Greenheart uses cookies to let you interact with our services, and for marketing and advertising purposes. Some of these cookies are strictly necessary for our sites to function and by using this site you agree that you have read and understand our use of cookies.
Our marketing and advertising cookies are non-essential and you can opt out of using them with this tool. Blocking cookies may impact your experience on our website.
These cookies are necessary for our sites to function properly. These cookies secure our forms, support login sessions and remember user dialogue. Because the site does not function without these cookies, opt-out is not available. They are not used for marketing or analytics.
These cookies are used to enhance the relevance of our advertising on social media and to tailor messages relevant to your interests.
These cookies collect anonymous data on how visitors use our site and how our pages perform. We use this information to make the best site possible for our users.
Privacy Notice
Greenheart International
Effective Date: 1/9/2019
This privacy notice describes how Greenheart International collects, uses, and discloses Personally Identifying Information (also known as “PII”) or Personal Data (collectively “Personal Information”) from and about users of Greenheart International websites. This privacy notice also applies to any associated paper forms. Please read this privacy notice before using Greenheart International websites or submitting any personal information.
These practices may be changed at any time. Changes will be posted along with the date of the change. You should review this privacy notice when you visit Greenheart International websites to make sure that you understand how Personal Information is collected, used, and disclosed.
The Personal Information you provide to us is only used to:
We may use non-Personal Information for additional reasons described in the remainder of this privacy notice.
If you identify yourself to us by sending us an email with questions or comments, we may retain your comments for future reference.
Greenheart collects Personal Information, which is information that on its own or in combination with other information may be used to identify, contact, or locate an individual. Examples include:
Greenheart International collects other information that relates to you but does not identify you. Examples include clickstream data and web-browsing information (such as the date and time you visit a website, whether you click on various advertisements or links and the search terms you enter when using a website), and information about your computer, device and internet connection, and geographic location.
We collect Personal Information from you in the following ways:
We may share information gathered by us from Greenheart International websites with governmental agencies or other companies assisting us in providing services to you. We may do so when:
Information provided under one of the four preceding bullet points will not be used by those receiving it for marketing purposes, unless specifically authorized by the user.
Third parties who provide webhosting services or other services that make possible the operation of Greenheart International websites and the services you request through the websites may have access to information that you provide us to the extent that those third parties require access to our databases to service the websites.
In connection with the sale or transfer of all or part of our assets, we reserve the right to transfer information we have obtained from or about you.
We are not responsible for any breach of security or for any actions of any third parties that receive information from us.
Greenheart International websites are hosted and maintained in the United States of America. Your Personal Information may be transmitted to countries outside of the European Economic Area, including the United States of America. You can obtain details of the mechanism under which your personal data is transferred outside the EU by contacting us. If your Personal Information is transferred outside the European Economic Area to third party service providers, we will take steps to ensure that your Personal Information receives the same level of protection as if it remained within the European Economic Area, including by entering into data transfer agreements using the European Commission approved Standard Contractual Clauses, or by relying on certification schemes such as the EU–US Privacy Shield.
Greenheart International websites use cookie and tracking technology to collect non-Personal Information. Our system also automatically gathers information about areas you visit on our websites, and about the links you select from within one of our websites to the other areas of the World Wide Web or elsewhere online. We use such information in the aggregate to understand how our users as a group use the services and resources provided on our websites. This way we know which areas of our websites are preferred by our users, which areas need improvement, and what technologies are being used so that we may continually improve our websites. Personal Information cannot be collected via cookies and other tracking technology, however, if you previously provided us with your Personal Information, cookies may be tied to such information. Aggregate cookie and tracking information may be shared with third parties but that aggregate information does not identify individual website users. Our web servers do not record visitor email addresses unless that information is submitted by the visitor. We may determine what technology is available through your browser to provide you with the most appropriate version of a web page. Greenheart International uses Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, Gravity Forms, Yoast, Formstack, Calendly, GoOverseas, and other web traffic tracking tools.
