Friendship Force International

Indonesian guests meet their hosts in Hartwell, Georgia, USA

Friendship Force International is a non-profit organization founded in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and introduced on March 1, 1977, by President Jimmy Carter at a White House gathering of state governors. First Lady Rosalynn Carter served as Honorary Chairperson until 2002.[1] In 1992, Friendship Force International was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.[1] Since late 2015 the current President and CEO is Jeremi Snook, a former Chief Operating Officer of Spaulding Youth Center, a leading community-based provider of educational services for children with neurological or behavioral challenges.

Friendship Force International (FFI), is an international cultural exchange program, founded in 1977 by Wayne Smith, a Presbyterian minister and former U.S. missionary to Brazil.[2] For the first five years, it used chartered airplanes to shuttle delegations of 150 to 400 visitors between partner cities. The first exchange involved 762 travelers from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, and Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Staying in private homes is a central feature of the program.

In 1982, the plan was changed from large simultaneous exchanges to smaller one-way visits using scheduled airlines, but retaining the basic homestay theme, supported by local clubs in the host countries.[1] Expanding from a few large simultaneous exchanges annually in the early years, Friendship Force now organizes 250-300 smaller exchanges of 20 to 25 visitors each year. It has active clubs in more than 50 countries. In 2007, 5763 visitors, called "friendship ambassadors," traveled between 58 countries, with thousands of club members hosting visitors in their homes.[3]

Today, Friendship Force International conducts almost 400 exchange programs every year, in 390 communities in 70 countries.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Who We Are". Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  2. ↑ "Friendship Force Mourns Death of Wayne Smith". Friendship Force of Dallas. June 2004. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  3. ↑ "FFI By the Numbers" (Press release). Friendship Force International. 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.

External links

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