Charity Spotlight
Walnut Creek’s Youth Ambassador Program Encourages Exchanges with Sister Cities By Fran Doggett, Walnut Creek Sister City International, Communications Volunteer
W
alnut Creek Sister Cities International (WCSCI) organizes a Youth Ambassador Exchange (YAE!!) for 8th grade students with our two sister cities: Noceto, Italy and Siófok, Hungary. On September 27th, twenty-six 8th grade students, along with four parent chaperones and two teacher chaperones, departed on the adventure of a lifetime. They had been preparing for this trip for months, and now the day had come for their journey to begin. The mix of emotions felt by students, parents and organizers as they assembled to depart was palpable! For ten days, the students and chaperones experienced life and culture in one of our sister cities. Each 8th grade ambassador was hosted by a family in their assigned sister city. They experienced day to day life in a foreign country, were exposed to rich culture and sights, and gained travel experience and a sense of independence. In addition to the amazing experience, the delegations gained amazing friendships, far greater than they could imagine when this all began. The incredible warmth and welcoming from our sister cities, the students, families and communities, truly embodies the mission statement of WCSCI:
Walnut Creek 8th grade Siófok delegation visits Budapest
and interested in applying to be a YAE!! Ambassador for the 2019/2020 exchange must attend a mandatory informational meeting on January 6th, 7-8:30 p.m.
in the Oak View Room at the Walnut Creek Library. For more information about WCSCI and YAE!!, please visit our website at www.wcsci.org.
Promote peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation – one individual, one community at a time. YAE!! Ambassadors and families are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Noceto and Siófok delegations in April 2019. The students and families cannot wait to return the warmth and hospitality they received during their stay. This program not only brings students together, but it also brings families and communities together! Seventh-graders residing in Walnut Creek
Youth Ambassadors visit Siófok City Hall
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DECEMBER 2018
