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About CIH
What is CIH?
Who are the Students?
Mission of CIH
History of CIH
Starting a CIH
Program
Program Summary
Time Line
Getting Started
Getting
Organized
Program Coordinator
Planning Team
Publicity and Public Relations Committee
Housing Committee
Activities Committee
Transportation Committee
Food Committee
Orientation Committee
Student Contract/Registration Committee
Finance Committee
Hospitality Committee
Closing
thoughts
Additional Sources of Information
Sample Web site
Sample Welcome Letter
Sample Information Sheet
Sample Confirmation Card
What
student doesn’t look forward to Christmas break? For many it’s their first chance to go home after a long
semester at school. It’s a chance
for them to relax and catch up on sleep! It’s
a chance to be with family and friends, eat home cooked meals, and share in the
celebrations and traditions of Christmas.
For
most international students, Christmas is a very lonely time.
Many can’t afford to return to their home countries, they have been
separated from their families for a long time, the dormitories are empty and
sometimes closed, and there is no one around to explain the meaning of
Christmas.
Christmas
International House (CIH) is a nation-wide ecumenical-based program which
provides friendship and hospitality to international students during two weeks
of the Christmas holidays. International
students finally have the opportunity to visit a home, experience American
family culture and Christmas traditions!
More
and more churches and communities which see the value of cross-cultural
interaction are getting involved with CIH.
Congregations are finding joy in sharing the celebration of the birth of
Jesus Christ and in sharing God’s love with people from all around the world.
Through the generous hospitality and financial support of these churches,
civic groups, American hosts, and volunteers, international students have an
incredible opportunity to:
See a different part of the country than where they are going to school
Discover the business of a big
city, or enjoy a quiet rural area
Participate in an American
family life for two weeks
Amend false impressions of
Americans and our way of life
Eat home cooked meals!
Learn about and experience
Christianity and the Christmas celebration
Share their own culture and
foods with their host and other international students
Meet students from around the world, some of whose nations may even be hostile towards one another.
600,000
students from around the world – their country’s best and brightest – come
to the US to study each year. Many
of these students obtained government grants and visas, others had to compete
for a scholarship, still others are trying to pay their own way.
They are determined to improve themselves and their country by coming to
America to study. These international students have aspirations to become Prime
Ministers, Cabinet Members, lawyers, educators, scientists, politicians, and
religious leaders.
Many
feel tremendous pressure to succeed and when their studies do not go well at
first, they become anxious and depressed. Most
are not fully prepared for American collegiate life and suffer culture shock.
Language may be a barrier to making friends and participating in school
events. So many new and perplexing
sights, sounds, customs, and mannerisms may make them homesick and feel lonely.
Their
experiences in our schools and communities will shape their minds and hone their
skills which could change the course of history.
Their experiences with American people and Christian homes will shape
their hearts and challenge their values.
Just
as these students believe that one person CAN impact the world, so does CIH and
we invite you to be part of a life that could impact the world.
CIH
believes that despite diverse manners of dress, accent, religion, age, skin
color, level of education or political ideologies, everyone stands together as
one human family. While sponsored
and predominantly funded by churches, it is important to note that CIH is a
friendship and hospitality program, not an evangelizing program.
We believe our faith is modeled through our actions, friendship,
hospitality, and love for strangers.
Christmas
International House began in 1965 when Harry F. “Pete” Petersen, Assistant
Minister at First Presbyterian Church in Huntington, West Virginia suggested to
his congregation that there was a need for housing international students over
the Christmas holiday. He and his
wife sent letters to colleges and universities east of the Mississippi River to
invite international students to come to West Virginia for the holidays.
That first year, they hosted 180 students in their church!
With such an overwhelming response by the students, Reverend Petersen was
convinced that the program was desired by the students and was a mission
opportunity to show ‘hospitality to the foreigner among us’ (Deut. 10:18)
In
1966, seven churches in other states joined the program and in 1967, a total of
14 churches participated. Eventually,
the program spread nationwide and now consists of over 40 participating cities
with the headquarters located in the AMIS Office in Atlanta, Georgia.
At its peak, 1,500 students were hosted across the nation.
More than 30,000 International students have participated in the program
since 1965 with 20,000 turned away due to lack of space.
