"We first thought of starting the Volunteer Team in 2007, after the summer fires in the Peloponnese. After a while we created a team of voluntary fire protection, to keep an eye on the forests and inform the Fire Department if we saw a fire. That's how our idea came to life and we decided to name it: I give my day to the forest".

Leave it on the cash till

Elias Tsolakidis holds his volunteering team very dear. The Team of Pieria, was his idea and evolved rapidly. He is the technical director of the European College of Sports Science at the University of Cologne, but he travels in Katerini very often in order to help the volunteering team.
In the summer of 2008, 212 families offered to safe watch Mount Olympus and in the summer of 2011 more than 500. Each family chose the day and timeslot they were available through a website.

In the autumn of 2008 the fires ceased and members of the volunteering team wondered what else they could do to give back to their community. At the time the price of milk has shot up to 1.5 euros per litre, a price unreasonably high.

"We decided to choose the most expensive milk when we go shopping and just before we pay ask how much it costs. When we heard the price we said: oh, I think this one is too expensive, I don't want it and left it on the cash till. Some days later the supermarkets were forced to inform the producer: we can't carry your milk back and forth to the fridge. Please take our stock back, we don't want your milk any more. Milk price fell from 1.40 to 0.98 euro within a week. We achieved this with one simple action. The most important is that people were confident and became aware of their rights as consumers. After the milk action we made similar interventions at the supermarkets with other products too".

After the "Leave it at the till" successful action the Volunteer Team of Pieria decided to fight for the protection of Mount Olympus from illegal construction sites and other illegal interventions. "Until then, everything was loose and everyone could easily break the law and build a summerhouse without a permit, or bribe the local authority. We fear that this unregulated development will harm the land. Olympus is a temple of history. Of course we did not want to stop all visitors, but we thought this place has history, and thus requires some respect. We realised that we shouldn't leave this duty to the sensibilities of politicians, that's why we created the new action Olympus".

The authorities fought us

Everything was going well until the expensive milk action happened - even the governor awarded the Volunteering Team. However, when the Team started its work with Olympus property watch the politicians turned sour. "Almost the entire political leadership of the region was asking for the abolition of Melina Merkouri’s archaeological law of 1980, which protected mount Olympus. The mayor of Dion-Olympus used false testimonies to misinform the locals and rile them up against us. He said that during the last years only one building permit had been issued, and it was the only reason the place suffered. We went to the Urban Planning Office to investigate, and found out that during the last four years more than a thousand permits had been issued".

The state authorities of Pieria never liked the Volunteer Team since. In 2009 the Mayor of Katerini filed a lawsuit against Elias Tsolakidis for openly criticising his policies. Of course, the Mayor lost the trial and in the meantime a new action began. It was named "I'm concerned too”. People could openly comment on the local authorities’ wrongdoings and problems they encountered as citizens of Katerini.

"Whatever the Mayor does, he can't hide the truth. Katerini has been entirely cemented and it's a shame there is not one single cycle lane, even though it is the flattest city in the country! During the last three years four cyclists lost their lives, because more and more people use their bikes due to the economic crisis. These unfair deaths inspired us to launch one more action which we called ‘I bike for my city’. We have completed more than 20 projects now and we hope to do more in the future".

I refuse to pay

After the Olympus property project in 2009 the Volunteer Team started the action "I refuse to pay". There were four toll stations on the National Highway section that crosses Pieria county. One hundred cars driven by volunteers stopped at the tolls of Leptokarya and handed out their investigation, in which they found that the toll stations are illegal. This investigation inspired similar action all around the country.

The action against the tolls became the reason for conversations to start among the members of the Team. "Some of us suggested we take no action against the state and make sure they are on our side. But what about the problems the state ignores? What about the fire fighters, who lack essential equipment, or when there won't be any fire-fighters because of budget cuts? We finally decided to not side with the state".

Saying no to the parties

The Volunteer Team of Pieria is like a big umbrella, under which many small subgroups operate. Each group has its own committee, where persons with any kind of involvement in politics are not allowed. If one is a member of a certain party, they can volunteer but they cannot get involved in operations.

The Volunteer Team unreservedly preserves its political independence and never accepts financial aid from parties. It also rejects the traditional organisation of corporations and NGOs, since it has neither offices nor any ties to the Administrative Council. It only has a web page, www.otoposmou.gr and a personal manifesto to inspire and guide the volunteers.

