Our Impact - AFS-USA

AFS-USA creates transformative intercultural experiences that build the global competence needed to foster a more peaceful, connected world. For nearly 80 years, AFS has empowered individuals to become active global citizens – people who lead with empathy, value different perspectives, and take meaningful action in their communities and beyond.

Powered by a vibrant global network of students, families, volunteers, alumni, staff, and supporters, the AFS Effect reaches across borders and generations. Through the voices of our community, discover the experiences that inspire lifelong impact and the shared commitment to making the world a better place.

The Study Abroad Student

Haken Anderson

U.S. to Thailand on U.S. Department of State YES Abroad Program, 2023-24

How has studying abroad impacted you?

When you really think about it, the whole idea of being an exchange student is an extraordinary exercise in kindness. Not only are you reliant on the generosity of classmates and teachers to help get you through the school day in an unfamiliar language and location, but you are invited to live in a stranger’s home and to become a literal piece of their family. The intimacy of that sort of benevolence is unique, and something I think everyone would benefit from experiencing.

Given this background, when I set off on my six-month cycling journey [after studying abroad], I had confidence that if and when I needed help, wherever I may be, there would be a stranger standing by, eager to offer a helping hand.

Read About Haken’s Journey

The Host Parents

Bradley and Lance

Who can become an AFS host family?

Whether or not your family fits the mold of a ‘typical’ American family, you should know that those are precisely the things that help make you a great host family. Every AFS student is unique, and by introducing them to a wide variety of family situations and types of people, we help to shape their AFS experiences into truly life-changing events.

Bradley and Lance’s Experience

The Volunteer

Nicola Wolfe

Why do you volunteer with AFS-USA?

Being a volunteer with my AFS Area Team has enriched my personal and professional life. It has allowed me to continue learning about places I have never been and may never get the chance to travel to through engagement with the students, other volunteers, and partner staff. I have also been able to take much of what I have learned through AFS into my professional life working in mental health.

Having AFS students in our communities, specifically within host families and schools, allows for exposure to cultural differences that can foster greater openness, empathy, and the ability to see our shared humanity. This is especially vital for [people] who may have less [experience with other cultures] and limited resources to go outside of their communities.

The Host Parent and Volunteer

Ashe Purscell

Why do you host?

I want to host to learn about how to love others — to help them grow. Tooba, our Pakistani daughter, is such a selfless and wonderful person. Watching her grow into a young woman has been one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. And it is the most rewarding thing the three of us have done in our lives so far. You learn so much about yourself and what lengths you will go, communication styles and skills, coping mechanisms from other parts of the world, and I think you learn a lot about love. I host to learn how to love others in a way that they need — not always the way we need.

Hear More From Ashe

The Volunteer

Sue Fershing

What does volunteering with AFS mean to you?

To me, the AFS Effect is a very real feeling that can only happen when a teenager believes in stepping out of their comfort zone and lets the AFS process work for them. Volunteering for AFS is very rewarding for me and helps to keep me young. It has made me into the woman I am today, and I am very proud of her!

Read About Sue’s Experience

The Lifelong Friends

Matt and Geert

How did your friendship with an AFSer impact your life?

Geert’s laughter, energy, and spirit still echo through my life, not only in cherished memories but also in the new bonds of family that AFS has given us over the decades. What began with a Belgian teenager stepping into our world in 1973 has grown into a lifetime of friendships, love, and shared adventures that span continents and generations.

For me, and for our family, Geert’s story is a reminder that one person’s presence can spark connections that ripple forward for fifty years—and beyond.

Geert’s Legacy

The Hosted Student

Margherita

Italy to U.S. 2024-25

What has your exchange year been like?
I can’t believe how fast this exchange year has flown by. It’s been full of firsts, growth, challenges, and so many unforgettable memories. Being an exchange student is something so unique; you’re constantly adapting, learning, missing home, and falling in love with a new one at the same time. It’s exciting, overwhelming, and beautiful all at once. Doing an exchange year is truly transformative. It challenged me to step out of my comfort zone, adapt to a new culture, and grow both personally and academically. Living in a different country has taught me to view the world from new perspectives. I’ve gained independence, confidence, and a greater sense of global awareness.

The Alum and Donor

Jenny Messner

U.S. to Brazil, 1970-71

“I just think we’ve been building too many walls and not enough bridges.
I think once you go abroad, you’re never quite the same. Once another culture gets under your skin, your horizons get broader, and your heart gets more capable of understanding cross culturally, where someone else is coming from. And I think America needs that now more than ever.”

The Alum and Donor

Teddy W.

U.S. to France 2005-06

Why give to AFS-USA?
I think it takes a lot of courage to go abroad as a high school student, so if there’s a student out there who has the interest, has the drive, and has everything in place except for the financial component, that student definitely deserves a shot, too.

The World Needs More Global Citizens

Through supporting AFS programs, you foster transformative experiences that last a lifetime. Today’s exchange students are tomorrow’s changemakers: diplomats; thought leaders; influencers in the international business and nonprofit communities. Every new AFS Student is another global citizen in progress—an individual primed to help build a more just and peaceful world. And the impact doesn’t stop with the students. Host families’ lives are transformed by students from around the world, and host communities experience a broader range of perspectives. That’s the #AFSEffect.

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