VOLUNTEER PROGRAM REACT FOR LIFE
The volunteers of YMCA Thessaloniki respond to contemporary social needs arising from the refugee crisis, engaging with a spirit of service and solidarity towards the vulnerable refugee population. Significant moments of the React for Life volunteer program include:
- Collaboration with the Red Cross Greece – Thessaloniki Branch: In 2015, the YMCA Thessaloniki supported the International Red Cross’s activities in Idomeni, with 60 young volunteers participating in creative activities with refugee children.
- Partnership with the Municipality of Thessaloniki: In 2016, support was provided for sports and creative activities at the Diavata Reception Center, with volunteers and sports and educational materials. A total of 54 visits were organized with 480 volunteers (94 different individuals).
- First Family Camp at YMCA’s Mountain Educational Center in Nymfaio (Florina), 2017: For beneficiaries of the Re.A.C.T. program, involving 101 refugees (parents and children) with exemplary operation and international recognition through YMCA World. YMCA Thessaloniki covered the camp’s operational needs with support from UNICEF and the Municipality of Thessaloniki.
- Organization of Courses in 2018: Greek, English, knitting, and sewing courses for refugees were offered five days a week, supporting 17 volunteers and serving approximately 205 beneficiaries.
In this way, YMCA Thessaloniki is perhaps the only organization that addresses the needs of refugee families holistically from the beginning, creating conditions for integration and inclusion with the local population.
Recent Volunteer Activities
- Conversational Cafés (HELIOS project): The conversational café or discussion group is described as an activity within the teaching of a second/foreign language where participants can converse, and practice spoken language. It complements language learning and serves as a safe space outside the classroom where students can socialize, interact with community members, and develop sociolinguistic awareness in their second language. YMCA Thessaloniki implements this activity as part of the HELIOS project, mobilizing its volunteers!
- Computer Skills (HELIOS project): Aiming to provide as broad support as possible to beneficiaries of refugee programs, YMCA Thessaloniki organizes activities that contribute to skill development. Specifically, recognizing the lack of sufficient knowledge regarding computer use, YMCA Thessaloniki mobilizes its volunteers to offer free Computer Skills classes in a specially equipped space.
Refugees in Volunteer Roles
YMCA Thessaloniki aims for its members to contribute voluntarily and support its goals through the activities and programs it implements. This goal is doubly realized when individuals who first engage with YMCA Thessaloniki as beneficiaries of its programs take on active roles themselves, offering their time, knowledge, and skills to support those in need.
- Tea Eisa: A beneficiary of the HELIOS program and former football player in Sudan, has been working as a volunteer football coach assistant at YMCA Thessaloniki’s sports facilities since September 2021. [See more: https://ymca.gr/the-story-of-tea-eisa-from-sudan/]
- Halyna Ostapchuk: A HELIOS program beneficiary from Ukraine, despite her recent arrival in Greece, immediately took on an active role in supporting her community in Thessaloniki and volunteered as an intercultural mediator in YMCA Thessaloniki’s summer camp program for children from Odessa.
If you wish to offer your knowledge and skills as an act of social solidarity to refugees, please register your volunteer contribution here.εδώ.
For More Information:
Social Action Department
Programs for Refugee Population
Phone: 231 600 1041, – 44, – 45
Email: [email protected]