Liverpool Greek Society needs £1m to build school and community centre

Mar 18 2009 by Carrie Catterall, Birkenhead News

Liverpool Greek Society needs £1m to build school and community centre

A GREEK-born Wirral businesswoman is supporting a regional campaign to raise £1m to build a school and cultural centre for the Greek community.

There are currently around 3,000 Greek people, including 500 children, living in and around Wirral, Chester and North Wales.

For more than 30 years the children from these families have spent Saturdays studying Greek, up to A-Level standard, at the Greek School of St.Nicholas, which is housed in a rented property in Liverpool.

But now the Liverpool Greek Society has secured planning permission and bought land opposite the historic Greek Church of St Nicholas, on Berkley Street, Liverpool.

And the Society is aiming to raise money to build its own property to serve the educational and social needs of the community.

Vice president of the Greek School of St Nicholas, Michelle Foulia, said: “Our growth and improvement as a community has been stifled rather than encouraged in the past because we have not had a permanent base.

“Our new building will provide classrooms which can be open throughout the week and a library accessible to English and Greek people.”

As well as teaching their heritage and language to their own children, the community will also run courses in Greek cooking, dancing, culture and language for people living on Merseyside.

Michelle, owner of Rose’s Tea Rooms, Heswall, moved from Cyprus to Wirral seven years ago.

The mother-of-two is half English and fell in love with Wirral when she arrived here.

The 34-year-old said: “I have always felt very welcome in Merseyside and this new building will provide the Greek community with an amazing opportunity to share our heritage with English people.”

The Greek community will be running many events including food-tasting sessions, dance and fashion shows and concerts throughout the region this year to help them raise the £1m.

The first of the fundraising events takes place on March 20 with a glamorous fashion show in Noir, Victoria Street, Liverpool.

Pupils from St. Nicholas will showcase stunning designs from Emma Embery’s collection and the latest trends for 2009 from Cricket, Elle and Browns Boutique.

For tickets costing £15 call 07762889649.