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Published on 08/28/1995 All articles from this issue

Host families still needed in Los Altos area

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Foreign high school students will arrive soon for academic program homestays, and the sponsoring organization needs a few more local host families.

According to Pacific Intercultural Exchange (P.I.E.) Executive Director, John Doty, the students are all between the ages of 15 and 18 years, are English-speaking, have their own spending money, carry accident and health insurance, and are anxious to share their cultural experiences with their new American families. P.I.E. currently has programs ranging from a semester to a full academic year during which the students attend local high schools.

P.I.E. area representatives match students with host families by finding common interests and lifestyles through an informal in-home meeting. Prospective host families are able to review student applications and make the selection.

As there are no "typical" host families, P.I.E. can fit a student into just about any situation, whether it be a single parent, a childless couple, a retired couple or a large family.

Families who host for P.I.E. are eligible to claim a $50 per month charitable contribution deduction on their itemized tax returns for each month they host a sponsored student.

For the upcoming programs, P.I.E. has students from Spain, Germany, Poland, Russia, Finland, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Australia, New Zealand, Croatia and many other countries. P.I.E. has also been invited to participate in a special government-funded program to bring scholarship students from the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union to the United States.

P.I.E. is a non-profit educational organization that has sponsored more than 18,000 students from 40 countries since its founding in 1975. The organization is designated by the United States Information Agency and is listed by the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET), stating that the organization complies with the standards set forth in CSIET's Standards for International Educational Travel Programs.

For more information, call P.I.E. at 1-800-631-1818. The agency also has travel/study program opportunities available for American high school students as well as possibilities for community volunteers to assist and work with area host families, students and schools.