Penelope Kouklaki-Homenidis experienced very emotional moments in the 43rd New York Marathon, where she participated to enhance the Hellenic Relief Foundation (Foundation for Supporting the Greeks).
The newspaper “National Herald” stated that Penelope was if not the only, at the very least one of the few homogenous people who participated in the marathon to express solidarity to Greece; she managed to raise $ 3,100. About 50,740 runners took part in the Marathon and ran through 26.2 miles.
When she was asked what prompted her to run for Greece, she replied: “I often visit Crete–where I come from–and other geographical areas of Greece and get very sad hearing young people say that they do not want to live in Greece anymore because there is no future there. Some Greeks have also told me: ‘Tell the world that we are not lazy, we work hard and make more sacrifices than any other country.'”
She also stated that this prompted me to join the marathon and to convey the message, that Greeks have pride, hospitality and creative spirit. “I’m pretty pleased that I achieved a very important goal and more importantly I taught my children that Greece is worth every sacrifice” stated Mrs Homenidis.
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