Contributions to YFU USA help advance and foster cultural understanding and international friendship through international high school immersion programs. YFU USA depends on charitable giving to sustain our Annual Fund, as well as funding of important scholarship programs designed to provide opportunities for students worldwide to participate on a YFU program.
All YFU USA supporters share an important reward for their contributions and gifts: personal satisfaction from making an investment in cultural understanding and preparing young people for their responsibilities and opportunities in a changing, interdependent world.
There are many ways to give. We look forward to working with you to provide a strong, sustainable future for YFU USA.
YFU USA takes seriously our mission to prepare young people for their responsibilities and opportunities in a changing, interdependent world. We take equally seriously our commitment to prepare and support our host families. YFU USA has a dedicated, caring team of volunteers and staff to support you and your student. The most important member of our team is your local volunteer – your personal contact and your most valuable resource. Supporting your family and local volunteer are a team of YFU staff located in district offices around the country and in our national office in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
"What I like about YFU is that they have such a strong organizational structure. You have, first of all... experience that makes you feel really comfortable. They have been presented with every question and know every situation." Catherine Buckler (YFU USA Volunteer) Washington, DC
Right from the start, your local volunteer representative will be there to answer questions and help you select your exchange son or daughter who is a good match with your family. Throughout the exchange, your volunteer will be in touch with you and your student at least once a month to ensure things are going well and help you with any challenges you and your student may be facing.
"The YFU volunteers were there when we needed them - Just a phone call away." Gretchen Supalla (YFU USA Host Mom) New Richland, MN
Volunteers are trained to help you and your student successfully navigate cross-cultural adjustments and challenges. If problems arise and your volunteer cannot help, he or she will bring in other resources to assist. Trained, professional staff is available to support your family and student 24-hours a day, 365 days a year.
The benefits of hosting a YFU student in your home are as numerous and varied as the families who embrace this life-altering experience. Here are some benefits of hosting as a YFU USA Host Family:
Gain a global perspective
Learn about other cultures because its fun for all ages
Expand your family and it expands the fun
Create exchange memories that last a lifetime
Enrich your school and community by adding an exchange student to your family
Experiencing a global perspective is a family affair
At Youth For Understanding USA, we think the best reason to host an exchange student is the global education that it provides your family.
"We have loved each of our eight exchange students as our own children... and now we have sons and daughters around the globe!" Susan Garrett (Host Mom) Columbia, MD
Imagine welcoming a young person from Brazil, Japan, Germany, or one of over 60 countries into your home. When your family decides to share their lives with a student from abroad, everyday experiences take a new and exciting twist - American traditions gain deeper meaning as you introduce them to your new son or daughter; a casual family chat about world events reveals new perspectives you may never have considered; the dinner table includes exotic new dishes as your exchange student cooks up a taste of home for all to sample. Exchange will broaden your entire family's perspective on the world. It is a great education and its lots of fun, too!
Learning about other cultures is fun for all ages
Many families host for the educational value the experience brings to their own children. For young children, their new big brother or sister may be their first exposure to another language, different customs, and new ways of thinking. These early experiences teach tolerance and can spark a lasting interest in world history, geography, and language.
For teenagers, an exchange brother or sister brings new perspectives to issues facing teens around the globe - making choices for the future, shaping a better world, and having a great time!
American students need a global perspective to succeed in today’s world. Exchange brings that perspective into your own home. Whether your teenager's interests lie in history, economics, science, or foreign language, the skills, insight, and flexibility teenagers will gain by having an exchange student in your home will help prepare them for life in our fast-changing, multicultural world.
If you do not have children or your children are grown, you can still host a YFU student and have a great time doing it! Host families are as diverse as America itself. If yours is a non-traditional household interested in sharing your home with a young person from overseas, your application to host will be considered following special selection procedures. Even if everyone in your family is all grown up, don't be surprised if your exchange experience teaches you a few things too! After all, there is no age limit for a global education.
