Aspect Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, selects local international coordinators in communities to locate host families for exchange students from 26 different non-English speaking countries. Duane Slocum is the local coordinator, matching exchange students and host families within the Pikes Peak region.Each year, Slocum begins the quest to find five welcoming families by helping them select a student from a database of more than 200 students. Host families can be a traditional family, empty nesters or a single parent with children in the home. Exchange students come for the entire 2016-17 high school year, and most students arrive in early August.Each student has passed English speaking and writing texts and arrives with spending money and medical insurance. The Aspect database provides photos, a detailed profile of the student and a letter from the student and his or her parents.Slocum is currently looking for a host family for 17-year-old Roosa from Finland, who likes photography, hiking, biking, swimming and skiing. She has two younger siblings.Also available is Giorgia, age 17, from Italy. She enjoys Zumba, music and choir, playing the guitar, playing soccer; and she has a younger sister. Slocum works with school districts throughout the Pike Peak region. “We are still waiting for students to be posted on the database from Italy, France and the South American countries, as they are just now finishing their paperwork in their home country,î Slocum said.Hosting an exchange student is a cultural and exciting venture for families, especially for those living in the Pikes Peak region. For more information, interested families can contact Slocum via his email — slocumduane@hotmail.com or by calling 719-599-8955.Duane Slocum is retired from Corp America; and, after his retirement, he substitute taught for 10 years and freelanced for the weekly Woodmen Edition.
