Foreign exchange students need families to host stays

Tuesday, June 03, 2003 For the <a href=216.15.229.16>Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — Foreign high school students are scheduled to arrive soon for academic semester program homestays and the sponsoring organization needs a few more local host families.

According to John Doty, Pacific International Exchange executive director, the students are all between the ages of 15 and 18 years, are English-speaking, have their own spending money, carry accident and health insurance and are anxious to share their cultural experiences with their new American families. Host families are also eligible to claim a $50 per month charitable contribution deduction on their itemized tax returns for each month they host a sponsored student.

PIE area representatives match students with host families by finding common interests and lifestyles through an informal in-home meeting. Prospective host families are able to review student applications and select the perfect match. PIE can fit a student into just about any situation, whether it be a single parent, a childless couple, a retired couple or a large family.

For the upcoming programs, PIE has students from Germany, the Former Soviet-Union, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Finland, Hungary, Korea, Switzerland, Mexico, Italy, Paraguay, Australia, Yugoslavia, China, Belgium, Vietnam and many other countries. The exchange has also been invited to participate in a special government-funded program to bring scholarship students from the newly independent states of the former of Soviet Union to the United States.

PIE is a non-profit educational organization that has sponsored more than 20,000 students from 40 countries since its founding in 1975. The organization is designated by the U.S. Department of State and is listed by the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel, certifying that the organization complies with the standards set forth in CSIET’s Standards for International Educational Travel Programs.

Allegany County-area families interested in learning more about student exchange or arranging for a meeting with a community representatives may call (800)-631-1818.

The agency also has travel/study programs opportunities available for American high school students, as well as possibilities for community volunteers to assist and work with area host families, students and schools.