The unconventional structure of the Volunteer Team does not mean that it is an ungoverned ship that will sink during the first storm. Among its three and a half thousand members, there are strong personalities who keep it afloat.

No middlemen

The Volunteer Team of Pieria later expanded to one more action, named "No middlemen", which aimed to raise awareness to costs of trading agricultural goods. We decided to place mass orders for all our members, directly to the producers. This would save us money and guarantee that the producer gets all the profits. The first potato order was given to producer Lefteris Kesopoulos, from Nevrokopi of Drama. "We called and asked him: How much would you think is a fair price for your produce? He said 23 cents per kilo and we gave him 25, VAT and receipt included. We had checked all the legal parameters of the exchange and we knew exactly what we were doing".

When the producers bring their products to Katerini, hundreds of volunteers take part in the difficult job of distribution. "It's not simple to distribute 125 tons of oil to 3,500 families in 5 hours. We are well-organised, disciplined and above all, we love what we do. Despite the difficulties we don't forget to enjoy ourselves in the process. After the distribution, we have a ritual of having a meal all of us together".

Some politicians appeared a few times in the place of the distribution, but they were tured away by members of the Team. "Please do not show up in our events again" we said to one of them, "we refuse to stand in the background so you can pose for the media. If you want to contribute, put on your overalls and come again, but no more than this".

Community grocery

In 2011 the Volunteer Team, in cooperation with the Medecins Du Monde (Doctors of the World), created the "Community Grocery"a project intended to gather and distribute food to underprivileged families. The team had set up donation points and took over the abandoned Tobacco Factory of Katerini, which covers a large public area and has several abandoned buildings. "The District Attorney and the Police arrived and helped us make sure our action was legal. The police chief told us that he knew very well who we were, since he was our customer in ‘No middlemen’ ".

We visited the occupied space and we found it crowded with volunteers who were distributing the provision packages. The Volunteer Team had made a list of all the families that were to receive the packages and had even tailored the donations to some of the families’ needs. The social grocery supplies food to seventy families per month, which means that it feeds almost three hundred and fifty persons, among which one hundred and forty children. Every month, different families are supported, except for twelve single parent families and some other families the members of which suffer from illnesses.

The Team has also created the project "Solidarity soup” to deal with harder situations of famine. For this project, they acquired special equipment which allowed them to cook outdoors for a hundred and fifty persons even without electricity.

United powers

At the Tobacco Station of Katerini we talked with some volunteers and asked them to describe us their experience with the Volunteering Team. George Kotides told us: "I got in the Team about a year ago after a gathering at the central square of Katerini. I was weary until then because I was afraid that there were political parties behind it. When I came face to face with them I understood that this was not the case. Since joined the Team I've not once been absent from their actions. I've never heard any political conversation among the members of the Team, on the contrary, I saw people leaving political parties in order to get in the Team".

The retired Aviation officer, Vaggelis Varoutas, told us that he got in the Volunteer Team after attending a documentary viewing about the economic crisis. "Since then I decided to join the Team and stop waiting empty-handed for the disaster to come. These people filled my heart with hope, because they help other people smile again, when all you can see around is grim faces".

Maria Tasopoulos who works in Secondary Education praised the pedagogical benefits of volunteering. "We took part in the protection of Olympus action as a family. I think people want to do good, but it’s a skill to be learned and cultivated from a young age".

Vaggelis Gkountas told us about his first experience at the Community Grocery: "When I first gave provisions to poor families, I had a feeling of lightness, I knew I was doing something good. The same feeling that I had when I had given blood once. As if I had wings".

(Most photos have been kindly granted by the Volunteer Team)
TEXT-PHOTOS: GEORGE ZAFEIROPOULOS
SOURCE: www.greecewithin.com

MORE PHOTOS

Committee for the sampling of the products, offered directly by the producers.

Elias Tsolakidis, the founding member of the Volunteer Team, packs food at the Comminuty Grocery.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos, the national team's football player, also takes part in the action for the protection of Olympus.

olunteers packing food in boxes, destined to feed seventy to ninety families.

They often organize debates to listen to people's opinions and needs.

A Pontiac dance broke out around the first potato sacks that arrived straight from the producer. The first step had been made…

The members of the Volunteer Team took over the Tobacco Station of Katerini, which covers a large public area with several abandoned buildings.

Solidarity bean soup.

Τhey have special equipment, allowing them to cook outdoor for a hundred and fifty persons even without electricity.

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