Youth For Understanding USA (YFU USA) is seeking local host families to host high school exchange students for the next school year.

Youth For Understanding is one of the world's oldest, largest, and most respected international exchange programs. Since 1951, YFU offices around the world have exchanged approximately 240,000 students. YFU USA is a private, non-profit educational program dedicated to preparing young people for their responsibilities and opportunities in a changing, interdependent world. YFU USA is certified by CSIET standards.

YFU USA will welcome new high school international exchange students this August. Our students come from different countries around the world. They speak English, have their own spending money, health insurance, will attend an American high school and will provide innumerable good memories and experiences to your family!  Open your doors to a new family member this summer and help him/her adapt to the U.S. lifestyle and culture. Hosting will be a wonderful opportunity to learn about other traditions and languages without leaving home.

Our host families are as diverse as our students. They are couples with or without children, empty nesters, single adults and also come from all cultural and economic backgrounds. Hosting an international exchange student can be an enriching experience for the entire family that will last a lifetime. By opening your home and heart to a student from overseas, your family will gain a new global perspective, many memories, and - quite possibly - a new family member!  You can host a student for ten months as a permanent host family, or for only six or twelve weeks as an arrival family.

Our trained YFU staff and volunteers are available to support you every step of the way. If you are interested in hosting a YFU student or would like more information, please call 1-866-493-8872 or apply on-line at www.yfu-usa.org.

Jennifer Fernandez is very proud of the Jordan Catholic School 5th graders that she has been teaching through the Junior Achievement program. According to Mrs. Fernandez, the program addresses how we earn our money and what we do with it.

Fifth grade teacher Lois Gannon explained that the children learned that we can do three things with our money: spend, save, and give it away. This lesson was timely as we prepare for the holidays. Mrs. Fernandez said, "I had the idea that with Thanksgiving approaching, it was a good time for the children to hold a bakesale. We created a business plan together including advertising and logistics. The children discussed area charities that their earnings might benefit and then voted to contribute their earnings to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I'm very proud of them. It was a great learning experience and they were very proud of the money they raised." The students earned $275. "I was surprised by how all those quarters added up!" said student Molly Hunter.

Additional Student Quotes:

"We liked working for a special cause- one that helps kids our age." -Samantha Sharp

"We all felt good doing it, knowing that it was going to a charity." -Sidney Boelens

"Advertising is important for making money"- Connor Boyd

(Rock Island, IL)  With the recent influx of immigrants, many children and families are struggling to understand the new culture and language.  But thanks to a new federal and state-funded program, help is available.

The Lights ON for Learning Family Literacy Program is the result of a partnership among the Rock Island Regional Office of Education, Black Hawk College, the Church of Peace, the Rock Island Public Library and the Rock Island Public School District #41.  The program is being highlighted with a news conference Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 10:30 am at the Church of Peace (1114 12th Street in Rock Island) in the Fellowship Hall.  Details of the federal grant will be announced and then local celebrities will read to the families.

Attending the news conference will be Rock Island Mayor, Dennis Pauley; Rock Island Schools Superintendent, Rick Loy; the Superintendent of the Regional Office of Education, Jim Widdop, as well as representatives from Black Hawk College, the Rock Island Public Library and Church of Peace.  The teachers and the families involved in the program will also be available for interviews.  After the news conference Mayor Pauley and Superintendents Widdop and Loy will read to the families.

The program is from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays at the Church of Peace.  A typical day at the Lights ON for Learning Family Literacy program consists of GED lessons, English as a Second Language tutoring, lunch and activities with their children, parenting and life skills, and computer and library skills training.

Environmental News

(Kansas City, Kan., Nov.17, 2009) - Entries are now being sought for the 2009 President's Environmental Youth Awards, which recognize individuals, school classes (kindergarten through high school) and youth organizations for protecting our nation's air, water and land.

The program, which honors a variety of environmental projects developed by students, is open to students in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska through EPA Region 7 in Kansas City, Kan.

The program has two components: The regional certificate program and the regional award winner. Regional certificates are awarded by each of the regional offices of the EPA. Each regional office also selects one first-place project as its regional award winner, and the sponsor and winner of that award travel to Washington, D.C., to receive their award.

Projects must be postmarked by Thursday, December 31, 2009. Program guidelines, eligibility information and applications are available online at http://www.epa.gov/enviroed/peya/index.html

or by contacting Denise Morrison toll-free, 1-800-223-0425. Regional award winners will be notified in January 2010.

Here's a brief look at Region 7's award winning project from last year:

2008 - Recycle Rally, Scottsbluff Neb. High School, Scottsbluff, Neb. - Elizabeth Turnbo, a student from Scottsbluff High School, organized a family event to educate and inform the Scottsbluff community about the importance of recycling and where to take recyclable items. The rally featured six games, five informational booths and four displays, all made from recyclable materials, as well as an informational handout that included maps to local recycling facilities.

More than 250 people, or more than twice the crowd that Turnbo hoped for, participated in the Recycle Rally. The Recycle Rally has become an annual event.

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