Service, Culture and Connection: Greek America Corps Marks Its Tenth Summer on Chios

The 2026 program combined support for refugee children with cultural immersion, from helping Agia Markella pilgrims to learning about the island’s mastiha traditions.

Inside a classroom on Chios, volunteers and children practiced Greek and English, shared books and explored musical instruments. Outside, they planted herbs, played sports and jumped rope. Along the road toward Agia Markella, volunteers offered water to pilgrims continuing their journey. At the island’s mastic farms, they became students themselves.

Together, these experiences shaped the Greek America Foundation’s 2026 Greek America Corps program—a summer that brought service and cultural immersion into the daily lives of volunteers from North America.

Held from July 11 through August 2, the Chios program marked Greek America Corps’ tenth summer, continuing the Foundation’s commitment to connecting young people with Greece through philanthropy, volunteerism and participation in local communities.

Learning and serving alongside METAdrasi

The Foundation’s partnership with METAdrasi was central to the program. The organization supports refugees and migrants in Greece through education, interpretation, assistance for unaccompanied minors and other essential services. Working alongside its team, GAC volunteers contributed to educational and recreational activities for children on Chios.

Greek and English lessons were part of that work, complemented by reading, drawing, music and games. Volunteers shared guitars and ukuleles with children, sat together over picture books and joined activities around classroom tables. These everyday interactions gave participants time to get to know one another, practice communication and learn together.

The program’s own summer updates emphasized the importance of those small moments: skipping rope, learning guitar, sharing laughter and building memories through time spent together.

With METAdrasi’s support and coordination, volunteers also organized sports and recreational games for children at the VIAL facility. Play offered another way to participate, with opportunities for movement, teamwork and connection beyond the classroom.

Volunteers helped improve shared spaces through painting and gardening as well. Children joined them around pots of herbs, helping position plants and add soil. The projects combined practical care for the surroundings with activities that children and volunteers could complete side by side.

Offering water and encouragement to pilgrims

The summer’s service also brought volunteers into the wider life of Chios. During the pilgrimage to Agia Markella, they offered bottles of water and encouragement to people making the long trek from Chios town toward the church, supporting walkers along the route through Mount Epos.

“Καλό δρόμο”—a wish for a good journey—captured the spirit of the effort. Volunteers contributed a moment of refreshment and welcome while encountering the faith and devotion expressed through the pilgrimage. Cultural immersion took the form of participation: helping people as they continued a journey that mattered deeply to them.

Watch the volunteers supporting Agia Markella pilgrims on Instagram.

Discovering the traditions of mastiha

A weekend excursion to the mastic farms introduced volunteers to another part of the island’s heritage. Hosted by Mastiha Roots, the group took part in an educational session about cultivating mastic resin, learning about the work behind one of Chios’ best-known products.

The excursion continued at the Chios Mastic Museum, where volunteers explored the island’s history and the production of mastic products. Together, the farm and museum visits connected the landscape they were experiencing with the agricultural knowledge and traditions that have helped shape Chios.

See the mastiha cultural excursion on Instagram.

These cultural experiences were an essential part of the program. Alongside their service responsibilities, volunteers had opportunities to learn about the island through its religious practices, agricultural life and local institutions. They contributed their own time and skills while learning from the people and organizations welcoming them.

Ten summers of putting philanthropy into practice

Supporters beyond Chios also had a way to participate. Through the “Help Us Fill a Classroom on Chios” appeal, the Foundation invited its wider community to help provide educational and recreational materials for the programs volunteers were supporting.

As Greek America Corps completed its tenth summer, the Chios experience gave concrete expression to the Foundation’s ideals. Philanthropy meant showing up for daily responsibilities. Cultural learning meant engaging with the people who sustain the island’s traditions. Connection grew through shared activities, conversation and care.

The Greek America Foundation thanks its volunteers, METAdrasi, its cultural hosts, and the donors, families and supporters who made the 2026 program possible. Their contributions sustained three weeks of service and learning rooted in the communities of Chios.