• Gift Catalog
  • Donate
  • Contact Us
Call Us: 800-487-1074
Global Volunteers
  • Countries
    • International Partnerships:
      • China
      • Cook Islands
      • Cuba
      • Ecuador
      • Greece
      • Italy
      • Nepal
      • Peru
      • Poland
      • Portugal
      • St Lucia
      • Tanzania
      • Vietnam
    • USA Programs:
      • Appalachia – West Virginia
      • Blackfeet Reservation – Montana
      • Rosebud Reservation – South Dakota
      • Española – New Mexico
  • Projects
  • Give
    • Giving Options:
      • Donate Now
      • Gift Catalog
      • Ways to Give
      • Philanthropy
  • Impact
  • Blog
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
Family Volunteers, Repeat Volunteers, Student Volunteers, Volunteer Voices Greece

Three Generations Volunteer in Crete!

Appleby family Volunteers in Crete

The inter-generational Appleby family group – grand-daughter Megan, father Mike, and grandfather Robert – joined together to volunteer in Crete with Global Volunteers. Their assignment?  Helping elementary and middle school kids speak conversational English.  Although Global Volunteer Alumni Robert taught conversational English to High School kids and adults on previous programs, he said enjoyed working with younger kids in the Cretan classrooms.   In an interview with the family, Mike said:  “On many levels, it was a learning experience for each of us, but also made use of our previous and varied volunteer service efforts.”

Has Volunteering with kids always been in the family?

Yes. Megan works with kindergarten and first-grade kids at her church and walks dogs at a local shelter. Mike has mentored at First Lego League and later for First Robotics Challenge teams in middle school and high school with his son, Matthew.  Robert previously taught conversational English as a volunteer and joined several other volunteer service trips with the Appleby clan over the last decade.

Volunteer in Crete

Mike and Bob (father and Son) teach together in Crete.

Tell us about your experience teaching kids in Crete:

Mike explained:  We started with the orientation meeting  at our hotel, the Hotel Handakas with 5 fellow team members and our team leader  working on the goals we wanted to achieve:

  • To contribute.
  • volunteers learning.
  • kids learning.
  • To teach
  • To have lots of fun!
Mike teaches

Mike teaching 6th graders

“Megan was assigned to the first-grade kids which was perfect for her – with her already extensive experience with young ones. By default, my Dad and I were assigned the oldest kids. Our team leader, Sam, was superb in interacting with all of us individually as well as with the kids. Having lots of fun was achieved almost effortlessly.  It was simply a part of each day’s activities with the kids.  “Mister, Mister” rang out almost continuously for all five days.  Almost all the kids were enthused to be there and learning as much as possible.  Regardless of what exercises or games we were playing, they really got into the spirit of finding the right answer.  We hope they got as much fun out of learning as we did – and at the end of the day, all goals were achieved to a great extent.”

What are your fondest memories?

“Seeing Megan on the last day, surrounded by hugging kids, was all the satisfaction that was possible to achieve.  Playing some basketball and soccer during the breaks was a lot of fun, as well as surprising to the kids. Soccer was especially surprising, possibly because of being 61 years old, they had few expectations in that regard.  Watching my father, Bob, doing the last classroom exercise on Friday (fixing errors in sentences) was satisfying as well.  The kids never hesitated to try to fix an error even when they got up to the board and did not really know what the error was, they still tried.  And even if they sat down without correcting anything, they were still raising their hands the very next chance they got. As a group, they never quit until the last error was corrected.”

So long, farewell

Time to say Goodbye!

 

Any advice for future Volunteers who want to volunteer in Crete? 

The travel to and from the US to Crete for us was not simple or easy.  The long layover on the way was especially stressful (Geneva has the most uncomfortable seats of any airport ever visited by any of us).  BUT once in the classroom, all the exhaustion fell away, and there were just kids’ shining eyes looking back at us. It was an experience to Volunteer in Crete that Megan and I would really love to do again, preferably for two weeks next time!

Megan volunteering in Crete. (Photo credit Megan Appleby)

“fly squatter game in Crete. (Photo credit Megan Appleby)

Daily walk to school in crete (Photo credit Megan Appleby)

Want to know how you can volunteer in Crete?  Request information here!

Share this:

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
September 13, 2018/0 Comments/by Sam Pinakoulaki
https://205eev2oa0jm1t4yb914s1nw-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Appleby-family-2-e1536843663941.jpg 562 1000 Sam Pinakoulaki https://205eev2oa0jm1t4yb914s1nw-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2014-GlobalVolunteersLogo-Web.png Sam Pinakoulaki2018-09-13 08:51:552018-09-19 12:35:09Three Generations Volunteer in Crete!
0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

You must log in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Partner Communities

  • China 66
  • Cook Islands 44
  • Cuba 117
  • Ecuador 88
  • Greece 68
  • Italy 54
  • Montana 42
  • Nepal 16
  • Peru 98
  • Poland 77
  • Portugal 42
  • South Dakota 8
  • St Lucia 57
  • Tanzania 143
  • Vietnam 43
  • West Virginia 24

Categories

  • Boomer Volunteers
  • Conversational English
  • Couples Volunteering
  • Culture and Traditions Worldwide
  • Development Impact
  • Family Volunteers
  • Free Time Options
  • Global Volunteers
  • Group Volunteering
  • Impact Stories
  • Individuals on Teams
  • Projects for Professionals
  • Reaching Children's Potential
  • Repeat Volunteers
  • Retiree Volunteers
  • Staff Worldwide
  • Student Volunteers
  • Uncategorized
  • Volunteer Voices
  • Women volunteers

Tags

alumni volunteers American Indian culture Appalachian culture best destination peru Care for children Caribbean island College groups Conversational English cook islands economy covid-19 covid-19 consequences Cuba people-to-people donate for children Earthbox gardens economic support Essential Services food insecurity Funding your fee Health and nutrition High school groups Labor projects lgbt program peru resume resume high shcool retiree service-learning share food Spring break summer volunteer program support children Support women teaching children teaching english team leader things to do peru top places to visit peru tourism cook islands tours peru travel peru volunteer benefits Volunteer impact work on reservations Work with youth youth volunteering
  • About Us
  • Boards of Directors and Advisors
  • US and International Staff
  • Our Beginnings
  • Our Vision
  • Community Partners
  • Collaborators
  • Compare Us
  • Volunteer Vacations FAQs
  • Accountability and Agreements
  • Travel Risks
  • Impact and Outcomes of Service
  • Donate to Global Volunteers
  • Donate to a Volunteer
  • Money Matters – Explaining Your Service Program Contribution
  • Discounts & Fundraising
  • Alumni Center
  • News/Media
  • Privacy Policy
  • Agreements
  • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Podcast
  • Volunteer Portal
  • Employment
Global Volunteers
375 East Little Canada Road
St. Paul, MN 55117-1628 USA
(800) 487-1074 | toll-free
(651) 482-0915 | fax
globalvolunteers.org
email@globalvolunteers.org

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Subscribe receive notifications of new posts and updates by email.

Global Volunteers - Partners in Development ® | © Copyright 2002 - Present Global Volunteers
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail
  • Global Volunteers is an apolitical, non-sectarian, non-profit (501C-3) tax-exempt organization.
  • Send feedback about this web site and its administration.
Experience Kathmandu as a Volunteering Destination Kathmandu volunteering Free time activities, Volunteering in Nepal Free-Time Activities In Nepal on a Global Volunteers Service Program
Scroll to top
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.