AMIS
invites International students from over 500 colleges and universities to
participate in CIH. Letters
and CIH brochures are mailed in May to International Student Advisors,
and campus ministers at colleges and universities all across the country.
Our web site (www.christmasIH.org)
is updated each year to include the descriptions of the current programs, an International Student application
that can be downloaded and general information about CIH. The National office receives and processes all student
applications, handles cancellations, refunds, etc.
Local
CIH Programs are responsible for determining how many international students
their community can host in either private homes or in group housing
(dormitory-style). Each Program
plans activities for the students and agrees to cover the students’ expenses
including housing, food and local transportation, and some entertainment.
(Some attractions are expensive and students are asked to pay entrance
fees plus transportation to these attractions).
The
international students must be over 17 years of age, have non-immigrant visas
(F-1 M-1, J-1 or equivalent), and be enrolled in an American college or
university in order to participate in CIH.
Single students, married couples and families pay a set registration fee
which is submitted to the National CIH office with their application.
Students select three programs they would like to visit and are assigned
on a first come, first choice basis. Every effort is made to give each student
his/her desired choice. The
students are responsible for booking and paying for their own transportation to
and from the CIH Program, and additional local program expenses.
April-June 1 Receive
Orientation Packets
Applications are mailed to existing and potential CIH Programs
June 30
All Program Applications are received
Committee Chairs are in place
July 31
Committees are staffed and ready to begin work
Aug 1
Registration Packets will be mailed to each participating progr
Volunteers are in place
Sept 1
Program Registration Package are returned to
AMIS-CIH in Atlanta
Oct 1 Students’ applications begin
to arrive
Nov 1
Unplaced student lists are distributed to interested programs
Nov 30 Most programs are filled
Dec 18 Most Programs begin
Jan 15
Program CIH evaluation forms are mailed.
Summaries are sent to
Atlanta
Survey
churches, clubs, and other organizations to determine their interest and level
of commitment to helping your community host a CIH program.
General questions may include:
How many students can be
hosted?
Can we accommodate single
males and/or females, married
couples, families?
Will the students stay in
private homes or in a group location like a conference center?
How will the program be
funded?
How will the students be
transported?
What types of activities can
we plan?
There
are two possibilities for housing students:
Host Family Programs – students stay with host families/individuals
Group Housing Programs – students are housed in one location such as a
church, church camp or
conference
center
The
more students your community can host will mean that you meet more international
students and experience more than just one culture. If there is enough
commitment to establish a CIH Program, you must register as a participating
Program no later than June 30th. You
will receive a letter and application no later than the beginning of June.
Along with these forms, you will be asked to include a brief description
of your program that we may include on the NCIH website. (See Sample Website).
Each
year the NCIH Executive Committee establishes the official dates for the
program. Individual programs,
though, do have the option of choosing specific dates that best suits their
needs.
In
the beginning of August, a Registration packet will be mailed to you with
instructions to complete further needed materials.
While
there is no right or wrong way to host a CIH Program, we do suggest the
following organizational structure which has been developed over the last 40
years and seems to work well around the country. The committee chairs should be in place by the end of June,
and the committees staffed and ready to go to work by the end of August.
Each participant is a volunteer and should have a genuine interest in the
success of your CIH Program.
PROGRAM
COORDINATOR
– oversees the entire CIH Program: registers
the Program with National CIH, ensures that deadlines are met, coordinates the
Planning Team, and is the liaison with the church staff.
The Program Coordinator creates a paragraph about the Program area that
will help students choose your program (see Sample Website).
PLANNING
TEAM
–The team is made up of the chairpersons from the following
committees. In smaller
programs (2-10 students), an organized person could successfully chair more than
one committee. In large programs
(15 or more students) it is best that each volunteer chair only one committee.
The committees are interdependent, so it is crucial that the committee
chairs work together comfortably and share information openly.
Host
Family
Group Housing
Committee
X
X
Publicity
X
X
Housing
X
X
Activities
X
X
Transportation
X
X
Food
X
X
Orientation
X
Hospitality
X
X
Finance
X X Student Contact
This
committee uses whatever inexpensive resources are available to raise local
interest in your CIH Program. Begin
publicizing in early September. Consider
church bulletin boards, church newsletters, pulpit announcements, letters to
local churches, civic club newsletters, bulletin board displays at the grocery
store, at schools, and the local newspaper, or by contacting Kiwanis and Rotary
Clubs, local International Adoption organizations, and families who have hosted
exchange students,. Word of mouth
through family, neighbors, and co-workers is also a great way to advertise your
need for hosts, volunteers, chaperones, bus drivers, etc.
