Vegetarian Host Families for Vegan Foreign Exchange Students

[Guest guest]

Michelle Inciong <MichelleI

Polish Foreign Exchange Student - Vegan

Thursday 24 August 2000 17:38:57 -0400

 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

My name is Michelle A. Inciong and I am a Regional Director for the

non-profit organization, the Program of Academic Exchange (PAX.)

 

I am seeking your assistance and guidance in helping us find any leads for

potential Host Families for one of our foreign exchange students, Marie, who

comes to us from Germany. She enjoys canoeing and would just love some

continuity with the sport while in the United States for one high school

semester. For some families, a semester seems quite a long time, and we can

arrange for a 6-8 week Welcome Family Period instead.

 

It is my hope that you would be in touch with at least one family that might

be interested in hosting Maria. She is 17 years old and would be in the

11th or 12th grade in the US system, has had five years of English, 3.5

years of French, and has a GPA of A-. We think she's just a remarkable

student with additional interests that include youth club, badminton,

playing the guitar, skating, cycling and fiddling with the computer…

 

A little more about PAX...

 

We look for the best possible placements based on a number of criteria.

Most important for us is to find a Host Family whose interests match our

students' interests. The families we seek out must offer the student a bed

or a room to share and, of course, a lot of love and support. Community

Coordinators throughout the United States would share profiles of our

students with prospective families, interview the families and, if there's a

match, make sure there is an opening for the student at the local public

high school or private school. Our Community Coordinators are also there to

offer guidance and support for the students and families throughout the

school year.

 

We would normally have all our students placed at this time but it is a very

difficult year for our organization; a lot of families are taking a break

from hosting students this year. Most of the time it is because the

families have had too good of an experience and need time to get over having

been separated from their student at the end of the home stay period.

Others are taking their same foreign exchange student in for a second year

in a row, as the students head out for college in the United States. In the

meantime, we still have a number of students left to arrive and to place and

we are racing against time.

 

I would love to send you Maria's profile and more information that might

answer some questions you may have about PAX. If you could reply with a fax

number and share this e-mail with friends or colleagues who might be

interested in finding out more about Maria and our other students, we would

greatly appreciate it. If there is an interest, we will need to check with

the school district for openings, keep our fingers crossed, and go from

there.

 

I very much look forward to hearing from you and thank you in advance for

your kindness. Please contact me at the number below and feel free to find

out more about us on our website. Should you or an interested party be

unable to reach me at the office, please advise that Michelle asked you to

call and which state you are calling from, for the appropriate Regional.

 

Sincerely,

 

Michelle A. Inciong

Regional Director

PAX

 

800.555.6211 ext. 115

www.Pax.org