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:
- Be an American Friend
- You would be connected with one (or more!) students seeking an American friend. Over the semester you would help them navigate life in the United States, invite them to your home for dinner, take them to an American event like a baseball game, have them teach you to cook a meal from their culture, or whatever sounds fun to all of you!
- Friends with International Students also provides group events to attend together with other International Students and American Friends
- Orientation is provided to help you navigate cultural differences and answer any questions that you have at the beginning of each semester.
- Event Volunteer
- Help serve fun, run games, be a table host, drive students to or from RDFC, or more for our events.
- Sign up to be on our email list of volunteer needs.
- Donations
- 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… (Unfortunately we cannot accept mattresses.)
- Sign up to be on our email list of donation needs.
To sign up and for more information contact:
Pastor of Local Outreach: Mandi Pettikas at MandiP@rdf.org
UPCOMING EVENTS:
THANKSGIVING WITH INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
Saturday, November 23 | 4-9 PM
Thanksgiving is an incredible way to engage international students in an American tradition and have significant conversations about gratefulness. International students are intrigued with American Thanksgiving, including why we celebrate and the food we eat. Sitting down for a meal together provides a perfect opportunity for us to show hospitality through food and American traditions. We want to welcome these students into our homes and have intentional conversations about how we use Thanksgiving to show our gratitude to God. Thanksgiving also kicks off the Christmas season and will open up conversations about the significance that the story of Christmas plays in our lives.
There are two ways you can be a part of sharing Thanksgiving with International Students:
-
- Be a Host Home: Invite 4-10 International Students and 4-6 Support Volunteers into your home for a Thanksgiving dinner. The Support Volunteers will help you provide and host the meal. Training will be provided Sunday, November 17, from 12-1 PM in the Fireside Room.
- Be a Support Volunteer: Partner with a Host Home to bring food for the Thanksgiving meal and get to know the international students.
Training will be provided Sunday, November 17, from 12-1 PM in the Fireside Room.
Deadline to sign up is Sunday, November 10. Questions? Contact Mandi Pettikas at MandiP@rdf.org.
Below are some pictures from our past events!