Make a list of your needs: hosts for students, hosts for meals, drivers
for activities, and tour chaperones. List the names and telephone numbers of
each contact person.
This
committee begins recruiting in early September. There are two ways to determine the number of students your
program will host:
-
Set a goal number of students to host and then find
host families/living arrangements to meet that goal
-
Determine the number of students which you can
provide for and request that number of students.
The
more students your Program can host will enable you to meet more people and
experience more than just one culture. This
should be the largest of the committees and provides answers to these questions
about your Program:
·
How many students can your community host?
·
How many Males, Females, Couples, and Families will
make up the total number?
·
Will the students be in private homes (Host
Program) or in a church, church camp or conference center (Group Housing
Program).
·
Will your program accept students who have
previously participated in a CIH Program?
·
Will your program be able to host a handicapped
student?
Host
Family Program. The advantage is
intimate cross-cultural sharing among students and hosts. It is also suggested, though, that some group activities,
meals and programming be planned as a group activity.
·
Do students live with one family for two weeks, or
will they be able to change families after the first week? It means more hosts but is an alternative for those families
who want to host but will be out of town for Christmas.
·
What is expected of a host family – sleeping
arrangements, bathrooms, meals, transportation, etc.
·
Have “back-up” families available in case of a
last minute cancellation or emergencies.
·
Encourage at least two students per family.
While this may seem overwhelming, especially during the craziness of the
holidays, most families find that it is actually easier to host two students
rather than just one.
Group
Housing Program. The advantage is
cross-cultural sharing among the students.
·
Find, set up, maintain, and dismantle living
arrangements
·
You may want to make a diagram of each floor
available for use
·
Estimate number of beds in each room
·
Locate the kitchen facilities with refrigerators,
coffee makers, microwaves
·
Locate emergency exits and restrooms
·
Showers and bathrooms with adequate hot water.
If not enough, check with nearby hotels, YMCAs, armories, etc.
.
Determine the maximum occupancy for single men, women, married couples,
families
Determine who provides
beds, blankets, pillows, towels, etc.
Centrally locate a bulletin board for CIH information
You may want to make
arrangements with a local physician to donate his/her time should
the need
Arise
Alert police department that people are staying in the church or Group
Housing location
·
Set up a communal area with comfortable furniture,
ping-pong or billiards table and accessories, board games (chess, checkers,
pictionary, scrabble), puzzles, TV, VCR, radio/CD player, iron and ironing board
·
Set up security personnel at night and “lights
out” policy
·
Locate trash disposal, custodians, bathroom
cleaning and restocking
·
Determine what chores the students will be
responsible for
·
Return borrowed items, clean blankets, restore the
facility
This
committee creates and arranges the daily activities of the students.
This includes creating a schedule of tours, recreation, discussions, free
time, dinner and special events such as an International Night.
The committee members should be familiar with the history and attractions
of the area. The Tourist Bureau,
Chamber of Commerce, and the internet are additional resources for entrance fees
and hours of operation. Group
Programs must plan one big group activity each day; Host Family Programs must
plan several activities over the two week period.
Report to Program Coordinator on how much spending/sightseeing money each
student should bring. Each
Program’s activities will be unique, but consider:
·
Public (and free!) monuments, museums, the state
capitol, historical sites
·
Local businesses (in Atlanta, the World of Coke and
CNN Center are popular)
·
Outdoor activities like roller/ice-skating, hiking,
or sledding, a trip to the beach
·
Sporting events - either professional, collegiate
or high school
·
Shopping, game night, group pictures
·
Quiet time for students to write in their journals,
write postcards, take a nap
·
Anything that is unique to your area and of
interest to international students
·
International night – a favorite of both hosts
and students! Students prepare
foods from their native countries for hosts to sample, and are encouraged to
share dances, songs, or other native talents with the audience.
