AFS seeks host families

The Dayton Area American Field Service Council (AFS) is looking for families interested in sharing their homes and culture with a foreign exchange student during the 2019-2020 school year.

The students will be attending local high schools and living with local host families. Host families are currently being sought in Kettering, Fairborn, Oakwood, Yellow Springs, Bellbrook, Miamisburg and Waynesville. The 15-to 18-year-old international students are carefully screened, fully-insured and have studied English for four to eight years or more. Host families come in all varieties — single people, couples with children, couples without children, empty nesters, and single-parent families.

If potential host families apply by July 23, students will arrive in August, in time for the start of the school year, and return to their homes a few weeks after the end of the school year. Families must apply by Aug. 13 for an Aug. 31 arrival and by Sept. 4 for a Sept. 11 arrival. Families also can apply to be “welcome families” who host students on a temporary basis until a permanent host family is found.

Throughout their stay, AFS volunteers from the Dayton area will plan special events, social gatherings, and orientations for the host family members and Dayton-area AFS students. For more information, contact Heidi Fadul at 646381-3358 or hfadul@afsusa.org. You also may place an inquiry at www.afsusa.org/hostfamily/.