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Host Families Sought for Canadian Youth Ambassadors Program

The Center for the Study of Canada is looking for families to host 17 Canadian high school students, ages 15-17, and three adult educators who will be on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus July 10-22.

The visitors from Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan are visiting the North Country, New York City and Washington, D.C., in an effort to speak with local and national government officials.

“They will be coming to learn about the United States and what we believe about civic engagement and community service — and the way we can use these tools to elicit positive change in our home towns,” said Theresa Bennett, home stay coordinator, Youth Ambassadors Program with Canada.

While in Plattsburgh, the students will visit with local service clubs, non-profit agencies and other groups to learn about community service.

“They will use this knowledge to initiate a service project once they go home,” Bennett said. But one of the most important pieces of the experience “is living with and getting to know an American family and experiencing community and family and the United States from their perspective,” she said.

Students will be involved in an intensive curriculum from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day. Host families will be responsible for providing accommodations, breakfast, dinner, daily transportation to and from SUNY Plattsburgh, and spending time in the evenings with program participants. All are fluent in English.

For more information or to volunteer to serve as a host family, contact Bennett at 518-564-2160 or [email protected].

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