This committee arranges all facets of the students’ transportation and should
work closely with the Housing Committee
so all students are provided transportation, and the Activities Committee so
that transportation can be planned well in advance.
·
Provide transportation to and from the airport, bus
or train station on arrival and departure days
-
Determine pickup point at airport, train station,
bus station
-
Provide “CIH” placards to drivers so students
can locate their ride quickly
·
Provide transportation for all group activities
during CIH
·
Provide maps and routes to drivers to circumvent
traffic problems
·
Provide drivers, chaperones, and funds for gas
·
Arrange/borrow cars, vans, buses
Each
student coming to your Program should be given a phone number to call in case
arrival plans change at the last minute.
This
committee plans all meals.
For
Host Family Programs, the host family provides most meals. Group meals such as a
luncheon at a civic organization, a covered-dish dinner at another church, and a
fast food lunch while on a tour are fun for the students.
Be aware that some students have dietary restrictions.
For
Group Programs, this committee must plan for three scenarios:
Meals at the CIH Center.
Breakfast:
continental style - Danishes, donuts, cereal, poptarts, fruits, etc
Lunch
& Dinner: Recruit volunteers to provide casseroles, salads, soups, fruits,
etc. Work closely with the
Activities Committee as some meals are in local homes and others occur during a
tour or special event
Snacks:
Students are always hungry!
Determine
the number of meals that need to be provided
Inventory
facility and appliances
Use
paper goods whenever possible to ease cleanup
Plan
menus with consideration to dietary restrictions
Meals provided by other
churches and groups
Coordinate these with the Activities Committee to
avoid schedule conflicts. Remind meal hosts that some students have restricted diets.
Meals with American Hosts
Set aside a few times when meals can be shared
with American families. Work with
the Hospitality Committee to match students and hosts for Sundays, Christmas
Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day.
This
committee plans the Orientation for the second day of the Program.
During the orientation, we suggest that you explain to the students about
how lucky they are for being able to participate in this unique concept of
living with an American host. Also
explain what Christmas means to Christians, what Christmas means to you, and why
Christians give gifts.
Review
the Rules and Guidelines of National CIH, of your Program (being on time,
smoking, alcohol use, phone calls, internet usage, participation in all events, keeping an open mind), and any
rules of the Activity Center.
Review
the Activities Calendar in detail and be sure that all questions are answered.
Ensure
that each student has the contact information for the Host(s), the Activity
Center, and Program Coordinator. A
tour of the facility may be appropriate.
This
committee is the liaison to the students and must work closely with all other
committees so that an organized, unified, and coordinated effort is presented to
the students. By mid-November, your
Program will have received the names of all students assigned to your Program.
Make a file for each application and attach the RSVP cards accepting or
declining their participation and their travel plans.
Those who accept are assigned to a Host family/Facility and immediately
sent the Student Packet or Welcome Packet which contains:
Your CIH Rules and Program
Guidelines which they must adhere to
Local Program information –
weather conditions, special clothes needed, costumes, musical
instruments to bring for
talent night.
Host Family/Facility
information from the Housing Committee
The schedule of activities
from the Activities Committee, and
A request for their arrival
and departure times to be forwarded to the transportation committee (A
sample Confirmation card will be sent with your Registration Packets)
An information sheet (see
Sample Information Sheet) may also be filled out by the students about
general interests.
All
Student Packets for the Individual Programs are mailed from the Atlanta Office.
Many
students are likely to feel better about attending your Program once they have
heard from you. After you have sent
them the Student Packet, feel free to send emails, make phone calls, or send
letters to answer their questions about the Program or their host family.
You
may set up a Registration desk with a telephone that can be called 24 hours a
day. The desk should be staffed
each day with a volunteer who can locate any of the students at a given time,
can take messages, and provide activity information. During the evening hours, the telephone can be forwarded to a
volunteer’s home phone for emergencies.
In
Group Housing programs, the person on duty would need to:
Greet guests warmly. Remember,
the most stressful time for a guest is arrival time.
Check registration information
Distribute an envelope with schedule and ‘ground rules’
Distribute linen, pillow, blanket
Arrange for someone to take the student to their assigned room and to
acquaint them with the
Facilities
Arrange to take a Polaroid photograph at this time to place on a
bulleting board.
