to supporting community” and to raise funds for charitable works, organisation and welfare appeals, with an emphasis on medical research, the needy, the sick and disadvantaged of our society.
Congratulations went to Ms Garofallou and her two beautiful daughters Stella and Didi and the ladies from AHEPA Unit 2 Athena, Daughters of Penelope, for organising such an amazing event and raising some much-needed funds for this worthwhile charity.
