YES Hosting Email Template
From AFSWiki
(The Following was created by Tamara Jazbec)
Dear friends,
As I know we are all doing all we can to help find host families for those few students who have not yet been placed, I know it is sometimes difficult to think of what to do to help if you are not normally engaged in host family finding. Below are a couple of ideas I had that might help you if your are stumped for some ways to help and if you have good ones that I might use, I'd be grateful if you'd share them with me. If we all take an hour to act on a few ideas today, it might make a big difference for a few kids still patiently, but eagerly and with some anxiety, waiting for news of his or her placement.
One thing I did, was to send the following message to everyone in my personal email address book (feel free to copy and modify any of the text you would like to use in personalizing your own message)
Subject: Hello from T Jazbec: please read and send to your contacts
Hi all family, friends, colleagues,
I work at AFS-USA Intercultural Programs and help to manage a special program initiated after Sept. 11th as a public diplomacy effort to bring youth high school ambassadors from countries with a significant Muslim population to the US for a year exchange. Check out our website: http://www.yesprograms.org . The countries currently involved are Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Turkey.
I am asking you to consider hosting one of our incoming exchange students and to please pass along this information to your friends and family members across the country. You never know who might be interested in this unique and genuine opportunity to share your lives, your family and your community with a high school teenager. Here is a quote from one of our volunteers in Wisconsin who hosted a Saudi student, "Mosab was a wonderful son. If ever anyone wants to experience a whole new way of life this is it. He opened my eyes and heart to a people that sadly get lumped into the ugliness that is going on with the war. People shy away from what is unknown and it is easy to watch TV and believe what we see. This changes your perspective. His family was grateful and respectful of ours. We have kept in touch and will never stop. This is an experience that people need because it will help bridge the mystery of the life in the middle east."
On my study abroad experiences both in high school and college, I think of my own host families who welcomed me into their homes, feed me, supported me and loved me and I have devoted my life, to helping to provide this life changing leadership development experience for other deserving youth. Please consider welcoming an AFS student into your home this year or sending on this information to others you know. Please see follow this link to get started http://www.usa.afs.org and feel free to contact me with any questions you may have 212.479.1167 (work) or tjazbec@afs.org.
Thank you so much for your time,
Tamara
Now's the Time to Host a High School Exchange Student!
Another thing I did, was to add this to my facebook page:
