This week, students in New York presented their home countries and holiday traditions to first graders. The children had made suitcases and passports and had the exchange students’ countries stamped in their passports.
Eric from China said it was an excellent way to practice English because the children had so many different questions. He said, “What I enjoyed best was to answer the questions from the kids, because it is really challenging to listen to them and then give a good answer. They are so talented in asking different kinds of questions, and I had to find the answer immediately, so to put it another way, it was a kind of progress for me.”
Regional Director Linda Germain facilitated this project with her students. Linda said, “I have been with CCI Greenheart for six years now. I was with another organization for 10 years before that but they did not have the volunteering component which I feel is very important for young people to learn.”
“I enjoy going to the volunteer events with them because I get to see how they interact with the children and the other people around them. It’s nice to see them feel that volunteering is important as well and they talk about taking it home with them.”
These students brought the world to the classroom and inspired little ones to travel the world and be curious about other cultures. Maybe some of these first graders will be exchange students one day!
There are so many ways to volunteer, whether you love children or sharing about your country, or want to advocate for the environment, the elderly, or education.
Learn more about how you can be involved with CCI Greenheart.