If you’ve ever thought about welcoming an exchange student into your home and family, now’s the time to learn more. AFS (formerly American Field Service), the leading international high school student exchange program, needs families in the community to host high school students for an academic year or six months. Students arrive in August.

All kinds of families can host—two-parent households with young children or teenagers, single-parent families, families with adopted children, foster parents, as well as couples and single people who do not have children or who have grown children. One of the most important characteristics of a host family is being eager and excited to share your life and activities while providing the same kind of care, support and comfort as you would to your own child or family members.

AFS students come from more than 40 countries and represent many different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Local AFS Volunteers enroll students in high school and support students and their families to help both gain the most from their experience. In addition to host families, AFS needs people who are interested in becoming volunteer liaisons to work locally with families and their hosted students.

Anyone interested in learning more about hosting or volunteering with AFS should visit www.afsusa.org/hostfamily or call 1-800-876-2377. AFS Intercultural Programs/USA is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization. The mission of AFS is to work toward a more just and peaceful world by providing international and intercultural learning experiences to individuals, families, schools, and communities through a global volunteer partnership.