Open your heart and home with Nacel Open Door
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — If you’ve thought about hosting an international student, now is the time! Nacel Open Door is looking for host families in our community.
Nacel Open Door is a non-profit student exchange organization dedicated to international understanding and language education.
The organization allows international students to come to the US with spending money, medical insurance and English language proficiency. Students can stay with host families for 5 or 10 month periods. Host families are only required to provide room, board, a safe environment and loving parental guidance.
Local representative Melissa Beattie was an exchange student and has also hosted twice. Beattie explained that the relationship between the host family and student extends far beyond the exchange period.
“Even when I was an exchange student 20 years ago, I still maintain that relationship with my foreign language partner,” Beattie said. “My husband and I hosted a student 10 years ago and we went to her wedding in Brazil last year. So it really is about those lifelong relationships that are formed”.
Families should know that when hosting, they have the support of their local representative as well as the NOD national office if needed.
If interested in hosting, all family members over the age of 18 must complete a criminal background check. A home visit is also required.
For more information on becoming a host family, contact Melissa Beattie at (845) 489-1171 or email her at mbeattie@team.nacelopendoor.org
To learn more about Nacel Open Door or to donate to the organization, click here.
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