(A quick Che Underground public-service announcement: Manual Scan/Shambles guitarist Kevin Donaker-Ring files an update on a very rewarding career and issues a call to action for a worthy cause.)
What I have been doing, lo, these many years: high school student exchange. In late 1982, I got a job running the copy machine and performing odd jobs at a high school exchange program located in La Jolla, Calif. I devoted almost my entire adult life to that organization, learning most everything there is to know about student exchange at the high-school level. Yet after 21 years, everyone at our head office was suddenly out. The Board of Directors had decided to move operations to one of the satellite offices. In Arkansas.
After a day or so of panic, I realized that I had the opportunity to start my own program and founded AFICE, the Academic Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, in December 2003. We are a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization. (Yes, donations are tax-deductible, so if you’re feeling generous, please think of us.) We operate all across the country, with local representatives from California to Maine, from Washington to Florida, and we even added a rep in Alaska recently.
Right now (and always, it seems), we are in serious need of host families. Our deadline (imposed by the US Department of State) is almost here and two of our families backed out at the last minute. Two kids from Poland, a girl and a boy, are suddenly without a place to stay.
[Editor’s note: Here’s the e-mail from Kevin that caught my attention and inspired this post.]
“Desperate times give rise to desperate measures, so please accept my apology in advance for sending out this mass email blast. I dislike this form of communication with my friends, but I simply don’t have the time for something more personal. This email is the desperate measure. Here are the desperate times:
“We had all of our students placed in homes and suddenly find ourselves in need of two host families at the very last minute. Placements fell through this morning for two students on our Spring semester program. The host families backed out for two completely different reasons, but the result is the same — a student without a home to come to.
“Please let all of your friends and family know that two great kids from Poland are feeling very disappointed and unwanted right now, and help is needed getting the word out that replacement families must be found immediately.
“As always, our website is http://www.afice.org — people can get information there, and contact us through the site if they are interested in hosting.
“Also, I’m sure everyone is aware that non-profit organizations such as AFICE have seen a big drop-off in donations these past few months, and we have been hard-hit. If you know of anyone (or any company) who may be willing to support AFICE with a tax-deductible donation, please steer them in my direction.”
— Kevin Donaker-Ring
i wish we could! we live in a really small place. but, i am hoping for you, and for those kiddos in poland, that someone (or some two) steps up.
kevin, you are my hero. i am so, so proud of you. your selflessness is an inspiration.
they can stay with me for as long as they like, but i happen to be living in Brazil at the moment. i plan to go to poland in july. if they want to take a detour and live in the Norteast of Brazil…Natal then send them my way…they can practice English and Portuguese because we have native speakers of both in the house. okay it’s a long shot, but if you have any students, Polish or otherwise, who want to come to Brazil, my house is big and accomodating… we would love to have them.
Thanks so much, Ava and Jennifer. And thanks to Matt for suggesting taking my email and turning it into a blog post. I know the thought had been out there to have some information on what folks are doing now rather than reminiscing on the past, but when I contacted Matt that was the farthest thing from my mind.
Naturally, AFICE isn’t all I do, but that’ll be for a later reply to this blog. Right now I have kids to place and a report to write to the State Department!