Newfoundland family opens its doors to Quebec teens through YMCA Summer Work Student Exchange Program
Melissa, Paul, and their two daughters Scarlett and Carrie from St. John’s, Newfoundland had a wonderful experience opening up their home for six weeks last summer to two exchange students from Quebec. As Alternate Exchange Hosts, they keep the YMCA’s Summer Work Student Exchange (SWSE) Programaccessible for youth whose families are unable to host for a variety of reasons, such as health, work schedule, or language barriers. Here’s what Melissa wanted to share about her summer:
In spring 2018, I heard about Alternate Exchange Hosts for the YMCA Summer Work Student Exchange Program in St. John's. We have a spare bedroom in our house so I thought to myself, “why not?” We have a little girl named Scarlett who will be starting French Immersion in September 2019 and one day, maybe she’ll want to participate in these types of programs.
We started looking into how we could help. The thing that really sealed the deal was that we’d be giving youth in our community a chance to travel. Signing on as alternate hosts meant there would be a space available here to welcome a student on exchange from somewhere else – which meant a youth in our community would have an opportunity to explore somewhere new. It felt great knowing we were doing the right thing!
The excitement really kicked in when we went to the student and parent meeting, where we got to meet the other families and youth participating in the exchange. We also received the profiles of the youth we’d be hosting: Edouard and Mayika.
The profiles said Edouard was a star soccer player, so I got him a volunteer coaching position with our local soccer club. It was nice to be able to help him make further connections in areas he was interested in outside of his work.
Hosting Edouard and Mayika in our home during July and August was wonderful. They really became part of our family and we loved spending time with them. One of the fun little moments was taking them grocery shopping. We’d have them pick out things they liked to make their experience more familiar and welcoming.
We also liked to tag along and participate in the weekend activities that the local coordinator had set up for the youth. It was a great opportunity to spend more time with them and include our own children as well. We went along for visits to museums, summer festivals, nature parks, and more. We also took them to our local amusement fair and to a traditional kitchen/deck party. Our girls got to make so many great memories with Edouard and Mayika.
Overall, our YMCA Summer Work Student Exchange experience was exciting and fulfilling. We made many memories together and had a wonderful summer.
Welcome a youth exchange participant into your home this summer as an Alternate Exchange Host. Apply by June 7!
