Ayusa seeks host families

MAT-SU — Ayusa, a nonprofit organization that provides exchange opportunities to high school students from around the world, is looking for families in the Mat-Su Valley area interested in hosting international high school students for the 2011-12 school year.

“Mat-Su Valley host families are the heart and soul of Ayusa’s foreign exchange program,” said Dwight Hunter, regional director for Ayusa and the local contact for Mat-Su Valley. “Mat-Su Valley families have been hosting Ayusa exchange students for the last six years, and the experience has been transformative for the students, who blossom in the local community through support from the families and schools.”

Ayusa foreign exchange students come from more than 60 countries, are fully insured, bring their own spending money and are proficient in English. Whether from Japan or Brazil, India or Sweden, Ukraine or Mexico, France or Lebanon, foreign exchange students are a window into another culture and a great way to travel the world without leaving your home.

There is no “typical” American host family and Ayusa welcomes all interested families, with or without children. Host families provide three meals a day and a bedroom (either private or shared). All host families must pass a criminal background check and a home visit by an Ayusa representative.

For more information, contact Katherine Priggie at (415) 434-5563 or visit ayusa.org.