Volunteer in Poland

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“After 30 programs in Poland, I’ve received more than I’ve given.
All benefit from this partnership – the future leaders
of this great nation, and volunteers who fall in love
with the beautiful people and culture.”
Lori Wedeking, Poland Volunteer

Be the Change. Be a Global Volunteer in Poland.

Your service can help ensure long-lasting change in the world.

Our long-standing volunteer program in Poland enables you to support democracy, promote freedom, work with Polish youth and directly care for families and children in need. Since 1990, we’ve offered English teaching opportunities, outstanding program management, Poland’s irresistible and colorful culture, exceptional cuisine, safe and historically significant lodging, unmatched landscapes and best yet – the most meaningful volunteer projects! See Covid-19 requirements.

Read and watch the journey of a recent volunteer in Poland.

Get Started in Poland

Volunteer in the heart of Eastern Europe.

Local time in Poland:

Call: 651-407-6100

Request Program Information

Quick Online Registration

FAQs:

Genuine development projects to help children thrive. Exceptional service-learning for families, groups and individuals.

Community Projects

Provide Ukrainian families relief and psychosocial support.

Families who fled their homes need moral as well as material support. The psychological stress on Ukrainian families is enormous as children worry about family members left at home, and moms worry about their children, all the while trying to find work. We’ve been asked to help offer some respite. During the school year, groups of mothers and their children are invited to rest and recreate at Reymontówka – the Polish manor house lodging Global Volunteers’ teams during September to June service programs. Volunteers host special evening meals, music, fun, games, interaction, and relaxation for weary families. On some days, volunteers accompany Ukrainian children and adults on day trips to the Warsaw Zoo and the Warsaw Museum. All activities are intended to offer comfort and relaxation for moms and their children.

During July and August 2022, you’ll engage with school-age Ukrainian and Polish children during “day-camps”. Volunteers, with translators’ assistance, play games with the children, create crafts, teach conversational English, and sing Ukrainian, Polish, and American songs. Some days, the volunteers and children might go bowling, picnic at the lake, visit a museum, go to a pizza place, or participate in any number of other things children enjoy doing. The principal objective is to help the Ukrainian children keep their minds and bodies active, and not thinking about the tragedy that has forced them and their families to leave their homes. A side benefit is the friendships made among the Polish and Ukrainian children and the volunteers.

We also help collect and distribute materials donated by volunteers and purchased on-site for refugee families.

Tutor students in Polish classrooms.

In English language classrooms, you can help children read, write, and speak English. If your English, math, geography, or science skills are sharp, you can be an important resource for students of all ages at the primary or secondary level. Help with homework and assist teachers with daily lessons. You can employ your personal experiences and imagination to bring subjects to life.

Unleash your “inner child” in summer camps.

During July and August, help lively Polish students with English pronunciation, vocabulary, phrases and idioms in two-week English language “camps” – bridging summer break and the school year with skits, games, songs, field trips and imaginative activities in English.

No previous teaching experience is required. Employ your creativity, energy and motivation to make learning English fun for students of all ages. Use the Global Volunteers English Teaching Guide, teacher workbooks and a large resource library to plan your lessons and indulge your “inner teacher!”

Dates & Fees

Upcoming Volunteer Dates in Poland

Change Program Community:

Choose Year:

Change Program Duration:

Registration is quick and easy!

Choose program date and duration above.
Click on the option you prefer in the result list.
Complete the online registration and hold your place with a $350 deposit.

Be sure to select all applicable discounts. All payments tax-deductible.

Arrival and Departure

Leave the details to us!

Your service program officially begins with the evening meal on the first Saturday. Plan your flight to arrive at the Warsaw Chopin Airport In Warsaw, Poland (airport code WAW), before 2:00 PM on Saturday, and your departure from Warsaw for after 10:45 AM on the final day of your program.

You must confirm your flight itinerary with us at least two weeks before the service program arrival date to ensure your team airport transfer to the hotel. Departure for the airport after the program ends will be finalized with your team leader.

Food and Lodging

Rest and comfort for a productive program.

Your health and safety are our highest priorities in Poland. Your “home” is Reymontowka, a beautifully restored, culturally and historically significant manor house in Chlewiska, a hamlet outside of Siedlce. Reymontowka features traditional Polish architecture and double-occupancy rooms with full bathrooms and hot and cold running water. Freshly-prepared meals are served on-site in a communal dining room.

