Community Service Projects
Global Volunteers' unique philosophy of service ensures your work projects help advance the host community's current development vision and goals. Always serving at the invitation and under the direction of host community partners, each Global Volunteers team member works alongside local people, and personally contributes to essential services on community projects.Our Creten partners have asked for assistance teaching conversational English to young students and to serve staff and clients of a mountaintop day program for youth and adults with physical and mental disabilities.
Teach English to Youth: You can share lessons with children aged 4-13 in classrooms during the school year, and at summer camps in Gazi County. Any native English speaker can be an important resource, despite your background! The emphasis is on improving speaking skills and not on formal rules of grammar. Students work with volunteers to practice pronunciation, dialogue, and understanding written texts. Lessons may include such fun activities as sports, arts and crafts, and theater. You'll usually teach four hours a day, allowing equal time for preparation and team meetings.
Serving Youth and Adults with Special Needs: St. Spiro Center for Special Children and Adults, in the mountains south of Heraklion, welcomes volunteers to energize, stimulate and encourage day program participants. The goal of this program is to enable the students to become self sufficient, although that can be quite challenging, especially during the current recession and high unemployment in Greece. The students are taught to read and write based upon their abilities, and to work on three primary craft projects – candle making, woodworking, and leather products. The students live with their immediate or extended family and are bused to the facility daily arriving at 8:30 AM and departing at 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Volunteers have greatly enjoyed the opportunity to make a significant contribution at this bright and optimistic facility.