Voluntary charity work (Englsih teaching) - Gdansk

Hi,

As some of you know, I'm moving to Gdansk soon. You may also recall that I qualify as a teacher of English in 2 days time. What you didn't know is that I have an awful habit of giving my time away. Whilst I will no doubt want to suplement my income with private teaching, I am also keen to give up a little bit of my time to help those who could benefit from some help with English. of course, only once I've actualy got a job and settled, so it coule be a couple of months.

Does anybody know of any charities, scout groups, etc in the area or other such non-profit organisations such as local schools who might be interested in such assistance? Note that I will only do this for non-profit organisations.

many thanks

Tony

Of course... it would help if I could actually spell... English!! oops !

Very admirable sentiments.

Your biggest problem is that the kind of organizations that could most benefit from your offer will be the hardest to find and/or operate in without being competent in Polish. Another problem is they're liable to be in inconvenient places (like the countryside).

Some possible suggestions (without helpful things like addresses).

1. teaching (primarily written) English to deaf kids (but without written Polish or sign language that could be tough)

2. see if there's a branch of Barka (organization for helping homeless people get on their feet) in Gdańsk

3. see if you can find a helpful soul in an unemployment office who could set up classes for job seekers

My main advice is to ask your students and/or acquaintances about likely projects, visit a time or two before actually committing yourself and go with your instincts when choosing (warning: make sure that no one's collecting money from your students without telling you).

Hi and thanks for the comments.

I will be keeping my car in Gdansk so going out to the countryside would be a pleasure. Also, I 'should' be A2 level in Polish before my arrival, if I work hard enough on the courses I have for the next 3 weeks. If I mess up, my partner will no doubt translate a bit for me :)

Your advice is very good and I shall try your suggestions. I also need to make sure that my free lessons are via some charitable organisation rather than just 'free lessons' to avoid upsetting paying customers.

The idea bout visiting a few times first is a great idea!

thanks again

Tony

i dont know who you are but my name is eda and I live in milano. I took a homeless polish 18 year old named Matteus home 2 weeks ago in milano. its a long story and I will be happy to email you details but the kid went back to poland and his hungry and without a place to sleep. He stayed by me and is good and honest. he went to a church today looking for help. no one wanted to help him. He is now with a polish woman for next couple hours who I asked to feed him but she lives in another town. her name is olga and her tel number is 0048721320642. I will give you my email because if you need more details I will be happy to give him. If you can help pls do hes a great kid.

Thanks
Eda

sorry this is edas email: thesaint158@yahoo

Hi Eda,
I'm really sorry, I'm not in such a position to be able to directly offer this lad the help that he needs. I am also new to Poland so I don't really know what to advise. Hearing that the church turned him away comes as no surprise to me and frankly sickens me that such an institution turns away people in genuine need.

I'll ask a few friends about where this boy might be able to find help but please don't rely on this happening quickly, if I can even find the information.

An update on this thread from my own original plea; I moved to Gdansk and some of my friends are members of a local volunteer organisation for disadvantaged children. Therefore, taking into account the new found free time I have with my new job starting in January, I can finally get back into volunteering myself and go teach these kids English and join in other activities to try to improve their lives just a little bit.

regards

Tony