Local host families needed for student exchange program

(WKBN) – There’s a national need for host families for foreign exchange students.

Ohio is a popular Midwest destination for the American Scandinavian Student Exchange. Families provide room and board for these students who come to study in America. Families can select a high school student who has similar interests and hobbies.

Most of the commitments are five months for a semester, or 10 months for an entire school year. It starts a lifelong friendship between the students and host families.

“The students typically give back to the community, so it’s not only an experience just for the host family, it’s also the community because the students really immerse themselves. Some of our students are scholarship students, so they are required to volunteer,” said Saphia Lesch, ASSE Midwest regional director.

The American Scandinavian Student Exchange places about 1000 students each year across the nation, with about 300 of those in the Midwest.

You can find out more about being a host family online.

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