{"id":32223,"date":"2019-07-31T06:00:21","date_gmt":"2019-07-31T10:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=32223"},"modified":"2019-07-26T10:32:10","modified_gmt":"2019-07-26T14:32:10","slug":"kennett-student-skips-the-usual-vacation-to-teach-kids-in-crete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=32223","title":{"rendered":"Kennett student skips the usual vacation to teach kids in Crete"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Cassidy Matz with some of the students whe worked with in Crete.<\/p><\/div>\n

Kennett Square early childhood education student Cassidy Matz thinks tourism has its place.\u00a0 But, it\u2019s not what lured her to the sunlit shores of Crete; the broad smiles of the children she taught each day on her \u201cvolunteer vacation\u201d were. Matz is among a growing minority of Americans who choose service over tourism in travelling abroad.\u00a0 Teaching simple English lessons under the direction of local teachers, Matz was part of a two-week volunteer team in Malevizi, on the island\u2019s rugged northern coast. <\/p>\n

Matz said she chose the unique travel option to gain an \u201cinsider\u2019s understanding\u201d of Cretan culture and modern history through the daily lives of classroom students.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast summer, I remembered that a friend of mine from high school had posted about a service experience she had taken, over the summer to Crete, Greece with Global Volunteers. In her pictures, she was teaching English to Elementary school kids. At first, I was so jealous of the fact she was abroad, but after looking at her pictures and reading a blog about her adventure, I finally figured out that\u2019s exactly what I wanted to do.\u201d said Matz.<\/p>\n

The program is coordinated through Global Volunteers, a nonprofit, nonsectarian development assistance organization in special consultative status with the United Nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cServing with Global Volunteers in Greece has changed my perspective on teaching, my limitations, what I should be grateful for, and my life overall. I also learned that I can do absolutely anything I set my mind to. After pushing myself out of my comfort zone and traveling by myself successfully for the first time, abroad, I feel limitless, as if I could conquer any problem or situation that comes my way.\u201d Matz said.Global Volunteers formed service partnerships with Greek municipalities in 1995 to provide support in teaching English \u2013 the language of commerce, technology and opportunity –\u00a0 to children and families in the mountain and coastal areas of the island.\u00a0 In recent years, short-term volunteers of all backgrounds and ages have taught basic and intermediate language skills in classrooms and summer language camps to help students meet standards for entry into high school and beyond.<\/p>\n

Volunteers serving in the Gazi schools work with students whose families continue to struggle under a weakened Greek economy, and face the added challenge of increasing competition for limited places in the Cretan higher education system.\u00a0 In Greece, private schools are more accessible to under-privileged students, who pay modest fees for tuition. Global Volunteers works with schools that have agreed to suspend tuition to students who cannot afford to pay, and who demonstrate a desire to learn and improve their English.\u00a0 One school in particular is attended by at least 45 percent refugee children from Albania, Bulgaria, Morocco and Syria.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned how grateful I am for everything I have. While serving the children of Crete, I also received so much. They gave me more happiness than I could ever have hoped to give them. I\u2019ve been transformed and encouraged by finding \u201cthe joy of people,\u201d and they motivate me to do the same.\u201d said Matz.<\/p>\n

Matz said time was outside of the work day and on weekends to participate in \u201cthe usual tourist things,\u201d such as hiking, shopping and museum and archeological tours.<\/p>\n

No special skills are necessary to join most Global Volunteers service programs \u2013 only a curiosity about the world, a desire to be of service, and a high degree of flexibility.\u00a0 Work projects are determined by the host communities, directed by local leaders, and focus on services for at-risk children and their families.\u00a0 (http:\/\/www.globalvolunteers.org\/serve\/development.asp<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Global Volunteers invites people of all ages and backgrounds to serve in this unique way \u2013 to give back and make a genuine difference by working with and learning from and about local people in their community.\u00a0 Since 1984, the organization has established more than 100 long-term development partnerships with community organizations on six continents.\u00a0 Volunteers provide labor and financial resources to local projects to help children and women thrive. Short-term volunteers are the \u201cinfinitely renewable resource\u201d keeping support and energy flowing into the communities, according to Global Volunteers President and CEO Bud Philbrook.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The fixed tax-deductible service program contribution covers three meals each day, community hotel lodging, local transportation, medical and emergency evacuation insurance, a trained team leader and project materials. Airfare and visas are extra.\u00a0\u00a0 Global Volunteers:\u00a0 800-487-1074, em***<\/span>@**************<\/span>rs.org<\/span><\/a>, www.globalvolunteers.org\/greece<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kennett Square early childhood education student Cassidy Matz thinks tourism has its place.\u00a0 But, it\u2019s not what lured her to the sunlit shores of Crete; the broad smiles of the children she taught each day on her \u201cvolunteer vacation\u201d were. Matz is among a growing minority of Americans who choose service over tourism in travelling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[11374,9192,11373],"class_list":["post-32223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-cassidy-matz","tag-fetured","tag-global-volunteers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32223"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32224,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32223\/revisions\/32224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}