Non-Profit Volunteering in Poland with Ukrainian Refugees – Tax-Deductible Starting $2,549

Having communicated with Global Volunteers for many years, I finally decided to "do it!!" I hosted a couple from Krakow through couchsurfing in late 2018; as we exchanged travel stories, they said, "You must come to Poland!!" I decided to visit them and also volunteer for two weeks with Global Volunteers in the Warsaw area. I traveled by train from Krakow to Warsaw and stayed over in a hotel near the airport. Global Volunteers picked me (and other volunteers) up the next morning (Saturday) and took us to Reymontowka, a lovely country estate. Dorota checked us in; we were given a key to our private room with private bath.
The students arrived the following day; we were introduced to them and later we were introduced to those whom would be our students! I was assigned 9 students ages 12-14. Monday morning we began our routine of four 45 minute sessions with conversational English. Most of my students had attended the "camp" for several summers so I spent time finding/developing activities to challenge them with vocabulary and speaking ability. Because I had worked as a teacher, I focused on their reactions to the activities. Some students lingered between sessions to converse about the activity or just to have a personal conversation.
The students were very responsive and let me know what they really enjoyed. The more experienced students assisted others. All were quite serious about completing their part of the activity.
This setting had not had a volunteer from New Mexico so I was privileged to show all camp participants and staff a 45 minute powerpoint of photos from throughout the state...and videos of ski areas, Balloon Fiesta, the tram ride to the top of the Sandia Mountains, etc.
Dorota and the counseling staff were great to work with. The experience of working with six other talented volunteers was memorable. The volunteers were taken to area cities/towns for personal shopping and other activities. It was great to get to know the region.
The meals served were wonderful! We were served wonderful meals in a lovely dining room with special table settings...really quite elegant!
I do hope to return again...but cannot do it in 2020 due to other commitments. I encourage others to "do it!!" It will be an experience that you will NEVER FORGET!

Poland has to be one of the best kept secrets that I never knew about. While volunteering in Poland ,I was also able to participate in cultural activities like playing some soccer and mushroom hunting. I’m so grateful for the support of the teachers and in country representatives. Guidance and flexibility were always available on assignments. The relationships with the teachers and staff could be summed up in a phrase, “ family of partners”.It was a working and rewarding event. Our daily schedule consisted of planning the lessons, presenting them in class and reviewing in the evening. After a couple of days , you get a feel for what is effective and what is not. I learned from this and then focused on improving each class. After about a couple classes I developed a “connection” with them.
Teachers were very supportive and gave good feedback..ex. One of the teachers asked me to slow down and speak a little clearer. When I did this, the connection with the students improved.

Volunteering in PoIand was extraordinary. I wanted to have a meaningful life after retirement. To me, life without giving is meaningless. Volunteering in Poland provided an opportunity to truly learn about the culture of the Polish people. Each and every day I was able to enjoy typical, fabulous Polish cuisine prepared by the wonderful staff at the manor house. I was able to meet the locals of the community and learn about their lives. As a tourist, the experience would have been very different, more like a check list, seeing all the attractions, rather than truly experiencing. My responsibility was to teach conversational English to preschool and elementary school children. I learned that I did not have to be a professional English teacher to be successful. I arrived each day with a positive attitude, showing interest in the children's lives and just being engaged. They learned from me, but I learned from them. I received true appreciation and respect from the students, teachers, all the staff from the schools, and everyone from Global Volunteers. When it comes to other cultures, although we may eat different foods, we may respond to things a little differently, we learn from service that we all share basic needs. People want to live with dignity, in safety, and with love.

In 2016 I completed my first GV trip to Poland. I do not have any children, nor do I have a teaching background. Walking out to teach my first day was very frightening, but very quickly my fear subsided and my heart was instantly won over by my students. I will return to Poland for the 5th time this year. I have come to love the Polish people, the country, and most of all, the students. The GV Country Manager (Dorota) is excellent. We are well cared for (and well fed) by the staff. Everyone makes us feel valued and appreciated. I have made life long friends with other volunteers, camp staff and the students. Thanks to social media, it is easy to stay in touch with everyone. I can without hesitation recommended GV and specifically the Poland program.

