Lifetime Philanthropy

In mid-August 1953, a series of 113 earthquakes occurred in the area around Kefalonia, with the seismic activity culminating in four large earthquakes whose epicenter was practically right under the island: 6.4 Richter on August 9, 6.8 Richter on August 11, and 7.2 Richter and 6.3 Richter on August 12. The 7.2 Richter earthquake was the most damaging, destroying 80% of the buildings on the island, and emitting such force that it permanently raised Kefalonia by 60 cms. The forewarning of the previous series of quakes and the fact that this largest quake occurred around noon meant that only 450 lives were lost. The surviving population, however, was severely traumatized by this experience and the vast majority of the 85,000 inhabitants were left destitute.

The vast human tragedy to his native island generated a response full of generosity and compassion by George R. Vergottis.
For his philanthropic activity, the National Academy of Athens honoured him in 1964 by awarding him the Gold Medal.
He was also honoured posthumously in May 2011 by the Union of Greek Shipowners.

In memoriam, we provide a summary of the major elements of George R. Vergottis’ philanthropy hoping to remain an example for future citizens:

Re-construction of village
of Kourkoumelata

Within four days of the news of the earthquake, George R. Vergottis sent a telegram to his fellow villagers on the island with a message of hope:
“… thankfully we have no deaths to mourn within our community, only some injuries. Do not worry about the properties. We shall rebuild our village better, much better than before”.

A four-member committee was set up to plan and manage the total reconstruction of a model community with state-of-the-art (at the time) infrastructure, under a holistic urban plan and with every family receiving a house free of charge in the approximate area of their pre-earthquake property.

Major milestones of this visionary project were the:

  • Support of the cost of food & temporary shelter for the entire village community for almost one year

  • Building of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the first church to be built on the island after the earthquake

  • Completion of the construction of 55 houses in 3 sizes, according to family needs

  • Provision of Community facilities such as:

  • Medical station, Café (also served as small grocery store & telephone center), Police station, Cemetery, Community Office serving the villages of Metaxata, Kourkoumelata & Kaligata

  • Primary school (at Metaxata) fully equipped with desks, equipment,library and adjacent teachers’ accommodation

  • Refectory for the pupils of the Metaxata Primary School: today this is being transformed to the Administration Center of the Foundation

  • Stadium for track & field (140m track) with Basket/Volleyball court

  • Cultural center- this is the Vergottis Cultural Centre

  • Completion of modern infrastructure consisting of:

  • 6km road network connecting Metaxata, Kourkoumelata, Sarlata, Kaligata, Domata, (6-8m wide asphalt-paved roads, unique at the time)

  • Water network supplied from two 100m deep water wells providing free water to all inhabitants. As a result the village is known even today for its lush lawns and beautiful gardens

  • Electrical generators to light the roads and provide free power to the houses. At the time, the only other places on the island with electricity were the towns of Argostoli and Sami

Finacial aid to other communities

The earthquake became a rallying point of philanthropy for many other prominent citizens of Kefalonia.
In many cases they had to join their resources to help rebuild some of Kefalonia’s reference landmarks.

George R. Vergottis was a major contributor to the following reconstruction projects:

  • Office of the Bishop of Kefalonia

  • Kefalonia Philharmonic / Rokos Vergottis Conservatory

  • Korgialeneios Library

  • Municipal water network

  • Argostoli High School

  • Virgin Mary – Restoration of the early 16th century Church of the Dormition of the

  • St. Stefanos Chapel

  • Kerameies High School and the school’s teachers’ residence

Legacies - endowments

Beyond the George & Marie Vergottis Foundation, the legacies left by George and Marie Vergottis were in support of the following institutions

George & Marie Vergottis Intensive Care Wing

Due to be inaugurated in 2012, this new wing of the Argostoli Hospital will provide two operating theatres, a preoperative preparation room, a postoperative recovery room, a five-bed intensive care unit, a blood bank, a six-bed psychiatric ward, an obstetrical department, Doctors’ quarters and $5million of state-of-the-art equipment.

New Nursing Home

$10 million was donated to the Municipality of Argostoli to the benefit of the Argostoli Nursing Home. It was decided to use the benefaction to re-build a brand new building, for which construction was initiated in 2011.

Kourkoumelata Welfare Foundation

It is a Foundation established to promote well-being and solidarity within the village of Kourkoumelata. In its approximate ten years of operation, this Foundation has assisted permanent residents of the village by supplementing state pensions, providing financial aid to ailing villagers and supporting a dwindling number of local students with their post-secondary education.

George & Marie Vergottis Scholarships

An endowment which provides academic scholarships for Greek students to attend this prestigious school of the arts.

George & Marie Vergottis Bursary

The Fund provides scholarships to both undergraduate and graduate students at the University who are Greek citizens, supporting them as they begin or continue their education at Cambridge.

George & Marie Vergottis Fellowship

The permanent fund provides fellowships for Greek students pursuing post-graduate studies.

George & Marie Vergottis Bursary

George & Marie Vergottis Memorial Scholarships

An endowment was donated to the Odeio Athinon to fund two annual scholarships.

La Collection Vergottis

Marie Vergottis donated her impressive collection of Chinese porcelain to the Fondation de l’Hermitage in Lausanne. The 400-piece collection featuring pieces ranging from the twelth to nineteenth century but mainly focusing on works from the period of reign of Kangxi (1662-1722) is displayed in two rooms, specifically built to house the collection.