Friends with International Students partners with Cal State University Fullerton to connect international students with American Friends.
We invite you to join us as we befriend students from around the world! These students are away from family and friends for months to years and seek American friends. Our expressions of friendship not only help them to navigate life in the United States through answering questions about our culture, helping with day to day living like opening a US bank account and where to buy school supplies and food, but also open doors for questions about faith and Jesus Christ. We have the opportunity to step across cultural and language boundaries and be the hands and feet of Jesus.
There are currently 70,000+ international students who come to the Greater Los Angeles area each year from numerous countries around the world. The next generation of world leaders is coming to our universities, according to statistics and we have the opportunity to have a positive impact on their lives.
God is doing incredible things in the lives of our international students and their American friends! We invite you to be a part!
How to be involved:
1. Be a Friendship Partner: Each semester new students arrive from their countries and experience significant adjustment challenges. Many are eager to be matched with an American friend who invites them either into their home for a meal or out for coffee at least once a month (or however often you and your friend wish to meet.) It’s an easy way to provide encouragement and introduction to American culture. And, in so doing, you can profoundly impact an international friend. For anyone who is interested in participating in this ministry, please plan to attend a mandatory 1-hour Zoom Orientation and Equipping session on either Tuesday, September 5, at 7 PM or Thursday, September 7, at 7 PM. If you wish to be a Friendship Partner but those training dates don’t work for you, an alternate session will be provided. Please click the button below to RSVP for an Orientation and Equipping Session.
2. Be an Event Volunteer:
• Beach Bonfire – September 9: One-time drivers and set up help are needed for the Beach Bonfire, Dinner and Welcome Party on Saturday, September 9, at 4 PM at Huntington State Beach.
• Game Nights – September 23, October 14 & 28:
• Host a group of 7-15 students in your home for a Game Night. The hosts will have 3-4 additional volunteers to help with supplying the food, transportation of students to and from your home and for engaging in friendship throughout the night.
• Be a Support Volunteer who will come alongside the host and help with food as the host needs it, transport students to and from the host’s home and engage in friendship throughout the event.
• Thanksgiving in an American Home – Saturday, November 18:
We hope to have multiple homes hosting a Thanksgiving meal for international students who have never experienced this holiday. We need those who will host the event in their home AND support volunteers who can help the host with providing food, transporting students and engaging in friendship throughout the event. This celebration lends itself to conversations of faith.
To sign up to help volunteer at any of the events, please click the “More Info” button below.
3. Donate:
• Donate food or raffle prizes for our events.
• Donate furniture. Students often have to furnish their own apartment and that is expensive. Bless a student with a gently used desk, couch, table, chairs, etc. (No mattresses, please.)
For additional information about the International Students Ministry, please contact Linda LeFeuvre at linda.lefeuvre@ifcfriends.org.