ALTON & BRIGHTON FAMILIES MAY PARTICIPATE IN CULTURAL EXCHANGE

Jacquelyn Cato, from Brighton IL is interviewing families living in the Alton school district and Southwestern school district who are interested in participating in a cultural exchange experience by hosting an international high school student for the coming academic year.  Both Alton High School and Southwestern High School are excited to participate in the Academic Exchange program and look forward to welcoming new students from different countries.

Jacquelyn serves as Community Coordinator forPAX, a non-profit foundation which provides a US high school and homestay program for students from over 40 different countries inEurope,Eastern Europe,AsiaandLatin America.PAXstudents are between the ages of 15 and 18, speak English, have full insurance coverage and their own spending money.

PAXhost families share their everyday life with their ten month visitor and often build a lasting connection to their student’s family abroad.  “Host parents and children frequently visit their student and his or her family after the student returns home,” notes Cato.  “The sharing and exchanging can go on for years.”

PAXstudents hope to become members of their American host families, to attend high school daily and to learn about the US by experiencing life here in Illinois.  They have medical insurance, personal spending money and sufficient English to manage in school.  They need a place to sleep and study, to join meals normally taken at home, and to find the support and advice that any teenager needs. Students from different countries look forward to living like American teens for one school year - joining sports teams, studying for exams, and participating fully in family life.PAXfamilies are asked to provide students with meals, a place to sleep and study, and a warm, supportive environment. Private rooms are not required and single parents, young couples and retirees are welcome to apply.

For more information call Jacquelyn Cato at 618-372-0108 or thePAXnational office at

(800) 555-6211.  You may also email Jacquelyn at: jcato.pax@gmail.com  Interested families are also invited to visit thePAX web site at www.PAX.org.

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