Host a Foreign Exchange Student!

Share Your Home. Change The World.

Youth for Understanding (YFU) is one of the world's largest and most respected international exchange programs!

Help us welcome the world home by hosting a young person for an academic school year or semester. A YFU exchange student becomes a member of your family, participates in family activities, shares in home responsibilities, and provides your family with an international friendship that can last a lifetime!

Through this experience, everyday activities take on a new and exciting twist. Hosting a student from abroad will broaden your entire perspective on the world. It's a great educational opportunity for the whole family and a lot of fun, too!

YFU international exchange students are carefully-selected, chosen based on their academic excellence and teacher recommendations. They have studied English and many have even received scholarships! Your international son or daughter will be between 15-18 years of age and will come from one of over 60 countries that partner with YFU!

More information about hosting a YFU student can be found at http://yfuusa.org/host-families.php If you're interested, please begin the process by filling out a host family application online.

Hosting Requirements:

You should be a loving family who is willing to welcome an international teenager into your home as a member of the family for up to 10 months. Families come in all shapes and sizes; YFU host families represent diverse nationalities, occupations, and religious backgrounds, and live in cities, towns, and rural areas.

Our families embody the rich diversity of American culture and include empty-nesters, single-parent families, families with young children or older children, families with no children at all, single people, LGBT couples, young parents or older parents--all types are encouraged to become host families!

When your family volunteers to host an exchange student, you agree to:

• Be able to provide for an additional member of the family, including a separate bed, suitable study area, and three meals per day. Families do not have to cook every meal for the student, but must provide food that the student can prepare themselves; the family is responsible for either paying for school lunches, or providing food for packed lunches (whatever your own children do if there are other children in the home)
• Have English as the primary language in the home
• Familiarize your student with your hometown and promote participation in school and community events
• Transportation to activities and events. (Our students are not permitted to drive or operate any motorized vehicles due to insurance policies, but they can walk, ride bicycles, or carpool when possible)
• Understand YFU policies and encourage your student to adhere to those policies
• Transportation to and participation in 3 mandatory orientations/trainings for both the student & the host family. Although they are mandated, they are also a fun way for local students and families to get together and talk about how the year is going.

Although host families are not remunerated, the rewarding experience does come with benefits:

• The opportunity to select a student that matches your family's interests
• Cultural and language enrichment
• $50 tax credit per month a child stays in your home
• Minimal out-of-pocket expense. Students come with their own: 1. Spending money (students are responsible for their own clothing costs, outings with friends, sponsored trips, school and sports fees) 2. Health and Damage Insurance provided through the program 3. YFU support from a local representative as well as field, district, and national offices.