The COVID-19 pandemic forced us to cancel all of our volunteer programs that were to take place during the Summer months of 2020. This didn’t stop us from pivoting and creating a new, abridged two-week program set to take place in Athens and on the island of Chios in August.
We are proud to continue our partnerships with METAdrasi, Kivotos Tou Kosmou and Emfasis, three organizations whose missions are central to our program’s core mission— which is to serve vulnerable populations.
The Greek America Foundation staff has regularly monitored the COVID-19 pandemic both globally and in Greece. Our program will adhere to all guidelines as specified by US, Canadian and Greek health officials.
The two week volunteer program includes daily field work in Athens, as well as a weekend excursion to the island of Chios where we will work alongside a center with hundreds of abandoned and at-risk children.
An option for 3 college credits is available for an additional fee, thanks to our partners at Hellenic American University in Athens, a U.S.-accredited institution of higher learning that allows credits to be transferred back to the student’s home institution in the United States or Canada.
The cost of the program, which includes most meals, accommodations in double rooms, cultural experiences and all travel within Greece, is $2399.00. Full scholarships are available for individuals with financial need. The program is open to anyone 18-30 years old.
Acknowledgements
We thank Ms. Patricia Kassis-Lambrecht of Palm Beach, FL for sponsoring our mission to Chios to serve unaccompanied refugee minors. She is doing this in memory of the Kazaglis family, her own family of refugees who fled from Smyrna in 1922 and arrived in Chios before emigrating to the United States.
We thank Dr. Spiro Macris of Wilmington, NC for his sponsorship of two students.
The Order of AHEPA will honor the organization’s century of service by sponsoring one student on the program.
Gregory C. Pappas donated his 52nd birthday to the cause and raised enough money from family and friends’ gifts to sponsor one student.