Welcome families serve as temporary host families for AFS exchange students until a permanent (semester or full academic year) host family can be identified. This ensures that incoming exchange students can start school on time and begin their exchange year in the U.S. without delay. Welcome families can host anywhere from a few weeks to a few months and are often involved in the process of identifying a permanent family for their student.
This toolkit is meant to help volunteers and families identify these permanent host families for their student in their community through informational language, storytelling, and community-based strategies.
Informational Recruitment
One way to recruit host families is to provide straightforward information about the host family experience. This can include language about what a welcome family is and how the process works.
You can find information on what a welcome family is here on MyAFS Help & Learning. Utilize this sample language when speaking to potential permanent host families.
Storytelling
Storytelling is an incredibly effective way to recruit host families! Describing the hosting experience in the context of being a welcome family can be very powerful, especially when you highlight the relationships and growth that can come out of hosting for such a short time! Here are two things you can do to recruit host families through storytelling:
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Share an updated recording, such as a video or audio clip, from the student - have the student describe what their exchange experience has been like so far. It's also helpful to hear about ways they've already immersed themselves in your community, such as sports they've joined, friends they've made, and volunteer opportunities they've signed up for! This shows prospective host families that the students is already making the most of their exchange and that they'd love to continue these experiences. You can also share photos since they are in the U.S., unless the student does not give permission.
- Share testimonials from current welcome families - or your own family if you are one! Whether it's written, or a video/audio clip, hearing about their experience hosting (even for a short time) can show how quickly hosting makes an impact. This also provides more information about the student from people who have gotten to know them and their personality and goals. You can also share this video highlighting Tracy Neale's life-changing experience as a host mom!
Community-focused Ask
Many families decide to host because they've interacted with exchange students or AFS volunteers in their community. This provides them an opportunity to experience the "AFS Effect" without the pressure of signing up to host right away. Engaging with the community for recruitment is a great way to recruit host families - especially first-time hosts! Here are some things you can do:
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Whether you're a volunteer or a welcome family, you can join your local team at a tabling event and bring your exchange student! This provides them with the opportunity to share their story with potential hosts. People are more likely to be interested in hosting if they've spoken with the student firsthand and learned about their interests, culture, and goals. Here is a template to invite welcome families to local events with their student!
- Focusing on first-time host families can be an effective way of identifying those who may be interested in hosting. If you're a welcome family, you can tell friends and family about the great experience you've had hosting an exchange student and invite them to try it by taking over as a host parent. This video documenting a first-time host family's experience is a great resource to share with them if they're curious about it!