The travel bug can bite you at any time, and it’s hard to swat away. Travel can be expensive and difficult to plan, but the Council on Independent Education Exchange (CIEE) offers an easy way for people to get a taste of another country.

Janae LeDoux is a local coordinator for CIEE, and she is trying to place exchange students with Fountain Hills families. Students are high school ages, from 15-18, and they will be in the country from this August until May for the 2023-24 school year.

CIEE is the oldest nonprofit exchange program in the country, existing since 1947. CIEE has relied on volunteer hosts for over 75 years, and hosts can be single, empty nesters, or have other children in the house. Exchange students can share rooms with children of the same gender within four years of their age.

“Ours is volunteer [based],” LeDoux said. “Now the students do come with their own spending money, so if they want to join the track team, they’re going to have to pay for that. Let’s say they have a growth spurt and need clothes, they’re going to pay for that, and they have health insurance covered through CIEE.”

CIEE is helping 130 students come to America from 70 different countries. Not all of the students are coming to Arizona, but all of them have completed at least three years of English language studies.

LeDoux and other coordinators from around the country match hosts and students based on similar interests, hobbies and personality traits. Being a host requires you to be part parent, part cultural ambassador, part mentor and part friend.

LeDoux said it can take as little as a week to complete the process to become a host. Anyone older than 18 in the household must pass a background check, and LeDoux has to visit the home to ensure that there is a bed and bedroom, an appropriate place to study and a welcoming home with support from all parties involved.

Hosts also have to submit two character references, and one of the references has to come from someone who’s spent time inside the host’s home. Hosts are also expected to provide meals at home and school and assist in coordinating transportation.

LeDoux said she is available for support 24/7. She lives in Old Town Scottsdale and can be in Fountain Hills quickly if needed. She will visit the hosts every three months and will perform monthly supervision reports with the students. LeDoux said she’ll host monthly pool parties for the students and will check in with them then.

LeDoux will conduct a host family orientation and will go with the hosts to the airport to make the introductions. Most students will come for the whole school year, and LeDoux said host applications need to be finished by July in order to finalize flight plans in time.

LeDoux said hosts get to set house rules, like curfews, and most hosts sign up again after having a great experience learning and sharing cultures with exchange students. She encourages locals to take this opportunity to introduce someone to the beauty of Fountain Hills next school year.

Interested parties can either fill out a host application or contact Ledoux and she’ll send over an application. LeDoux can be contacted by cell at 480-203-1932, or email at janaeledoux@outlook.com. You can also learn more and find the application at the bottom of the page at ciee.org/partner/hosts/host-families.

“They’ve worked very hard to come to America,” LeDoux said. “They’ve heard about us, a lot of them want to come to college here. They’re thinking this is a great introduction to America, and most of these kids just love adventure.”