Thank you to everyone who joined yesterday’s National Volunteer Call! We had a fantastic turnout, and we truly appreciate your continued support and dedication. Here’s a brief recap of what we covered, along with links and resources for your reference.

Welcome & Overview

We kicked off the meeting with an update on our hosting progress and upcoming priorities. We also heard from AFS-USA President, Tara Hofmann, about the critical importance of meeting the September 3rd Department of State deadline and the potential risks if we fall short. Additionally, Jane Ransom, AFS-USA Board Chair, expressed her heartfelt thanks to all of you for the incredible work you’ve done to get us where we are today.

Hosting Advisory Group (HAG) Discussions

• Keith Byron (Greater Indiana AT) shared his experience hosting as part of a same-sex couple and discussed opportunities to engage the LGBTQ+ community more actively. Resources for outreach are included in this document.
• Sarah Clapp (Capital AT) provided an update on the Big Three Challenge, urging teams to place German, Italian, and Thai students. Nearly half of the remaining students are from these countries, so let’s work together to make their dreams come true—and give our volunteers a chance to travel abroad!
• Heather Stertz (World Flags AT) urged everyone to consider ways to engage current students and host families to spread the word about hosting. Encouraging families to ask a friend to host could make a huge difference in meeting our goals.

Call to Action for All Volunteers

We need all of you!  With over 2,500 registered volunteers, if just 7% of us say yes to hosting a student or find a friend to host, we will meet our placement goals on time

• Ask someone to host: This final effort will only succeed with direct, personal outreach. Please use email, phone calls, and text messages to maximize your chances!
• Welcome a student until Halloween: We need all hands-on deck. If you can provide a home for a student, even temporarily, it would make a huge impact.
• Already hosting? THANK YOU! Please consider opening your home to a second student as a welcome placement.

We’re so grateful for your commitment and hard work! We’ve made tremendous progress, and we’re excited to see how our collective team will rally over the next two weeks!

Thank you again for everything you do.