Overview
Participant Accommodations
BFTF participants will be staying on the Purdue University campus, with host families, and on the George Washington University (GWU) campus in Washington, DC.
On Campus Lodging
Upon arrival on the Purdue University campus, Fellows will stay in student housing located within walking distance to classrooms. Residence assistants who have had previous experience working as counselors in summer youth camps will stay with Fellows to be available to them.
Homestay
During the program, Fellows will stay in their host families’ homes. All host families live in the vicinity of Purdue University. Host families will provide meals, supervision and a program of family activities during the length of the home stay. All families will be screened for suitability for hosting the BFTF Fellows.
I had the time of my life. I met amazing people and awesome characters. The mentors were fantastic. They did their best to help us. The host family made me feel like I’m in my own home and made me feel welcome.
host families
Host Family Information
Thank you for your interest in hosting fellows of Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellowship. With your help, our fellows will learn more about the everyday life of American families, United States, Indiana and our communities. All fellows are well-educated, responsible young men and women, 16-18 years of age, from Europe and the United States, and who went through a rigorous selection process.
BFTF brings together European and U.S. high school students to discuss important issues in global and transatlantic politics, mass media, global citizenship, and community service. For part of their time at Purdue, the fellows will be staying in a dormitory, but for 10 days they are counting on a home stay experience. We are looking for families to host BFTF fellows. Many past host families have already expressed interest in hosting our guests, so if you are interested please contact Jeremy Bloyd or Anatoli Rapoport.
The fellows will be staying with host families July 7-16, after which they will depart for Washington, D.C. with BFTF staff. On most weekdays, fellows will be taking classes on campus or participating in community service, social, and cultural events. A family’s responsibility would be to get them to the Purdue campus at 8:00 AM and pick them up between 4:00-5:00 PM (exact times to be announced). On the weekends, you would be able to take them to local events and sites as well as introduce the European fellows to family life in America. Of note is that all fellows will be able to speak English.
If you would open your home to one or two of these students this summer, that will enable the Fellowship to offer this homestay experience. The only requirement is that anyone in the family over 18 years of age complete a simple online criminal background check. The program will take care of the background check fee at no charge to the families.
Have any questions regarding being a host family?
“I really loved the week that I stayed with my host family. They were amazing people. Also, it was a great chance to learn about American families.