I am going to be doing my 4th stint in Poland this July. I first went with my daughter, then I took my niece, then I went with a friend I met the year before in Poland and this time I will be going by myself but know two volunteers who will be there. The children are amazing. They are so eager to learn and use the English language. Lessons are taught through song, games, books and general conversation. The staff is so friendly and accommodating. I seriously need more space to explain the impact this program has had on me, my daughter and my niece. I have done other programs with global that I have loved, but something special keeps me coming back to Poland.

I have been to Poland three times with Global Volunteers. Each time I spent two weeks at the Reymontówka summer camp. I had a great experience each time and would like to return next summer.

The camp is unique. You get to know Polish middle school and high school students by teaching them and interacting with them. They are eager to learn English and you can get really creative in the camp. The emphasis is on oral English so you by no means have to have an English or ESL teaching background.

Anyone can succeed in this program. The team leader, Dorota, is wonderful and you can talk to her about any concerns. The staff is also great and will help you with feedback and teaching ideas. The library in the teachers' room is huge and has so many activities and resources you can use.

You have a change to go into town several times during the two week stay. You will visit places that other travelers in Poland don't even know about. You have the chance to enrich your stay in Poland by spending the weekend in Warsaw or Kraków, both of which are very much first-rate, modern European cities.

The setting is also unique. The camp is located in a beautiful forest. You will have a room in the beautiful manor house and eat delicious homemade meals in the dining room. It is fun to talk to other volunteers and get ideas from them.

This is your chance to meet Polish people and have Polish experiences that you wouldn't have as just a traveler in this beautiful and welcoming country. You won't regret coming here!

Zakopane was my first experience with Global Volunteers, and they exceeded my expectations and beyond. From start to finish, the GV staff helped me in every way possible to prepare for the trip and have an outstanding two weeks.

Only being seventeen at the time I thought it would be weird teaching students so close in age as me, but it made the trip all the more special because my students and I had many of the same interests that made my teaching and their learning more fun and interesting.

Going with the kids on their after lesson activities like hiking and occasionally soccer, was definitely the highlight since you got to know the kids, as well as the other volunteers, on a more personal level. Making sure there was never a dull moment, volunteers and the kids participated in off key sing-a-longs and the kids teaching the volunteers some Polish along the way on the hikes.

It was hard to leave after the two weeks had finished, but I knew that I would definitely be returning to have the same amazing experience with the wonderful staff and the sweetest students sometime in the near future.

I wanted my twin 17 year old daughters to do some voluntary work during their summer holidays. Teaching English at Reymontowka in Poland was something that I thought would be challenging yet achievable given their ages.

From the minute of arriving we were made to feel appreciated, like honoured guests. During our time there we were treated to performances, by the children, showcasing Polish culture through song and dance. I would say we learnt as much about the Polish culture as they did English.

We were part of a group of five non-native speaking volunteers (we are British and our two co-volunteers were American). None of us had any previous teaching experience. However, there was a resource room full of learning material, games, books etc which made the lesson planning easy. We were left to ourselves to decide what to teach our groups relevant to their ages and abilities. The afternoons we were free to explore, lesson plan or watch the activities laid on for the youngsters.

The children gravitated towards my daughters (being closer in age to them) and, of course, my girls knew all the words and dance moves to current pop songs which helps. It made my daughters feel very special. The age range of the children was 8-11 years. The majority of them really wanted to improve their speaking ability though I was surprised how much English they already knew. They were definitely not beginners.

We were genuinely sad to leave at the end of our two weeks. Not only did we learn about a country I had never thought to visit before but we were shown huge respect and friendship from all whom we encountered. We had the opportunity to visit Warsaw during our weekend off and flew to Krakow at the end of our volunteering for an extra few days of sightseeing.

On a personal note I was delighted to accompany my daughters (in fact I needed to as they were under 18 years old). I could see by the end of the two weeks how they had grown in confidence and belief in themselves. We left with many happy memories.