Olympiacos and Nova train their focus on children
As part of their collaboration, Olympiacos BC and Nova are creating experiential and inspirational experiences for children and adolescents!
With children and young people at the core, Nova has launched a new cycle of Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, within the framework of its strategic partnership and sponsorship with Olympiacos BC, one of Europe’s leading basketball teams. This is an initiative with a clear social and value-driven impact, leveraging the power of sport to inspire, empower, and create positive role models for the younger generation, highlighting the values of fair play, resilience, and teamwork.
The first initiative took place on Friday, January 16, at the Peace and Friendship Stadium (SEF), where Nova and Olympiacos BC welcomed 100 children from the SOS Children’s Villages and the 61st Primary School of Athens, located in Kolonos, the area where Nova’s headquarters are based.
The children and their accompanying adults had the opportunity to meet their favorite players and the head coach of Olympiacos’ basketball team up close, take part in an inspirational meeting specially designed for the event by Olympiacos BC, and have their photos taken with top athletes at a specially designed photobooth. At the same time, Nova took care of their overall hospitality at SEF, creating an environment of joy, encouragement, and positive role models for the students.
This initiative marks the starting point of a series of similar actions, which will be implemented on a quarterly basis as part of Nova’s Corporate Social Responsibility program. In each initiative, Nova and Olympiacos BC will host one NGO and one school from areas of the Attica basin, consistently creating points of contact between children and sport, inspiration, and positive social role models.
Giorgos Protopappas, General Director of SOS Children’s Villages, noted: “A big thank you to Nova for supporting sports and also giving our children the opportunity to meet such great players. Today, Nova gave us the joy of being at SEF with the Olympiacos players and, through this process supported by Nova, showing how important sports are and what they can offer for the future of our children.”
Argyro Marangou, President of the Parents and Guardians Association of the 61st Primary School of Athens, stated: “It was a unique experience. We would like to thank Nova and Olympiacos very much. Our children have never experienced anything like this before. We were truly delighted to see the players become like children together with us, and I hope that more children will have the opportunity to experience something like this.”
Giorgos Bartzokas, head coach of Olympiacos, emphasized: “For the children, I expected it to be a particularly joyful day to play together with the team’s athletes, but I did not expect our players to be so happy as well by participating in this initiative. It was a very beautiful moment. Every time we are with children, we feel joy. The more often this happens, the more grounded we become and the more we understand what is happening around us.”
Kostas Papanikolaou, Olympiacos’ captain, added: “As part of this beautiful collaboration between Olympiacos and Nova, we are here with the school and the children, sharing moments of relaxation and moments when we ourselves become children again, letting our minds feel young once more. Beautiful initiatives, beautiful moments, lots of smiles. It is always important to be close to children, because you see real faces, pure joy, pure happiness; and that makes you happy too.”
Martha Kesisoglou, Corporate Affairs Executive Director of Nova, stated: “At Nova, we believe that our role in society goes beyond the services we provide. We make a meaningful investment in the new generation, creating experiences that inspire, empower, and cultivate life values such as teamwork, continuous effort, and belief in one’s goals. Through our collaboration with Olympiacos BC, we harness the power of sport to stand by children and their families, with consistency and a long-term vision.”