Change Your Lives This Summer by Hosting an Exchange Student
Host an international teen for 1 to 4 weeks this summer
Each year hundreds of participants come on CCI Greenheart’s Short-term ESL and American Culture Programs. Hosting one of these students is a great way to get a taste of the host family experience. Students come from several countries throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America. CCI Greenheart seeks families in various communities in the U.S. interested in volunteering to host an international teen or adult for 1-4 weeks*. The majority of students come in June, July and August**. Hosting a few short weeks can lead to a lifelong friendship!
Group Homestay Program
On a group program, exchange students arrive with other teens who will also be hosted in your community. Group programs keep students busy throughout the week with English classes, and/or excursions and cultural activities. The group is organized by a trained CCI Greenheart Local Coordinator (LC) who will provide you with information specific to each group, including the nationality of the students, hosting dates and a program calendar. Generally these students are ages 13-18 years old.
Independent Homestay Program
On this program, exchange participants arrive by him or herself. There are no organized activities on this program; the participant simply joins your family in everyday activities and does personal sightseeing. In some cases, they volunteer throughout the week at a local non-profit organization to practice their English and give back to the hosting community. Participants on this program are ages 15+.
Some of our expectations regarding host families include:
- Be genuinely interested in sharing their culture and learning about another, and including their student in their everyday family life
- Have 2+ family members in the home related by blood or marriage (Could be a family with teens, with younger children, couple with no children/empty nesters, or single parent with child)
- Provide a bed and place for student to keep their things. (Our teen students can share a room with a host sibling of the same gender who is at least 8 years old)
- Be able to provide some help with transport of student to/from the meeting point (on group programs), on week days. (We can help arrange carpooling.)
- Provide 3 meals per day to their student. (A host parent can show the student how to prepare their own breakfast and pack their own lunch, on weekdays.)
- Speak English as the primary language in the home.
- Allow CCI Greenheart coordinator to interview family in their home within the next month.
- Download the Short-term hosting opportunities brochure
Complete an online application form and background check:Exchange students will have their own spending money and insurance coverage. A CCI Greenheart local coordinator and (on group programs) adult leader from the students’ countries will be available to students and families throughout the program to resolve any questions or concerns.
For more information please contact Short-term Programs Director, Nicole Cook, at 312-264-1609 or email ncook@cci-exchange.org.
* In some cases families may host up to 8 weeks
** Some participants arrive in non-summer months