Pappajohn donates $100,000 to feed Ukrainian refugees
For Des Moines entrepreneur and philanthropist John Pappajohn, watching millions of refugees flee war-torn Ukraine feels personal.
Afterall, he emigrated with his parents to the United States from Greece when he was 9-months old. After settling in Mason City, he saw the needs of the immigrant population there. He described his neighborhood as a “melting pot,” and said there were 19 nationalities in his grade school.His dad opened a grocery store named Evia, after the Greek island where they emigrated from, Pappajohn said. The store catered to everyone and sold food that represented all nationalities in the area.
“It was very important because it was the Depression and people were hungry,” he said.
It’s that memory — and news coverage of the atrocities taking place in Ukraine — that inspired Pappajohn to recently make a decision to donate $100,000 to help refugees fleeing the war-torn country.
“It’s just atrocious,” he said. “What’s happening there, they’re killing adults, children, babies and they don’t have an opportunity, and they’re hungry and the first thing to start is to feed them.”
Pappajohn is working with the Hellenic Initiative, a Greek organization that he compared to the United Way, and the Greek Orthodox Church to get the money to where it is needed most. He said the donation was just recently made, and he did not restrict the funds, allowing them to be used wherever they are needed, no matter the country where Ukrainian refugees may have fled.
Pappajohn said he is a “happy American,” and tries to use his good fortune to help others.
“I’ve been very lucky. I’ve made money. I’ve had successful businesses. I just feel obligated to try to help those who need help,” he said.
Pappajohn organized the financial consulting firm Equity Dynamics Inc., and the venture capital firm Pappajohn Capital Resources. He also organized and financed entrepreneurial centers at five different universities and colleges in Iowa that he says have trained more than 400,000 college students. He and his wife Mary also funded a $5 million scholarship fund for ethnic, disadvantaged and underrepresented students, as well as contributing more than $100 million to philanthropic causes across the state, including the University of Iowa.
“I’m happy to be an American and I’m trying to help other people,” he said. “I’m an entrepreneur thanks to being in America and I can use my talents to help other people.”
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