Click here to view a 360° virtual tour of Reymontowka.

At Reymontowka:

Laundry facilities
Free wi-fi
Tennis court
Piano in common area
Library

Polish cuisine is hearty, healthy and distinctive. You’ll enjoy soups, salads and assorted meats with sauces (including wonderful sausage) served with a variety of breads, seasonal fruits and home-grown vegetables. Bottled water, coffee and tea are provided daily. Vegetarian diets can generally be accommodated.

: Polish Bigos (hunters stew) is served for special events.

: Vounteers enjoy authentic cuisine at daily meals.

: Polish dumplings are a favorite meal.

: Reymontówka is a beautiful 200-year-old restored manor house in Siedlce, Poland.

: Double occupancy rooms are standard in Siedlce and Zakopane.

Health and Safety

Your Safety is Our Priority.

Your lodging, food and transportation are provided always with a mind to protect your health and security. Your team leader is trained in CPR and first aid to handle most emergencies. Global Volunteers includes emergency medical evacuation insurance in your service program fee. Read more about health and safety here.

We strongly recommend you consult your own physician, public health clinic and/or travel clinic for detailed travel health information. For general recommendations, consult the following sources:

Centers for Disease Control | Health Canada Online | Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

We also recommend health insurance that covers you while you are outside your home country, and trip cancellation insurance in the event you must cancel your participation on the service program. Your travel agent can refer you to travel insurance providers. Click here to read risks associated with international travel.

Program Mobility:
Accurately assess your functional mobility. Our work assignments and partner communities require varying levels of physical stamina and mobility. After you register, you will be asked about your physical capabilities relating to your mobility. Please answer the questions honestly.

Required Mobility for Poland: Mobile – Walk 1 mile, climb five flights of stairs, walk on uneven terrain, and get on and off buses and trains independently.
Required Mobility for Poland (Summer Programs): Somewhat mobile – Walk 0.5 mile, climb two flights of stairs, walk on uneven terrain, and get on and off buses and trains with assistance.

Team Leader

Your Polish team leader is anxious to meet you!

Dorota Wierzbicka is Global Volunteers’ Poland Country Manager and Director of International Operations, and leads most Poland Service Programs. Having assisted in our Poland program as an on-site translator before joining the staff of Global Volunteers, Dorota has shared her personal knowledge of the host community with team members since 1996.

Dorota was named Global Volunteers Staff Person of the Year in 2001 and 2004, and was recognized as “Staff Person of the Decade” in 2011. She consistently receives the highest possible ratings on volunteer evaluations. Further, she has a degree in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), a field she has been working in for many years, and a Master’s Degree in applied linguistics through the University of Warsaw.

“Dorota’s enthusiasm for the Global Volunteers program shines through and generates that enthusiasm for both volunteers and the students. Her dedication to the students is both infectious and unparalleled. She works hard to ensure that each and every day of the language camp experience is valuable for both the students and the volunteers. Her years as a Global Volunteer leader, her kindness, and her willingness to listen to any and all issues that we encountered made the experience incredibly rewarding to all of us involved.”
Fran Johansen and granddaughter Betz Mayer, Poland volunteers

“Dorota is exceptional. She’s kind, caring, accommodating, helpful, sympathetic…a wonderful leader and human being.”
Rita Novak, Poland Volunteer

During July and August 2022 service programs focusing on Ukrainian refugees, Global Volunteers other staff and volunteer team leaders manage the programs.

Free Time

Oh, what sights there are to see!

Ample time is available on evenings and weekends to enjoy the numerous nearby natural and cultural attractions. Because Reymontowka is a regional cultural facility, special cultural events and music recitals are scheduled from fall through spring. Examples are the International Folklore Festival in Siedlce and the annual May Festival at Reymontowka. Countryside walks and tennis games are just outside your door. On the weekend, you and your teammates can visit the many attractions in Warsaw including beautiful parks and city squares, Old Town, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Wawel castle, Auschwitz, and the oldest salt mine in Europe.

Family Opportunities

A choice family service opportunity.

Engaging one-on-one with Polish students of all ages, your children learn how their education and natural skills are important resources to others, and that people the world over share common hopes and interests. Every volunteer makes a difference – Polish students who otherwise have no exposure to native English speakers learn the language of commerce, industry and opportunity from you and your children. Through games, songs, skits, field trips and other creative activities, students learn through “whole body” exercises. In this way, your family’s personal skills and dedication enable youths’ personal development to ripple throughout the country – advancing the entire nation’s capabilities. The emphasis is on improving real-life speaking skills and not on formal rules of grammar, so children ages 6 and up can offer their own perspectives and fully participate in scheduled and free-time activities.

