Linking students with American families

The annual host family picnic was held on the ELI lawn in July.

The ELI host family program is more active than ever before, with some 105 families now participating -- a wonderfully supportive network which virtually guarantees every student a "family-away-from-home."

With Mary Quayle rotating off as coordinator, Nancy Purcell has renamed the program "Students and Families Linked Together," to more clearly indicate the intent of the volunteer effort in which local families offer hospitality to ELI students by inviting them for dinner in their homes, including them in family activities or taking them on excursions to baseball games or other local attractions.

One of Purcell's goals for the program has been to draw upon families to help ease the loneliness and confusion some students face when they first arrive in Delaware. This goal was first realized in September, when some 30 families invited early arrivals to stay in their homes until permanent accommodations became available.

With the arrangement a huge success, ELI is planning to offer this hospitality on a regular basis.

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