Volunteers for Greece

ECHO100PLUS’s success is contingent on our volunteers. They are responsible for the daily completion of activities and are instrumental in making the Hub run smoothly. As Echo100Plus is a non-profit, we need donations to support our volunteers’ hard work and dedication. We provide free housing (or heavily subsidized) and assist with travel expenses for those who need it through the generous donations we receive. Our policy is that money is not a barrier for those committed to helping. Since Echo’s refugee aid projects start in the summer of 2015, we have had the pleasure of working with over 600 volunteers from the most far-reaching corners of the world. In 2018 alone, 50 volunteers have so far been a part of the ECHO team at our ECHO-HUB on Leros. As a result, our volunteers have a major thing in common - a shared humanitarian responsibility and compassion with refugees that are in desperate need of help and kindness. Our volunteers learn invaluable skills such as teamwork, hands-on problem-solving, and experience an exposure to a variety of different cultures and realities. Several of our volunteers have embarked on a career in the humanitarian sector after their experience with Echo, which we are very proud to claim some credit for. Our volunteers are responsible for day-to-day tasks such as resident transportation (to and from the camp to our day centre - the ECHO-HUB), inventory organization and distribution of our clothes storage, teaching classes in various languages, running recreational activities, operations and scheduling, local environmental maintenance and overwhelmingly providing a compassionate, friendly, and respectful environment that is crucial to the well-being of the camp’s residents and ongoing integration process. Our volunteers are truly the backbone of Echo’s operations, and without them, we could not do the work we do. Therefore, we would like to thank all of our current and future donors for providing us with the financial means to sustain our volunteer program.

Ebrahim, Leros Refugee Camp Resident  and ECHO-HUB student commenting on our volunteers:

“The people gathered for no other reason but for humanity and kindness. The people are not famous in the media perhaps because they are not rich in the sight of media, but of course, they are rich because of possession of hearts full of priceless feelings that will never be bought by money...They helped us to continue being hopeful that we can restore and restart our lives in a new world. They illustrated that borders and limitations cannot stop love...You left Leros but not our hearts...”