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Our Team on the Ground:

Field Coordinator and Legal Representative of Offene Arme in Greece – Pothiti Kitromylidi (Toula)

  • Toula is a founder of the organisation, a resident of Chios, and central to all of our operations! She is responsible for the overall management of the organisation, its financial and  strategic planning, recruitment and management of volunteers and coordinators, and oversight of all aspects of the operations.

Two Distribution Warehouse Coordinators 

  • Two Distribution Warehouse Coordinators work closely with and report to the  Field Coordinator. They share responsibility for the management of the free shop, other distributions, daily operations of the warehouse, supplies  management of volunteers, and the maintenance of a safe environment for all users of the building and surrounding outdoor area. 

Field Coordinator’s Assistant 

  • The Field Coordinator’s Assistant is the right hand of the Field Coordinator. They assist in all areas of administration and play a central role in the recruitment of volunteers. 

Coordinator’s Supporter 

  • The supporter assists the coordinators and stands in for them to cover breaks and absences  and may take on specific areas of responsibility depending on skills, experience and needs at the time.

General Volunteers 

  • A team of 6 to 12 volunteers carry out a wide range of roles to ensure the operations can go ahead. We have recruits from all over the world and of all ages from 18 to 80+

 

Our Remote Team:
 
All of our remote team have experience of volunteering with Offene Arme on the island and have wanted to carry on supporting its work by giving their time to the organisation while having other responsibilities and commitments in their home countries.
 
President/Chairman – Alexander Hirsch 
  • Alex lives and works in Marburg, Germany. He has visited Chios many times as a volunteer and established Offene Arme e.V in 2017 initially as a platform for fundraising and to raise awareness for the situation on the Greek Isles. He now manages the finances of the organisation and provides remote support in all areas including strategy and personnel.    

Fundraising Supporter – Fran 

  • Fran lives and works in London, UK. She has volunteered a couple of times and has brought her considerable skills to the team covering for absent Distribution Warehouse Coordinators on the ground and playing an active remote role in identifying and applying for grants.

Website Supporter – Libby 

  • Libby is a student in Exeter, UK. She has volunteered in Chios several times and continues to support Offene Arme through keeping the website updated with news and pictures from recent distributions, in order to give future donors and volunteers a clear overview of what the organisation does.

Welfare Supporter – Sam

  • Sam is a social worker by background, living in Devon, UK.  He has supported refugees and displaced people at home and abroad for many years

In his words…‘I came to Chios and instantly loved what it was doing – its offer of practical support, a willingness to flex to respond to almost any need – a truly human response to people in difficult circumstances.  My role is in particular to support the wellbeing of the co-ordinators and others, making sure that we are looking after ourselves and each other, in order to that we can offer support to people on Chios’

Field Coordinator’s Supporter – Tamsin

  • Tamsin is retired and lives in Cambridge, UK. She has been a regular volunteer with OA since 2019 undertaking a variety of roles as a general volunteer, supporter and coordinator. Currently she is involved in recruitment and practical support of coordinators, fundraising, data management and financial monitoring.  

In her words…“Chios and the Offene Arme team have become my second home. Perhaps fortunately, thanks to Brexit, I can’t spend more than 90 days there but I love the fact that I am now able to support the work from my home when I am not able to be there in person.”