Could Your Family Help Save the Day?

 I am the State Program Director for a non-profit organization called World Exchange and I need your help.

I have the responsibility to place a group of students from France in the Fresno/Clovis area homes from July 12 – 31, 2012. However, after numerous announcements, letters, phone calls, emails, I have only been able to find a small number of families loving enough to let a French high school student into their lives.

Fifteen Host Families are needed for 9 boys and 6 girls, 14 – 18 years old who will be visiting our area to experience American family life.  This article has been sent to many organizations:

Help Put the World Back Together

We seem divided: country against country and group against group.  In a world growing ever smaller and more interdependent this is not a good sign, nor a healthy trend.  The good news is that we—acting as individuals, families, church and civic groups—can do something about it.

Long-term change means starting with young people.  The most effective and proven solution is one person getting to know, understand, respect, and have fun with another person.  World Exchange is making that happen in the Fresno / Clovis area from   July 12^th through July 31^th.    We are bringing 25 French high school students and their adult leaders here to stay with local families to experience American life.  These students have taken the first step.  They have given up part of their summer vacations to reach out their hands in friendship.  The question is, “Will there be hands on our side to shake theirs?”

The greatest adventure is getting to know the universe of another person: their network of family and friends, their music, their sense of humor, their world perspective.  Families can do this in the comfort of their own homes by welcoming one of these students to stay with them for 19 days.  Lots of support will be provided by local World Exchange State Program Directors, Ben and Carolynn Flores and the leaders coming with the group.  The students will arrive with full insurance and pocket money.  During the last week of their stay World Exchange have arranged an overnight trip for the students and at the end of the stay we will organize a farewell party for all families and their young guests.

We believe that these kids deserve the keys to the city of Fresno and Clovis, and the keys to your hearts.  Civic groups, schools and churches can help enormously by getting behind programs such as World Exchange.  It’s time to confront hatred and misunderstanding.  If we don’t get together and do it now, our children will be fighting wars and terrorists well into the future.  Is that what we want?

If any of the students below sounds like they may be a good fit for your family and you would like to be their host family or if you have questions about our program, please contact Ben Flores at 559-298-2901(Home) or 559-930-3609 (cell) or send us an email at crf1555@comcast.net.
Check out our website at www.worldexchange.org

We have been placing students in the area for the past 25 years. We are a very reputable organization.   World Exchange is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1985.

Below is some information about each student that we need to find a home for.

Simon is 14 years old.
He is an only child but loves to be around older children. He loves to play tennis, and he likes swimming, sail boating, playing video games, watching movies. He likes to eat pasta, fish, chips and ice cream.
On a scale of 1 excellent – 5 poor, his English is a 3

Nolwenn is 18 years old.
She likes to paint and loves art. She has a younger brother. She likes to play computer games. She is studying Law, likes History and Political Science.
On a scale of 1 excellent – 5 poor, her English is a 2

Theo is 17 years old.
He is an only child. His father is a Social Worker and his mother is a Flight Attendant. Theo would like to become a professional pilot. He likes rugby, swimming and riding bikes. He is passionate about aeronautics.
On a scale of 1 excellent – 5 poor, his English is a 3

Lea is 16 years old.
She has an older sister. She lives with her mother. She likes photography and she has ridden horses since she was 5 years old. She jumps horses and she is also a trick rider.
She wants to be a Lawyer or Psychologist.
On a scale of 1 excellent – 5 poor, her English is a 2

Edouard is 15 years old. He has 2 older brothers and an one older sister. He loves to play tennis, basketball, computers and music. He loves American TV shows like Glee, Fringe, How I met your mother.. He would love to work at Apple Computer when he gets out of school.
On a scale of 1 excellent – 5 poor, his English is a 2

Audrey is 17 years old.
She is an only child. She is tri-lingual in Japanese, English and German. Her favorite subjects in school are History, Math and Music. She has played the piano for 10 years and she sings in choir at school. Her father is a Pilot and her mom stays home with her.
On a scale of 1 excellent – 5 poor, her English is a 2

Jean-Baptiste is 18 years old.
He has 1 older and 1 younger brother. He likes to play rugby, tennis, swimming and riding bikes. His father is a Company Director and his mom stays at home with him and his brother. He would like to be an airline pilot when he graduates.
On a scale of 1 excellent – 5 poor, his English is a 4

Flore is 14 years old.
She has 1 older brother and 2 older sisters. She loves to play piano (9 years). She likes museums and shopping. Her father is a Director of Strategy and her mother is a flight attendant. She likes Detective movies, tv series and reading. She likes to swim and has taken classical dance for 7 years.
On a scale of 1 excellent – 5 poor, her English is a 2

Pierre is 16 years old.
He has an older sister. His father is an Engineer and his mother is the Chief Purser for Air France. He likes to wakeboard, swim, boating. He likes to eat Chinese, Italian and Spicy foods.
On a scale of 1 excellent – 5 poor, his English is a 2

Louis is 16 years old.
He is an only child. His father is a Podiatrist and his mother is an Accountant. He plays the guitar, drums and piano. He plays in a band with some friends. He loves to swim. He is into art, photography and movies.
On a scale of 1 excellent – 5 poor, his English is a 2

Diane is 15 years old.
She has a 10 year old brother. She loves to play tennis, basketball, she is very athletic. She likes to shop, be with friends and to read. Her father is a Public Affairs Consultant and her mother is in real estate. She would like to be a journalist when she finishes school.
On a scale of 1 excellent – 5 poor, her English is a 2

Remi is 15 years old.
He has a 7 year old brother and one older sister. His father is a pilot and his mother is a flight attendant. He likes tennis, ping pong, aviation and music. He likes food from all over the world. He would like to be a business man when he gets older.
On a scale of 1 excellent – 5 poor, his English is a 2

Alice is 16 years old.
She has an older brother. Her father is the Regional Tax Director and Her mother is a Tax inspector. She plays the drums and guitar. She loves movies (favorite stars are Johnny Depp and Sean Connery, Nicholas Cage, Matt Damon, Bruce Willis). She likes hiking, biking, skiing, swimming, basketball and soccer.
On a scale of 1 excellent – 5 poor, her English is a 2

Matthieu is14 years old. He has an older brother and sister. His fathers works in a metal company and his mother is Director of Human Resources. He likes handball, basketball and rugby. His favorite subjects in school are English, Spanish and History.
On a scale of 1 excellent – 5 poor, his English is a 3

They are here to experience the American family life, eating hot dogs, pepperoni pizza, shopping at the mall, watching American TV, camping, shooting hoops, hiking and making new friends and practicing their English.

It’s an intercultural exchange, not a vacation. The real purpose for the student is to experience life in the U.S. as it is on a daily basis.

It is really not necessary to have teenagers or a spare bedroom or speak French to be a host family. Children of all ages love the experience and learn so much from it. If your family has the warmth, curiosity and enthusiasm and a big heart to share with a student, we’ll provide the guidance you need. Singled parents welcomed.

They have had 4 – 6 years of English in school. There are also 2 French Adult Chaperones who are fluent in English that accompany them, to handle any problem that might arise. We only ask you to provide room and board for the 3 weeks that they are here.