Volunteering in Greece
Doação protegida
THE QUICK OVERVIEW
WHO: D.J. Reinhardt...(a.k.a. Me)
WHAT: Service Trip with http://www.refugeeslesvos.com/
WHERE: Greece
WHEN: May 5th - 20th
WHY: Read below...
THE "WHY"
My name is DJ Reinhardt and I'm from Missoula, Montana. As many of you know, I spent half of last year in France and Italy and then did a semester studying Creative Writing in England. After several fortunate events, and thanks to my very generous coach, Keith Henman, I ended up playing basketball for a National League team in Exeter, England (Those of you who know me, know how ironic this is). One of my teammates in England was a Syrian refugee, her name was Reem.
Reem was quiet, reserved, and convinced that her English wasn’t good enough for conversation. She worked a full time job while playing for the team and spent most of her time concerned about her family stuck back in Syria. This left very little time for her to make friends or have much of a life aside from work. I wanted to hear Reem's story and be a friend to her, so I began taking the train up to Exeter to spend the afternoon with her once a week. Our days were simple; we ate good food, drank good coffee, and talked.
Reem’s shy demeanor slowly opened up to reveal one of the most generous, kind, and encouraging hearts I’ve ever met.I knew about the crisis in Syria. I knew about the war, but it wasn’t until Reem sat in front of me and told me her story, that tragedies of war became real. I realized how lucky I was and how devastating war is.
I have the desire to go and be the hands and feet, to love these people, and to show that the rest of the world wants to help. Now I have the opportunity to do just that.
In May of this year (THAT’S IN TWO MONTHS) I will graduate college, and what better graduation gift than going to Greece to help the thousands of refugees arriving daily. These people are traveling across the ocean and reaching for safety - and they need our help. All associations aside, all religions aside, these are human beings, men, women, and children looking for refuge from the terrors of war.
If you are moved by this crisis, I would ask that you consider helping fund my trip to Greece. Everything is volunteer based and self funded. If you’re curious about the organization I will be working for, you can check it out under this link.
http://www.refugeeslesvos.com
We could be doing anything from helping people get off boats, sorting donations and clothes, making and handing out food, setting up tents, or just making kids laugh. The needs are ever changing.
Your contributions will help send me to Greece, find accommodation, buy food, and just love on the people there. Anything left over from this campagin will be donated directly to the organization I volunteer for.
Thank you so much for reading and considering helping fund this trip. Any and all donations help and are appreciated more than you know. Even if you can’t donate, I would greatly appreciate your prayers and words of encouragement as I prepare my heart for this service trip.
THANK YOU GUYS!
ADDITONIAL INFORMATION
If you'd like to read more stories about Syrian refugees, the Famous Humans of New York photographer, Brandon Stanton, interviewed refugees in New York City. I would highly recommend reading this article and taking the time to learn more about this issue, just like I will be doing as I prepare for this trip.
http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/09/28/hony-refugee
If you’d like to learn more about volunteering in Greece, or would like to send clothing donations you can follow this link.
http://lesvosvolunteers.com
Also, here are a few links to videos Reem made about her personal experience living in the war. One is a song she wrote and the other is a tribute to her friend, who was killed last year.
https://www.facebook.com/reem.chalabi.9/videos/10207465271977691/?__mref=message_bubble
https://www.facebook.com/reem.chalabi.9/posts/10204583134726061?__mref=message_bubble
WHO: D.J. Reinhardt...(a.k.a. Me)
WHAT: Service Trip with http://www.refugeeslesvos.com/
WHERE: Greece
WHEN: May 5th - 20th
WHY: Read below...
THE "WHY"
My name is DJ Reinhardt and I'm from Missoula, Montana. As many of you know, I spent half of last year in France and Italy and then did a semester studying Creative Writing in England. After several fortunate events, and thanks to my very generous coach, Keith Henman, I ended up playing basketball for a National League team in Exeter, England (Those of you who know me, know how ironic this is). One of my teammates in England was a Syrian refugee, her name was Reem.
Reem was quiet, reserved, and convinced that her English wasn’t good enough for conversation. She worked a full time job while playing for the team and spent most of her time concerned about her family stuck back in Syria. This left very little time for her to make friends or have much of a life aside from work. I wanted to hear Reem's story and be a friend to her, so I began taking the train up to Exeter to spend the afternoon with her once a week. Our days were simple; we ate good food, drank good coffee, and talked.
Reem’s shy demeanor slowly opened up to reveal one of the most generous, kind, and encouraging hearts I’ve ever met.I knew about the crisis in Syria. I knew about the war, but it wasn’t until Reem sat in front of me and told me her story, that tragedies of war became real. I realized how lucky I was and how devastating war is.
I have the desire to go and be the hands and feet, to love these people, and to show that the rest of the world wants to help. Now I have the opportunity to do just that.
In May of this year (THAT’S IN TWO MONTHS) I will graduate college, and what better graduation gift than going to Greece to help the thousands of refugees arriving daily. These people are traveling across the ocean and reaching for safety - and they need our help. All associations aside, all religions aside, these are human beings, men, women, and children looking for refuge from the terrors of war.
If you are moved by this crisis, I would ask that you consider helping fund my trip to Greece. Everything is volunteer based and self funded. If you’re curious about the organization I will be working for, you can check it out under this link.
http://www.refugeeslesvos.com
We could be doing anything from helping people get off boats, sorting donations and clothes, making and handing out food, setting up tents, or just making kids laugh. The needs are ever changing.
Your contributions will help send me to Greece, find accommodation, buy food, and just love on the people there. Anything left over from this campagin will be donated directly to the organization I volunteer for.
Thank you so much for reading and considering helping fund this trip. Any and all donations help and are appreciated more than you know. Even if you can’t donate, I would greatly appreciate your prayers and words of encouragement as I prepare my heart for this service trip.
THANK YOU GUYS!
ADDITONIAL INFORMATION
If you'd like to read more stories about Syrian refugees, the Famous Humans of New York photographer, Brandon Stanton, interviewed refugees in New York City. I would highly recommend reading this article and taking the time to learn more about this issue, just like I will be doing as I prepare for this trip.
http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/09/28/hony-refugee
If you’d like to learn more about volunteering in Greece, or would like to send clothing donations you can follow this link.
http://lesvosvolunteers.com
Also, here are a few links to videos Reem made about her personal experience living in the war. One is a song she wrote and the other is a tribute to her friend, who was killed last year.
https://www.facebook.com/reem.chalabi.9/videos/10207465271977691/?__mref=message_bubble
https://www.facebook.com/reem.chalabi.9/posts/10204583134726061?__mref=message_bubble
Organizador
D.j. Reinhardt
Organizador
Missoula, MT