So you went on exchange with YFU, now how do you go about getting involved? If you are lucky, there will be an alumni group in your area and soon you will be getting an invitation to a Re-Entry. But what do you do if there is no alumni group in your area? To answer that question this month’s link focuses on some of the different ways individual alumni can contribute to YFU and get involved no matter what age they are or where they live.

The Alumni Referral Program is a great way to get involved with YFU after your exchange. It also is an important resource for prospective YFU students. The Alumni Referral Program is a list of YFU alumni willing to discuss their exchange and answer questions for students considering a YFU program. The goal is to match alumni and students by country, program length and interest so prospective students can hear first-hand from a peer about the exchange experience. The Alumni Referral List is distributed to YFU staff members and volunteers nation-wide and will soon be available on the Youth For Understanding website.

Alumni can get involved in this program in two ways. Recent alumni who have gone abroad in the past 3 years, can volunteer to be on the Alumni Referral List by contacting Crystal Fante (or 1-800-424-3691). Alumni who went on exchange more than three years ago, or who are interested in doing phone interviews for the Alumni Referral List can contact Margie Yeager or 301-320-3951 (until August 25) or 617-627-1198 (after August 25). Either opportunity is a great way to stay involved with YFU and share your exchange experience with others.

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YFU-USA Alumni Website:

This is the place to go for alumni information. The website will provide you with all the information you need on what's going on and how to get involved with alumni all across the country.

Each Region has a page with current events, past events, newsletters and contact information. Just click on your state, and you will go to the appropriate region. The website also has a list of the many projects going on that affect the whole country. If one appeals to you, contact the project manager and get involved!

The website is a great place to share your thoughts and ideas about exchange. One option is to join our alumni listserv where you can share thoughts on exchange with alumni all over the world with just one email! Another option is to join in or host an online chat about any number of alumni related topics. Yet another options is to write an article, short story or poem about exchange for the Alumni Corner.

While you are visiting the website be sure to add yourself to the online Alumni/Volunteer Directory. You can search the directory for friends and to find other alumni in your area. Keep in mind that this information is voluntary, so you will only find those people who have entered the information themselves.