Expanding your family increases the fun
Frequently, families host because they simply enjoy teenagers. Some want to add another family member. Others feel a loss when one of their own children moves away to work or study and welcome an exchange student into their home to fill the gap. By sharing your interests and love with an exchange son or daughter, you receive love and lifelong friendships in return.
"A lot of people think that you have to have teenagers to be a host family. We felt very strongly that our younger girls could really benefit from it. And it's true... it's been wonderful!" Ann Ellis (YFU USA Host Mom) Upland, CA
Creating exchange memories lasts a lifetime
Picture yourself introducing your exchange son or daughter to American culture by going to a baseball or football game, visiting a museum, attending a concert, window-shopping at the mall, or barbecuing in your own backyard. Whatever your favorite activities sharing them with an exchange student will make lasting memories your whole family will treasure.
Memorable Events:
A Thanksgiving feast goes global with your student mastering a traditional pumpkin pie and you rolling the sushi.
Third grade "Show and Tell" takes an international twist when an exchange big brother or sister shares pictures, stories, and traditional crafts from their home country.
Cherished American values from voting to volunteering become even more meaningful when shared with a young person from abroad.
Hosting a YFU international exchange student is an enriching experience for you and the entire family. By opening your home and heart to a student from overseas, you and your family will gain a new global perspective, many memories, and - quite possibly - a new family member for life!
Why families host
There are perhaps as many reasons to host a YFU student as there are families and students participating in YFU exchanges each year. Hosting is something that will better connect your family to the world in which we live.
Host families have many different faces, and are all part of the American experience. Whether or not you have children, you can be a host family. If you and your family are willing to open yourselves to new experiences, share your lives with a fascinating teenager from a foreign land, and provide guidance, love and support to a young person who is beginning their journey into adulthood, then you too will be a great host family.
Deciding to study abroad means you are ready to embark on a journey of discovery that will last a lifetime. A Youth For Understanding USA (YFU) study abroad program is an experience that will immerse you in the lives, culture and community of a family in one of 40 countries around the globe. It is an opportunity for US high school students and recent graduates to not only learn a new language, but to experience – in a year, semester or a summer program – what life is really like in another part of the world. YFU provides an experience that will forever change how you think of yourself and your view of our global community.
Why Choose a YFU Exchange Program?
When you choose YFU, you choose an international community of organizations that have more than fifty years of worldwide exchange experience. YFU is here to help you every step of the way—guide you through the application, interview, and selection process; arrange your travel; provide additional insurance resources, if needed; and guide you in how to arrange for school credit for your time abroad.
The homestay is at the heart of the YFU experience. You will live with a carefully selected host family who has offered to open their home and hearts to you—providing room, board and a caring home. You will attend school on an academic program and make new friends who will help you understand the culture of the country you are experiencing in a way no tourist trip could match.
You will attend a pre-departure orientation before you leave so you can talk to and hear from staff and volunteers, many of whom are YFU alumni. YFU staff and volunteers ensure you are supported throughout your exchange experience. YFU representatives will be available to assist with your travel needs, welcome you warmly when you arrive; and provide you with the information, logistics, and anything else you need to get from the airport to your host family. After you settle in, most academic programs offer another orientation about the YFU experience in your host country.
Join YFU in the adventure of a lifetime. You’ll discover the experience to be a powerful engine for personal growth and discovery that will influence your perception of yourself, the world and the international community we share.
How will a YFU exchange program benefit you?
Inevitably, someone will ask you why you want to go on an exchange program. It is one of the biggest decisions you will make in your life. The reasons to study abroad are varied and differ for everyone, but some common ones include:
Increase fluency in another language.
Meet new people and forge lifelong friendships.
Love of travel and the personal enjoyment of new experiences.
Desire the college advantage: preferred college admissions and scholarships to participating universities across the United States.
Learn how to interact with people from different backgrounds and cultures by sharing their lives.
Gain a global perspective and be ready to meet the challenges of the future, as a person and as a leader.