Parents and guardians are expected to supervise their child volunteers, and collaborate with our team leader and local partners to maximize the service experience for everyone. In this way, your child gains a personal understanding of Polish culture and traditions from a variety of perspectives, and learns the role and responsibilities of a team member. They likely also will create life-long friendships with local youth who share their interests and experiences.

Group Opportunities

Provide your group a premier volunteering experience.

As volunteers in Polish classrooms, your members connect with their Polish ancestry, improve their understanding of the country’s history, help preserve a resilient culture, and most important – help expand Polish students’ career options in small communities tourists rarely visit. Our Polish partners’ easy and expansive hospitality allows every group member to immerse themselves in daily life – and personally witness the traditions, artistry, spirit and charms embodied by Polish youth and adults. Our accommodations and cuisine are comfortable, safe, healthy and authentically Polish – exceeding the highest standards of international service.

Teaching English conversational skills to eager students one-on-one or at language “camps” is a unifying, inspirational project for groups of all ages and purposes – and is many times more enriching than a traditional “tour” agenda. Our unique philosophy of service ensures your group’s efforts help advance students’ and teachers’ educational goals. Because we’ve committed our resources in Poland to sustained education projects for over 25 years, you can be certain your contributions in just one to three weeks help build students’ capabilities. We work with you to apply your group’s unique skills, interests and personalities.

Opportunities for high school and college groups

For instance, in the spring or fall, you practice English conversation in conventional elementary and middle school classrooms. The emphasis is on improving real-life speaking skills and not on formal rules of grammar. In the summer, you teach at informal language camps designed for elementary through high school students of varying fluency. The camps are centered on small-group classes (three to ten students) and optional organized activities and excursions.

Read on for details on group volunteering

“My perspective is from someone who sees the volunteers’ impact on Polish students. These young people are the leaders; the future of our country. They are the second or third generation of people who learned English from Global Volunteers. Year after year, volunteers have transformed this community.”

Marek BlaszczykGlobal Volunteers Community Host Partner

“Global Volunteers are people whose support, kindness and commitment to volunteer work proved to be priceless in improving the quality of English language teaching. Classes taught by native speakers not only increase the students’ motivation to learn English, but also greatly enhance their ability to efficiently communicate in this language.”

Magda FrączakTeacher from the John Paul II Middle school in Kotuń

“This gift of getting to know a foreign culture and acquire knowledge and skills in English through direct contact with volunteers is truly priceless. Their presence makes it possible for us to get to know the world better, to understand that when a person knows English, he or she is able to fulfill their dreams and there are no barriers that prevent their implementation.”

Izabela SadokierskaTeacher from the Wł. St. Reymont Elementary school in Cisie-Zagrudzie

“Classes with Global Volunteers offer a unique opportunity for our students to improve their English language skills. In addition, meeting people from English-speaking countries helps the children develop the attitude full of openness and curiosity about the world.”

Katarzyna NiedziółkaTeacher from the elementary school in Grala-Dąbrowizna

“Kids who grow up with Global Volunteers learn not only English but also openness to other cultures, respect and other important values promoted by the organization. In a few years, without doubt, many our students will reminisce about wonderful lessons with enthusiastic volunteers who wanted to share a piece of their hearts at our small school in Strzala.”

Agnieszka NiedziółkaEnglish teacher at the Elementary and Middle school in Strzała

“The Polish staff invited us to dance their national dance, the Polonaise, on the last evening of the summer language camp. It sent chills up my spine, and put a lump in my throat. It felt like I was being welcomed into the family.”

Peg McKeePoland Volunteer

“All of the students like to talk, dance, laugh and genuinely care about each other. At times I had difficulty differentiating whether I was in Poland or the United States when I observed students having fun. This experience demonstrated that I, and people like me, can make a positive difference in young people’s lives.”

Jim PodrazaPoland Volunteer

“Our adventure with Global Volunteers in Poland was the highlight of our year, and we have had many pleasant memories of your staff, the other volunteers, and especially the students. This program is an outstanding example of reaching hands across borders and introducing foreign students to the American culture. It’s an enriching experience for both the students and their teachers.”

Dick BasilPoland Volunteer