Foreign high school students are scheduled to arrive soon  for academic semester and year homestay programs, and the  sponsoring organization needs a few more local host families.  The students are anxiously awaiting news of their new  families. This is the last chance for these young ambassadors  to fulfill their life long dreams.

According to Pacific Intercultural Exchange (P.I.E.)  President, John Doty, the students are all between the ages  of 15 and 18 years, are English-speaking, have their own  spending money, carry accident and health insurance, and  are anxious to share their cultural experiences with their  new American families. P.I.E. currently has programs to  match almost every family's needs, ranging in length from  one semester to a full academic year, where the students  attend local public and private high schools.  P.I.E. area representatives match students with host families  by finding common interests and lifestyles through an  informal in-home meeting. Prospective host families are  able to review student applications and select the perfect  match.

As there are no "typical" host families, P.I.E. can fit  a student into just about any situation, whether it is a single  parent, a childless couple, a retired couple or a large family.  Families who host for P.I.E. are also eligible to claim a  monthly charitable contribution deduction on their itemized  tax returns for each month they host a sponsored student.  For the upcoming programs, P.I.E. has students from  Germany, the Former Soviet Union, Venezuela, Argentina,  Brazil, Hungary, Korea, Mexico, Australia, China, and  many other countries. P.I.E. is also participating in two special  government-funded programs to bring scholarship students  from the Newly Independent States of the former  Soviet Union as well as predominantly Islamic countries  such as Yemen, Syria, Jordan, Morocco, Kuwait, Iraq and  Qatar to the United States. P.I.E. is a non-profit educational  organization that has sponsored more than 25,000 students  from 45 countries since its founding in 1975. The organization  is designated by the United States Department of State  and is listed by the Council on Standards for International  Educational Travel (CSIET), certifying that the organization  complies with the standards set forth in CSIET's Standards  for International Educational Travel Programs.  Doty encourages families to contact the program immediately,  as it will allow the proper time for the students and  hosts to get to know one another before they actually meet  for the first time. Coos area families interested in learning  more about student exchange or arranging for a meeting  with a community representative may call P.I.E., toll-free, at  1-866-546-1402. The agency also has travel/study program  opportunities available for American high school students  as well as possibilities for community volunteers to assist  and work with area host families, students and schools.