Brooklyn Outreach Center makes taking care of the homeless its ultimate mission

When a community comes together in support of a great cause, the outcome can be truly inspiring.

The Fort Hamilton Brooklyn Outreach Center held its second annual fundraiser to benefit the needy on Tuesday, November 17 at neighborhood favorite, the Salty Dog located at Bay Ridge Parkway and Third Avenue.

“It was a great turnout. People got to see what our mission is all about,” noted Zoe Koutsoupakis, who with Jeannie Spithoyiannis chaired the event. Koutsoupakis is in fact one of the founders of the Brooklyn Outreach Center, along with Maria Vasaka and Father Gerasimos Makris of Holy Cross Orthodox Church.

Approximately $15,000 was raised at the event, said Koutsoupakis, noting that the money will go toward helping to feed the hungry and support the needs of many less fortunate individuals. In addition, some of the money, said Makris — who stressed that the goal of the center is to “help those in need, no matter who it is” — will go toward creating “a new more permanent home for the Brooklyn Outreach Center, and a more permanent institution to get people involved in helping others.” The center is currently housed at Holy Cross.

“You don’t need gimmicks to raise funds for a good cause. Just ask, and keep things simple,” Makris noted.

Vasaka, who serves as president of the center, said that another goal of the fundraiser was to get the word out to different communities about what is being done at the Brooklyn Outreach Center, and praised the show of “positive support,” from the community. “I was very pleased with the variety of communities that showed their support,” she said.

Among the outreach center’s programs is the Homeless Midnight Run, in which, once a month, volunteers deliver food, clothing and toiletries to the homeless. In addition, Outreach on the Go once a month brings food to the elderly and shut-ins in the surrounding neighborhood, and Operation Lace Up — accomplished in partnership with The FOCUS organization — distributes 400 pairs of new sneakers to the needy.

Visit HCBOC.org for more information, to donate or to volunteer.