Please fill out our Host Family or Host School interest form if you are interested in hosting a Kennedy-Lugar YES Student.

Host Families

If you are a family living in the U.S. and would be interested in hosting a Kennedy-Lugar YES student, please contact one of the placement organizations working on the program or fill out our Host Family Interest Form to be contacted about hosting.

Many people ask what they can do to make things better for themselves, their children, their communities, and the world. By sharing your home and heart with a Kennedy-Lugar YES student, you will make a difference. What begins as an exchange of kindness, customs, and culture within a family extends throughout a high school and community to touch thousands of lives.

Sharing and learning happen naturally—in conversations at the dinner table, excitement about the prom or a sports team’s victory, sharing a family tradition, or making a presentation in the community.

Hosting is a rich and rewarding experience for all kinds of families and all kinds of families are encouraged to host! Families provide a bed, meals, and the guidance and support as they would to their own child.

Watch Secretary of State Clinton deliver a message encouraging American families to host:

" Hosting an international exchange student benefits everyone involved. Your entire family will learn about a new country and culture without leaving home. Host families and exchange students share daily life, meals, and holidays. They discuss current events in their respective communities and explore cross-cultural perceptions and values. This intimacy creates lasting relationships that ultimately shape the United States' reputation abroad."
—J. Adam Ereli, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. Click here to read more.

"Thank you for every moment that you’ve given to me, every thought that has broadened my horizon, every example about life for me to follow, every criticism that made me think, every compliment that made me feel good, every advice that made be a better person, everything that you’ve given to me all this time."
—Syarief, student from Indonesia, Hosted in Illinois by Jack and Bev Cherney

“When we receive a message like this, we know that, in our own small way, we are helping to create peace in the world.”
—Bev Cherney, eight time Host parent

Say “YES” and bring more understanding into the world, beginning with your own family and community! Please fill out our Host Family Interest Form !

Host Schools

Contributing to Classrooms and Community

In order to live and work in a global society, young people must embrace other ways of living in order to help them build intercultural skills and knowledge. Most U.S. high school students do not have an opportunity to study abroad. Kennedy-Lugar YES students provide a dynamic and creative learning opportunity to U.S. classrooms by bringing alternative perspectives to the study of world affairs and current events. At the same time, these students gain an understanding of American values and explore our models of leadership.

The Kennedy-Lugar YES program also focuses on leadership development and works with these students during the school year to help them develop their skills. When students return home, they draw upon their U.S. experience and share their knowledge and memories in ways that help to increase intercultural awareness while dispelling myths and stereotypes that often exist about the U.S.

If your high school would be interested in learning more about hosting a Kennedy-Lugar YES student for an academic year, please contact one of the placement organizations working on the program or fill out our Host School Interest Form to be contacted about hosting.