Bulletin
boards should be available for an up to date guest list, announcements, and
photographs of guests. Photographs of volunteers and staff are also helpful.
This is an easy way to recognize who should be in the building.
At
the end of the program, the student formally checks out at the Registration
desk, returns all linens and blankets and hands in an evaluation form.
The Finance Committee is responsible for
developing a budget, paying bills, and monitoring cash flow.
The committee oversees any fund raising efforts, gifts, donations,
budgeted items, Christmas Eve Offerings etc.
In
Group Housing Programs, it is helpful to have a Hospitality Committee.
This committee would be responsible for:
Recruiting volunteers to be host and hostesses
Recruiting volunteers to host tours
Providing Christmas Stockings
Matching students with families for meals in homes
Arranging all night Resident hosts to be present with students between
11:00 pm and 8:00 am. This
person will:
stay
overnight in the dormitory
welcome
late guests
help
in case of illness
see
that the doors are locked
know
where the fuse/circuit breaker box is located
know
where the first aid kit is located
know
emergency procedures and telephone numbers
Flexibility
is the key word in any Christmas International House program, especially in the
first few days. Because some
students arrive early, late or not at all, individual programs need to develop
policies for how to deal with changes in schedules.
Good
communication with students and effective planning will make your task easier.
Keep in mind that time schedules may not be as important to the students
as they are to you. Provide
opportunities for as many people as possible in your church(es) to meet with the
students. Let your faith be
expressed through your hospitality and friendship.
CIH provides an opportunity for dialogue and witness, a time for learning
and sharing.
Most
of all, enjoy one a other.
ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF
INFORMATION
For further information
about this ministry, contact:
AMIS-Christmas
International House
3434 Roswell Road NW
Atlanta, GA 30305-1202
404-846-4396
404-846-4397 fax
A promotional video is
available from the CIH Coordinating Office.
Contact the Program Coordinator for further information.
For Cultural Information:
Good web sites for General
Country information
www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/country-frame.html
Items to include
Dates of Program
Closest airport
Activities oriented or family life oriented
Size of program
Weather – snow, hot
Tourist sights located in the area
Types of activities
Housing arrangements – private homes or group housing
Additional costs-How much extra money to bring
Green Forrest is located in the beautiful hill
country of Transavania. Several
surrounding churches have joined together to welcome you in our homes and share
the joy of Christmas with our families. You
will join other International students for two weeks of local activities in our
surrounding area. You will
spend an afternoon at a local
ranch, visit the near by historic
city of Chambers, wander
through our famous Museum of Art, and tour a local television station.
Your evenings will include several parties, a boat trip along the Sully
River, and an International Evening
for which you will be invited to prepare your favorite dish or meal from your
country to share with all of the host families.
Bring your favorite recipes, costumes, pictures and other things of
interest from your home country to share.
While you are visiting Green Forrest, your
transportation, meals and entrance fees on group excursions will be provided at
no cost to you. There will be an
optional all day trip into the city of New
London where the transportation cost will be $35 per person. The temperatures are usually moderately warm (50-65 F)
although cold rainy days are possible. Bring
clothing for being outdoors. Our
closest airport is Sully River and local bus and train transportation are also
available.
We hope that you will come and enjoy our hospitality and the fellowship and friendliness of our people. We are eager to meet you and show you our city.
Dear Friend,
We are excited that you
will be joining us in Transavania for the Christmas Holidays.
Your Hosts are eagerly planning for your arrival and have organized many
activities. Your hosts will be
members and friends of the First Presbyterian Church in Forrest Green.
Travel:
Christmas International House – Transavania begins
Saturday, December 18 and ends Sunday, January 2.
Please let us know when you plan to arrive and depart – the dates, the
times, and if you are flying, the airline and flight number that will bring you
to our closest airport, Transavania National Airport.
Weather:
In December, the weather is usually
very cold in Transavania but the temperatures could vary from -10 to 50
degrees F. We could have snow and cold winds, so bring warm clothing,
hats, gloves, scarves or layers to keep warm.
Money:
Plan to bring sufficient cash and/or traveler’s checks for your
expenses because local banks do not cash personal checks.
