Volunteer to Home Host Cypriot Youth Leaders from August 16th-21st!
The World Affairs Council is excited to announce another summer exchange program for international high school students: Youth Leadership Digital Literacy & Bicommunal Communication. 18 youth leaders and 2 adult mentors from Cyprus! We are looking for volunteers who will open up their homes for 5 days during this program! Students will arrive to your home on Friday, August 16, and leave Wednesday, August 21st, in the morning.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
Here are quick expectations for hosting (and perks!):
- $100 grocery gift card per individual hosted.
- 5 nights in your home to explore a new culture and engage with people from Cyprus.
- A bed in a separate room (can be an air mattress).
- You pay for breakfast and dinner on weekdays and all food on weekends
- Provide transportation to and from programming
- Weekdays the group is with the World Affairs Council
What is a home host?
Home hosting requires a little more time commitment than our dinner hosting opportunities! As a home host we ask you to open up your home for several days to a student (thus far our only programs that require this are our youth exchange programs). We ask that you treat them as part of the family, include them in dinner, and show them around Cincinnati over the weekend! Think of it as a short-term exchange student program!
Home stays are a crucial component of the program that enrich the intercultural experience by allowing these leaders to become more deeply immersed in our local culture. They are also a unique opportunity for host families to learn from and form a long-lasting friendship with an individual from a different country without even leaving Cincinnati!
Where do home hosts have to be located?
Ideally, in the Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky area. Students will have most of their programming in that area, needing to be picked up and dropped off at a designated meeting point everyday. The easier access you have to the area the better. But it’s up to you how far/long you are willing to drive!
What is the time commitment?
This particular program, On-Demand Youth Leadership Program (ODYLP): Digital Literacy, has been changed to a five day time commitment . Students will be need to be picked up from hotel the day they arrive, driven to and from our meeting point each day, and have most meals provided for. Students will also have weekends and most evenings free to spend time with their host families. Volunteer hosts will receive a $100 Kroger gift card for each student they host!
Who can be a home host?
Any volunteer interested in cultural exchange! Volunteers can be individuals, have family residing in their home, empty nesters, etc.! You must have a bed for each student (air mattresses and shared rooms are ok!), pass a background check, and home visit. We will complete an introductory phone call, home visits and conduct background checks on everyone living in the home.
Meet Fuat Bertan Özerdağ, one of the Turkish-Cypriots who will be in Cincinnati!
Fuat is a 16 year old living in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus. Considering himself positive and outgoing person, one of the things he looks forward to is the people he will meet and new memories he’ll create! He plays football (soccer) and basketball, and hopes to go to a baseball or (American) football game while he is here! Cyprus is a divided country between the Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots, of which Fuat is Turkish. He hopes to become a lawyer one day and is passionate about fighting against poverty. He is very excited to meet his host family (that could be you!) and share the Turkish culture and language.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM
For any questions please reach out to Melissa McDonald, Director of Global Education, at mmcdonald@cincyworldaffairs.org
