Thank you for a Productive Year!

Dear Volunteers,

2008 was a very successful year for our Global Volunteers service program in Poland. Thanks to the contribution of all the wonderful volunteers only in 2008 we have taught approximately 700 students and provided 2720 hours of English teaching instruction. Unfortunately, the end of the year has brought this very unfavorable economic situation, which is making a very bad impact on the numbers of the volunteers who are expressing their ability to teach in Poland in 2009. We hope we’ll be able to continue to provide service to the Polish children and adults throughout the next year and we’ll all celebrate the 20th anniversary of Global Volunteers’ work in Siedlce in 2010!

Our host representative and the community partners would also like to thank you so much for all your help and express how much they count on Global Volunteers continuous support in their community. Here are the thoughts that they would like to share with you:

Marek Blaszczyk (Siedlce county government representative): “We’ll never forget the help you have given to the thousands of the Polish children and adults. Incredible changes have taken place in Poland over the last eighteen years and you have played a very important role in this process. But please remember that your help in all the rural schools of Siedlce area is still desperately needed in order to create equal opportunities for children from the less developed part of Poland.”

Maryla Cudna, Cisie Elementary school principle: “We hope that next year we will be able to continue our English lessons with the volunteers as this is an invaluabe help for our school. We cannot imagine not having these classes. They are especially important for the children for whom this is the only contact with the real life English, with the culture of a foreing coutry, the priceless oportunitty for practice of the English language that is necessary for improving their future”.

Antonina Bielak, Niwiski Elementary school principle: “The classes conducted by the volunteers bring umbelievable results in our school The English language is necessary in the present times and extremely needed to function properly in life. The work of the volunteers is really indespensable in our school.”

Thank you again for everything you have done for us so far. Our new Global Volunteers’ catalog will be arriving in the next few weeks in your mail and I would be very grateful if you would consider helping our children again in 2009. If you are unable to return to Poland or to join another service program, I encourage you to support Global Volunteers’ work in my country by a general donation to the organization. You could also tell others about your experiences in Poland and encourage them to serve.

I would like to wish each of you and your family a very peaceful holiday season and a happy 2009! I hope that our paths will cross again in the near future!

With fondest memories,

Dorota Wierzbicka
Poland Country Manager