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Sam Pinakoulaki

About Sam Pinakoulaki

Samantha was born and brought up in the south of England and graduated from a London school of performing arts with honors. She spent 10 years traveling the world with various dance groups. Her last group took her to Crete in Greece, where she met her husband of 28 years. They now have five children. Samantha volunteers to help mentally and physically handicapped children in her hometown.

Entries by Sam Pinakoulaki

Family Volunteering Greece

Mother and Daughter Bond on Greece “Service Adventure”

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 […]

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July 19, 2022/by Sam Pinakoulaki
Partners' Stories Greece

New Refugee Program Engages Global Volunteers in Crete

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 […]

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June 29, 2022/by Sam Pinakoulaki
News and Updates Tanzania

Team Leader Training Draws Global Volunteers Staff to Tanzania

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 […]

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April 7, 2022/by Sam Pinakoulaki
Conversational English, Development Impact Greece

Greece Summer School Program Lauded by Grateful Grandmother

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 […]

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January 17, 2022/by Sam Pinakoulaki
Cultures and Traditions Greece

Simply Greek – Cultures and Traditions of Civilization’s Birthplace

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 […]

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December 8, 2021/by Sam Pinakoulaki
Partners' Stories Greece

Seven-Year “Dream” Comes True in Crete’s House of Angels for Children

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 […]

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December 2, 2021/by Sam Pinakoulaki
Volunteer Voices Greece

Student’s Service in Greece Launches Teaching Career Back Home

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, […]

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November 10, 2021/by Sam Pinakoulaki
News and Updates Greece

The Challenge of Virtual Learning in Greece

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 […]

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March 19, 2021/by Sam Pinakoulaki
Reaching Children's Potential Tanzania

Welcome to the RCP Family – Newborn Photo Gallery – 2020

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 […]

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March 15, 2021/by Sam Pinakoulaki
News and Updates

Saluting Global Volunteers With a Strong Passion For Service in FY2020

Congratulations and thank you to our fourth group of unique individuals who, during the last months of 2019 and January and February 2020, reached their “milestones in service.” We recognize Alumni Volunteers who completed from five to 27 service programs with Global Volunteers in this fourth post in November (the month of “giving thanks”). We Salute each and every […]

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November 25, 2020/by Sam Pinakoulaki
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