Welcome to AFS Massachusetts Bay

	What is the Mass Bay Area Team? The Mass Bay Area Team is a community of volunteers who service the American students who go abroad with AFS, the students who come to this area to spend nearly a year living with a host family, their host families, local AFS adult chapters, the AFS school clubs. We interview, hold orientations, and support these participants according to the AFS mission, core values, and international standards of AFS. Where are we located? Our geographical area includes all of Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts from just west of Worcester, and southern and eastern New Hampshire. This includes the cities of Boston, Providence, Worcester, Manchester, Lowell, and Cambridge, as well as Concord, NH. What do we do? As an Area Team we oversee the AFS program in this area: we run major team orientations, meetings, information nights and functions, we manage our budget, and we ensure that we comply with all AFS regulations and US State Department guidelines. Click on the images to the left to see some of our recent activities, or click here for a full list. The Team consists of a Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, and Coordinators of Hosting, Support, Volunteers, Returnees, Orientations, and Special Programs (who oversee scholarships funded by the State Department and Congress). In addition, the team has four people who coordinate the recruitment and interviewing of students going abroad. The area is divided into 6 ‘districts’: Cape Cod and the Islands, Greater Providence, Southeast, South Shore, Metro West and North Shore/New Hampshire. Each district has a district representative and a support coordinator who work closely with families and students in their district, and with the volunteer liaisons assigned to each. Many communities within these districts have local units, as well. How are we doing? Each year Mass Bay hosts approximately 50 students for the year or semester programs, and we send 75 students abroad for a summer, a semester, or a year. An important part of our success is the collegial partnership we have with the full time staff in the regional office in Baltimore and throughout AFS-USA, and with local schools. Our goal is to change the world one person at a time. How can I get involved? We're glad you asked! If you live in our area and are interested in studying abroad for a summer, semester, or a year, hosting a foreign student, volunteering with us, hearing a presentation about study abroad at your school or community group, or are an AFS returnee who wants to reconnect, please contact us for more information. If you live outside the MassBay area, please go to the AFS USA website or call the AFS Info Center at 800-AFS-INFO. The AFS-USA Mission: AFS-USA works toward a more just and peaceful world by providing international and intercultural learning experiences to individuals, families, schools, and communities through a global volunteer partnership. Core Values of AFS-USA: Respect for cultural diversity Commitment to resolving conflict through dialogue and negotiation Empowerment of volunteers as the principal stakeholders of program activity Belief in the power of individuals working together to bring about change Commitment to providing service to as many and to as broad a spectrum of society as possible Encouragement for participants, staff, and volunteers to incorporate these attitudes and skills into our lives.