Gorham man helps give back to community through charitable foundation
GORHAM (WGME) – A small business owner with a big heart in Gorham has helped many Maine families through his foundation.
Angelo Sotiropoulos came to Maine in 1978 with empty pockets and a full heart.
“For me it was destiny from above to end up in Gorham,” Sotiropoulos said.
Sotiropoulos loves passing out hugs and making pizzas.
"Every time I go out, give more hugs than anyone else," Sotiropoulos said.
For over 40 years, Sotiropoulos has been the proud owner of Gorham House of Pizza.
"I enjoy what I'm doing,” Sotiropoulos said. “I love meeting new people every day, not only as a customer, we've become friends, family."
In the spring of 2012, Sotiropoulos’ life took a drastic turn.
The business he worked so hard to build nearly burnt to the ground.
"I thought my life was over," Sotiropoulos said.
Just five days later, Sotiropoulos was dealt another blow when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
"That was a hard time and whoever has dealt with cancer, they can understand,” Sotiropoulos said. “I didn't want to hear anything."
The voices of family and friends were still heard loud and clear.
"The community rallied behind me,” Sotiropoulos said. “I wasn't expecting anything like that. They made it so easy for me to go through that. It was a walk in the park."
Sotiropoulos wanted to pay it forward by giving all the money raised from a community event back to his co-workers who were affected by the fire, but that was just the beginning.
"That's when I thought the Reed Allen Foundation,” Sotiropoulos said. “What this community doing for me, I want to create the foundation to pay back, also make a difference in people fighting cancer, fire."
Right away, Sotiropoulos and the foundation started helping people like Lisa Smith.
"I was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer in March of 2020, right when the pandemic hit," Smith said.
To make matters worse, she also lost her job.
"It’s a time of immense personal challenges, physically and emotionally, and then all of the sudden you throw in the financial devastation that a cancer diagnosis brings," Smith said.
Thanks to the Reed Allen Foundation, Smith's fight became a little easier.
"Everyone thinks you have angels up in heaven looking over you,” Smith said. “I think my angel looking over me lives right in Gorham, Maine and his name is Angelo."
"It brought me a level of comfort that I will never forget, that I will treasure that for the rest of my life," Sotiropoulos said.
The Reed Allen Foundation has helped more than individuals. Throughout the pandemic, it has also helped support many local businesses.
For more information on how you can help, click here.
