Stephen Raja Chinnappan was born and raised in Bangalore, India. He joined Global Volunteers in 2001 after serving as a free-time tour guide for volunteers in Chennai. After being promoted to Country Manager, Stephen led volunteer teams until the India program was suspended in 2018 and the Nepal program began. Stephen also provides service program […]
University student Emmanuelle Dulac was born with the “volunteer bug.” For as long as she can remember, she’s been an active volunteer in her home town of Québec, Canada. But she began looking for more; a chance to help others while experiencing a new culture. An internet search in March, 2022 brought her to the […]
In early 2016, Global Volunteers Crete teams were called upon by local authorities to help meet the needs of the sudden large influx of Syrian refugees to Greece. Volunteers worked packaging and sorting donated clothing and preparing boxes for shipping to Athens. Since then, more than a million refugees and migrants have traveled across Greece. Today, Greece […]
Global Volunteers’ regularly scheduled Team Leader training has always been anticipated by staff and volunteer team leaders from every corner of the globe as one of those welcoming “yay,” can’t wait “highlights” of the year. Typically conducted in St. Paul, MN, the program was suspended in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. The bi-annual […]
In 2005, Global Volunteers launched the popular English summer school at the invitation of the Mayor’s Office of Malevizi, Crete. Its purpose? To help improve students’ conversational English skills and build up their confidence in using English as a second language. This story about Mihali* is representative of the significant impact English language skills building […]
When you think of Greece, what comes to mind? The rise of democracy? The Olympic Games, ancient history and philosophy, Minotaurs and mythology? Perhaps you think of magnificent temples, the clear waters of the Aegean Sea, sandy beaches, mountain villages, or small windy roads blocked by sheep and goats. Greece is also known as the […]
Since 2014, Global Volunteers has worked alongside the Union of Women Associations of Heraklion (UWAH) to improve the lives of vulnerable women and children in Crete. Our partnership has mobilized volunteers to help Association members learn English, paint and clean their shelter for abused women and children, and produce crafts projects to raise money for […]
When Cassidy Matz arrived as a volunteer in Crete in 2019, she was an early childhood education student, and anticipated teaching preschool after graduation. But, she admitted her focus was lacking. After teaching teens English for two weeks, she gained a profound sense of purpose and her career vision became clear. She changed her major, […]
In the year since Greece began its first (of many) national lockdowns due to the fast-spreading Covid- 19 virus, Greek students and teachers have struggled to sustain a reliable school routine. Celia Kopaka, one of our phenomenal community partners in Greece, describes her efforts to keep her students up to date via online learning, and […]
In 2020, Global Volunteers welcomed 57 babies to the Reaching Children’s Potential Program (RCP) family. The RCP Program is a child-focused, parent-driven, family-centered, and community-led comprehensive approach that begins with pregnancy and continues through the 18th birthday. The program invests in children’s and mothers’ nutrition, health, and education, focusing on the first 1,000 days of life to […]