CAZENOVIA — Greenheart Exchange, a non-profit international educational exchange organization, is seeking Cazenovia area volunteers to host foreign exchange students for the 2023-24 school year.

One of three branches of the non-profit Greenheart International, Greenheart Exchange offers cultural exchange programs in the United States for people all around the world with the mission of promoting cultural understanding, academic development, environmental consciousness, and world peace.

The organization annually provides over 900 exchange students from more than 60 countries the opportunity to study in local public high schools for a five-month semester or a ten-month academic high school year.

This year, Greenheart has already placed one student, a 16-year-old boy from Ghana named Godfred, “Goddy,” at Cazenovia High School (CHS). He will be hosted by Jennifer Wardell and Tom Revelle of Cazenovia.

“He is a drummer and hopes to become a lawyer or a journalist,” said Catherine Jeannin, a local Greenheart coordinator.

CHS has three additional spots open for exchange students, but host families have yet to be secured for them.

According to Jeannin, Greenheart has many students to choose from, and they must be placed by Aug. 29.

“Imagine the kids waiting anxiously back home, waiting to hear if their dream to experience American life and culture will come true,” she said. “They’ve been waiting for well over a year.”

In the past 13 years, Jeannin has placed over 150 students from around the globe into several Central New York school districts, including Cazenovia, Chittenango, Canastota, Oneida, Vernon Verona Sherrill, Westmoreland, Fayetteville-Manlius, Fabius-Pompey, and Bishop Grimes.

“The Cazenovia community has welcomed some amazing students from Japan, Bulgaria, the Gaza Strip, Spain, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Poland, Germany, South Korea, and Bolivia,” Jeannin said.

Greenheart placed four students at CHS both this past school year and the previous school year.

The 2022-2023 students were Medhat from Gaza Strip, Andy from Bulgaria, Reisa from Japan, and Julene from Spain.

The 2021-2022 placements were Faham from Pakistan, Lobar from Uzbekistan, Sarec from Germany, and Kota from Japan.

Jeannin said she works primarily with “grants students,” high school students who have received a scholarship to come to the US for 10 months.

Two of the main student exchange scholarship programs are the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program and the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program.

Established in 1992 under the FREEDOM Support Act, the FLEX program enables high school students from 21 countries across Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia to live and study for an academic year in the US. The YES program, modeled after FLEX, was established following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, to build relationships and break down stereotypes between Americans and countries with significant Muslim populations. Applicants to both programs compete for scholarships through a rigorous, merit-based selection process.

“Under the auspices of the State Department, American Councils for International Education sends us students from the FLEX and YES programs,” said Jeannin. “The objective is to establish better relations with countries from the former Soviet Union and [with] Muslim majority countries, [respectively]. . . The students from FLEX and YES come here to learn about American democracy, the principles of a market economy, and how to help one’s community through volunteering. The students are required to volunteer a minimum of 40 hours, [but] many achieve 100-plus. Many return to their home countries and become leaders in various ways. To be clear, all exchange students bring cultural diversity to our communities and teach us about the world beyond our shores. They are a gift to us all.”

This year, Greenheart was allotted 53 YES students and it still needs to place 11. It was also allotted 86 FLEX students and it still needs to place 17, according to Jeannin.

“Greenheart is one of a few placement organizations for grants students in the country,” she said.

Goddy is a YES program finalist.

He arrived on Aug. 7 in Washington DC with other YES finalists.

According to Jeannin, the YES students were greeted by American Councils and given an orientation before being dispersed throughout the United States to their host families.

On Aug. 9, Goddy and other students from the YES and FLEX programs arrived in CNY and were greeted by their host families and three local coordinators, including Jeannin.

The students placed by Greenheart in CNY schools this year have come from Montenegro, Indonesia, Egypt, Poland, and the Philippines.

On Aug. 10, Jeannin reported that more students were expected to arrive later that week and the following week from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Moldova, and elsewhere.

Jeannin is a French teacher at Oneida High School. She first got involved with student exchange through a summer program working with French and Spanish students during the month of July.

“I thought it would be a good summer job and good for my students to connect with kids from France,” she said. “It was fantastic. Thirteen years later, my former students are sending me Instagram pics with their French exchange students. They are friends for life. The Oneida families embraced the experience, and one [has been] a repeat host family ever since. I absolutely love the connections that are made between [the] American families and exchange students. It’s a life-changing experience for all.”

Jeannin recalled that when she transitioned from the summer program to the all-year program, her perspective changed as she witnessed how deep and meaningful the connections between the students and host families became after 10 whole months together.

“In 2019-2020, I became involved with the [grants students], and my passion for exchange students increased tenfold,” she said. “I have learned so much about countries that I had never heard of before and of places that I can only dream of visiting one day, [such as] Egypt, India, Tunisia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Indonesia, Moldova, Tajikistan, etc. I believe it is essential for global diplomacy that people from different cultural and religious backgrounds meet and learn about each other because, at the end of the day, we discover that we are all striving for the same things — love, stability, peace, and prosperity.”

Becoming a host

According to an Aug. 4 press release calling for local Greenheart hosts, volunteer host families come from varied economic, religious, and racial backgrounds and include working parents, “empty nesters,” single parents, and single individuals.

Hosts are responsible for providing open communication, encouragement, patience, and sound advice; a separate bed, which can be in a shared room with a host sibling of similar age and same gender; a quiet place to study; three daily meals; local transportation as students are not permitted to drive while in the program; and a welcoming home that includes the student as a member of the family.

Students have their own accident and health insurance and bring their own spending money. Students are encouraged to participate in school-sponsored activities, community service, and environmental programs.

Greenheart provides regular communication and support to both host families and students.

“Host families make all of the difference,” said Greenheart International Vice President Marcelle Benedicta in the press release. “They influence a young adult’s life-changing world views and [make] dreams come true. When a host family is so willing to give, they have as many rewarding and enriching experiences as the student.”

To learn more about hosting with Greenheart Exchange, visit greenheartexchange.org or contact Jeannin at [email protected] or 315-663-6721.