(Traveler’s checks in American dollars are available at your local
banks near your college campus) You
will be living with an individual or family and will be included in the
activities of that home. Meals in
your host home will be provided. Most
activities will be covered but special tours, optional trips and personal
shopping will be at your own expense.
International
Dinner:
We will have an “International Evening” one night after Christmas.
Students will prepare the meal cooking
many of their native country’s recipes
for their host families and friends.
You will also have the opportunity to entertain with music, dances, skits
if you would like. You may want to
bring your favorite recipes, clothing typical of your country, slides,
photographs, musical instruments, tapes of music that you could share with your
new American friends and fellow students.
Reply
Form: Enclosed you will find a
reply Conformation Card and information sheet.
The reply form is our confirmation that you are coming.
Please try to return this within 5 days even if you do not yet have all
of your travel information or if you have decided not to come.
Please include your e-mail address so that we may contact you by e-mail
with any additional information and questions.
You may give us additional travel information by e-mail as soon as your
plans are definite.
If you must cancel, please do contact us immediately so that a student who has not been placed may have the
opportunity to come and the host family will not be disappointed.
If you have a last minute
change in your travel plans, please contact us immediately at one of the numbers
below so that the person who is to meet you will have the correct time.
We are looking forward to
your visit and are anxious to hear from you.
If you have any questions, please e-mail or telephone us.
Sincerely,
Jan Smith, Program Director
Sally Green
jsmith@yahoo.com
sgreen@hotmail.com
999-888-7777
999-888-6666
Send mail to :
CIH- Jan Smith
PO Box 1234
Green Forrest, Transavania
You may also include a
daily schedule
List of items to bring –
Green
Forrest, Transavania Christmas International House Program
Saturday,
December 18-Sunday, January 2
Please
fill out the information below so that we
can get to know you better. Mail
with your confirmation card within 5 days of receiving this notice.
Also please include a copy of your student
id photo so we can easily recognize you when you arrive.
Name and
Address:
Full Name
(circle last name) _________________________________________________________
Your
e-mail address ___________________________________
Telephone # __________________
Name you
preferred to be called _________________________
Home
Country _________________
Date of Birth ______________ male __ female __
Mailing
address in the US ___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
College
attending ______________________________
Major _____________________
Contact
Information:
In case of
emergency, please contact in the US (name)________________________________
Telephone
_______________________
Name/Address/Telephone
# of Parents: _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Interests:
My
favorite American foods are _______________________________________________
Do you
have any allergies to foods, pets, dietary restrictions?
______________________________________
In my
spare time, I enjoy ____________________________________________________
My
religion is _____________________________
Tell us
about your family, brothers? Sisters?
________________________________________________
I wanted
to join this program because
_______________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Something
I would like my host family to know about me is:
______________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
I enjoy
young children, yes or no? ___________
I would
enjoy staying with a family without children, yes or no?
______
I enjoy
family pets, yes or no? ________
I would
prefer staying in a home without family pets, yes or no?
______
Activities:
I would
like to register for the following optional one day bus trips:
(Please include check or money order payment made out to First
Presbyterian Church, Forrest Green.
____
Washington DC
Cost per person $25
____
New York City
Cost per student $35
The cost
includes the chartered bus and guide for the day. You need to bring additional money for meals and any shopping
you want to do
You will
have opportunities for activities with other CIH students as well as your host
families to visit places in the Transavania area. What kinds of activities do you prefer? Museums, tourist sights, historic sites? Outdoor activities
like skating, swimming,
a day in the country, a day at the beach?
Return to Jan Smith
PO Box 1234
Forrest Green, Transavania 11111
CHRISTMAS INTERNATIONAL HOUSE CONFIRMATION
You have been invited to our program. Please complete _________________________________________________
this form and mail immediately to the address on the reverse Arrival Date at CIH Departure Date from CIH
side. For details on the Christmas International House
Program, see accompanying letter. By Plane:_________________________________________
Airport Airline Flt# Arrival Time
______________________________________________
Full Name (Circle Family Name) By Bus: _________________________________________
Bus Line
City Arrival
Time
______________________________________________ By Car with Others: ________________________________
United States Street Address Approximate time of day
______________________________________________ By personal car: _________________________________
City
State
Zip
Approximate
time of day
______________________________________________ ______ I cannot come because: _________________________
US College or University ___________________________________________________