As our community comes together to find host families for the international students arriving this fall, it’s important for all AFS Staff and Volunteers to keep certain guidelines in mind. Don’t forget that CSIET and Department of State host family recruitment standards must be met in order to ensure the privacy and safety of all participants.
Below are a few key rules to follow for recruiting host families. To read the full hosting standards and guidelines, please visit Help & Learning.
DO
- Explain the various benefits of hosting, both for the student and family.
- Share student bios via email or social media. (For tips on how to do this, visit Help & Learning.)
- Share student-written host family letters with hosting leads.
- Use graphics, social media posts, flyers, email templates, and other resources available on the Field Hub.
DON’T
- DON’T appeal to public pity or guilt to find host families.
- DON’T appeal to urgency or upcoming deadlines.
- DON’T share student photos with hosting leads who have not been fully screened.
- DON’T specify the exact number of students that need to be placed.
The following table may be useful as you reach out to your networks and talk to members of your community about hosting opportunities. The column to the left details what not to do in your communications, and the column to the right suggests techniques to use instead:
Once again, thank you for all your hard work. Keep doing what you do best, and we can meet our hosting goals!