The Community Friends Program is a volunteer organization designed to help international students at Wabash College to develop a quality friendship with a local American family. International students adjust to college life in a small town more easily when host families welcome them.
Students live on campus, but local families provide opportunities for students to experience American culture and Hoosier customs. In turn, the students provide local families with a glimpse into foreign cultures, beliefs, and traditions. Students are eager to know more about American lifestyles and appreciate being a part of a local family. They enjoy being in a family environment, having home-cooked meals, watching movies, playing games, going to cultural or athletic events, hiking, etc. There are many free, on-campus opportunities for host families and sons to spend time together – plays, art exhibits, lectures, musical performances, athletic events and more.
We are currently in the process of matching incoming freshmen international students with local families prior to the start of the new academic year, and we are looking for new or returning local families to participate in the program.
Getting involved is easy!
Interested families can contact Ms. Nancy Bennett, Coordinator of Community Friends Program, by email bennettn71@gmail.com; Ms. Sheila Evans, Co-Coordinator of the Program, by email sbevans43@gmail.com; Amy Weir, Director of International Programs, by email weira@wabash.edu; or Linda Weaver, International Programs Assistant, by email weaverl@wabash.edu.