Dear AFS-USA Volunteers and Friends,
As many of you may have heard, Sandy Jurkowski passed away on August 31st after a valiantly fought long battle with cancer. Her volunteerism with AFS Intercultural Programs spanned almost 40 years.
Sandy began volunteering with AFS in 1982 when the Jurkowski family hosted Hans from Belgium for the 82/83 school year at Tustin HS. During the next school year, their son Mark and our daughter Meredith applied to go abroad with AFS; Mark was placed in France and Meredith was sent to the UK (no choices on where to go back then). As parents, we were asked to volunteer with the Tustin AFS Chapter. Sandy became Hosting Coordinator and I became Sending Coordinator. We weren’t quite sure what we’d signed up for, but we soon found out! We often joked about how we graduated from Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, where we both had been leaders, on to AFS. Over the years Sandy assumed many roles while continuing with Hosting on both the chapter and county level: Chapter President, Orange County Area Team Coordinator, Hosting Arrival and Orientation Coordinator, and more recently Orange County Volunteer Coordinator. The Jurkowski home hosted innumerable meetings, and Sandy always had a homemade cake or baked treat to share.
If you’d like to send a card to the family, the address is:
8321 E. Hillsdale
Orange, CA 92869
Home phone: 714/639-5717
To make a donation in her memory:
AFS Intercultural Programs
There’s a box to check: Dedicate your donation “In honor of or in memory of”
America Cancer Society
Click: Memorial & Honor Giving
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family!
Sincerely,
Kathy Schultz
AFS Orange County AT Coordinator, Sending & NSLI-Y Coordinator
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Photo: Sandy and Skee in 2019 celebrating their 80th birthdays! Skee was always very supportive of Sandy, and joined her on innumerable host family interviews! Many AT meetings were held at their home.
SUMMARY OF VARIOUS ROLES & POSITIONS SANDY HELD:
Roles with AFS over almost 40 years of volunteering:
Host Family to Hans from Belgium (1982/83) school year
Hosting Coordinator – Tustin Chapter
Chapter President – Tustin Chapter
*Keeper of over 40 international flags – loaned out to local high school for graduations and special events.
After Area Teams were formed:
Area Team Coordinator – Orange County Area Team
Continued as Hosting Coordinator along with AT Coordinator – often interviewed new host families with husband, Skee.
Arrival & Hosting Orientation Coordinator
She had a soft spot for hosting; she hosted continuously from 1982 through 2018 when cancer intervened.
Volunteer Coordinator – 2017/2018 to present