ATHENS: Greek champions Olympiacos have joined in the work to help the residents of Kefalonia to recover from the devastating earthquake caused substantial damage and left hundreds homeless.

Vaggelis Marinakis, the club’s president, has announced a €500,000 donation to people on the island off the west coast – the island on which the film Captain Corelli’s Mandolin was filmed.

Marinakis, after contacting the Minister of Education and Religious Affair, said a particular concern for the club was the reconstruction of the schools rendered unsafe after the earthquake which registered 6.1 on the Richter Scale.

He said: “Olympiacos stands next to the residents of Kefalonia, who suffer great hardship. Solidarity and assistance are closely connected with the history, principles and values of our club.

“It is essential to make the residents of Kefalonia to feel safe and secure and to render it possible for their kids to continue their studies unobstructed.

“For this reason, we undertook the initiative to cover the expenses for the rebuilding of the schools that were damaged by the recent seismic activity in order to allow the students to return to their lessons as quickly and as safely as possible.”

Previous support efforts have included so-called Match Against Poverty, support for the people of Japan after the 2011 tsunami, a the contribution to the Steven Gerrard Foundation and involvement in UNICEF campaigns.