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Lianna Gourmos, 20 years old, grew up in the exceptional town of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, where she was only around five minutes away from her Greek Orthodox church. The church has always been something she held close to her heart, attending services every Sunday and participating in activities and community service through the Greek Orthodox Youth of America, better known as GOYA.
As members of GOYA, young adults are able to connect with those in need and provide them with food during the holidays. Once a year, New Jersey GOYAns spend time at their respective churches packaging meals and other supplies such as gloves and scarves, followed by a trip to Newark to hand out these supplies to those who are less fortunate. Lianna Gourmos participated in this tradition as a GOYAn and created experiences that have lasted her a lifetime.
“Initially, I was invited to participate in Bridges through my church and through GOYA, and I was pretty young the first time I worked with the program,” Gourmos said. As she got older, she took it upon herself to work for the program each year, packaging and delivering meals and bonding more with a community so close to where she lived.
Gourmos’ emphasis on philanthropy and kindness highlights the Orthodox ideals of imitating God’s love for humanity through charity and social impact. In doing this every year, she is brought closer to God through her kind acts and passion for the program.
“I think I connected most with the philanthropic values of Greek Orthodoxy,” Gourmos said. “Everybody deserves a second chance, a fair chance, at life, and us being able to look out for these individuals and help them by providing kindness and things that are necessary to one’s everyday living was the most fulfilling thing for me.”
In addition, when asked if participating in Bridges felt different from any other form of community service she takes part in, Gourmos explained, “I’ve done a lot of community service with other organizations, like through my sorority at school, which is still obviously extremely meaningful, but I think that participating in Bridges with other Orthodox people of all ages was something that could bring our community together and allow the younger people involved to learn something from the older participants.” As an older individual in the program, Gourmos was delighted to assist and teach the youth the way that things are done in Bridges, andseeing them do so well makes her very proud of the beautiful community the GOYAns have built.
Finally, Gourmos was prompted if doing Bridges through GOYA had changed anything that she thinks about her faith or made any part of it seem closer to her.
“Definitely, for sure. I remember when I did it in my sophomore year of high school, I felt so much more fulfilled with what I was doing,” Gourmos said. “I think I had finally reached an age where I understood the magnitude of these people’s hardships and experiences, and just knowing that I was doing such a good thing for them, not for outside approval, made me feel like I was doing something worth my time. It felt selfless, and I really felt like God was present with me in that moment.”
Ultimately, this program has brought so many young Greek individuals closer to what they are taught every weekend in Sunday school. This experience allows them to grow up with a sense of what kindness means and carry the new values they learn with them throughout the rest of their lives. Giving back in this way doesn’t just escape a person’s mind; it stays with them forever. And like Gourmos, many other students experience this every holiday season through the work they do in their churches for Bridges.
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