Greenheart International websites contain links to other websites. These links are for your convenience. We do not control, endorse or review the privacy notices of other websites, which may be different than this privacy notice. You should review the privacy notice of other websites before choosing to disclose Personal Information.
Greenheart takes steps to secure your Personal Information. We exercise care in providing secure transmissions when we need to transfer your Personal Information from our servers. Our websites use secure server software encryption, which is indicated by https in the url of the website. Encryption is a common method of ensuring that information remains private. Greenheart International cannot guarantee or warrant that the information that you transmit to us, or any communications is completely secure.
Greenheart International only retains data for as long as necessary for the purposes indicated in this privacy notice or for such other period as may be permitted or required by law.
For children age 14-16, Greenheart International takes additional steps to protect their Personal Information. We do not intend to collect Personal Information from children aged 13 or younger. These additional steps include:
The marks Greenheart, Greenheart Heart Logo, and Sobresmesa are either registered or unregistered trademarks of Greenheart International. All Rights Reserved. Any unauthorized use is prohibited.
Certain jurisdictions provide their residents or citizens with certain rights about their Personal Information. These may include the right to request access to the data we hold about you, to obtain a copy of your Personal Information, to request that your Personal Information be erased, to correct inaccurate information, to ask us to restrict how we process your Personal Information, or to withdraw your consent to our processing of your Personal Information. Your individual rights will depend on your residency and citizenship.
Please contact us using the following information for more information about this privacy notice, to notify us of a concern or complaint, or to exercise any of the individual rights you may have.
Data Protection Officer
By mail: 742 N LaSalle Dr. Chicago, IL 60654 Suite 300, USA
By email: click here
By phone: +1 312-944-2544
Additionally, all marketing emails and newsletters from Greenheart International allow you to opt out of further correspondence. You can do so by clicking the link within the emails, which will guide you on how to opt-out.
By Jillian Sims, AYP Compliance and Operations Manager
One evening, Swedish exchange student, John, was sitting at the kitchen table in California, working on some English homework with his host father, Don. As the two looked over high school grammar lessons and assignments, John thoughtfully looked up and asked how many hours his host father worked.
Don thought about it and replied that he worked about 60 hours on an average week, “But I work much less since you came here” he said. Don’s husband, Bill, was quick to agree that this was the case. Their family dynamic had definitely changed with the addition of John to their home. Don had felt that you “get from it what you put into it” when it comes to hosting, and they were serious in their commitment to John.
Upon hearing about the hours that Don was giving up to spend with him, John thought about it for a moment and with a smile brightening his face, said “thanks for taking the time to be with me.”
Don, who knows that John is rather reserved when it comes to sharing his feelings, was overwhelmed with the sentiment from his student. “That comment was a big deal to me. My heart turned over in my chest.”
For this family, the addition of John to their life has not just meant a great year of cultural exchange and the opportunity to welcome a new member of the family, but a chance to see the world through the eyes of someone else. It has meant bonding with another family miles away in another continent. It has meant memories that will never fade and will last forever in the hearts of all those touched by this exchange.
Don and Bill have not only been blessed with the opportunity to get to know John, but also his family. They have shared video conferences with his family, from grandfather, to sister, to mother. Don and Bill couldn’t imagine how much a parent must love their child to send them abroad to another family, and are so grateful for this gift from their student’s parents. Don laughs, sharing how when he speaks with John’s mother, it is her who insists that it is actually he and Bill who are giving her son such a gift.
It is incredibly obvious how much Don and Bill have enjoyed John in their lives and have gone out of their way to make him feel welcome. They prepared his room with care and intention: framing photos of his family from home, putting his name in big letters above his bed, and hanging inspirational messages like “Believe, you can do whatever you want” and the very beautiful and inspiring quote “Family, where life begins and love never ends.” They greeted him at the airport with a huge sign and open arms. And in their first week, they were already showing John what his new country had to offer.
Bill shares about their first bonding experience with their new son. “Like all new relationships, we spent several days just trying to understand the nature of the person that was going to live with us. Within the first week, we took John white water rafting on the American River. It is my first memory of him laughing. Our guide had us do a number of silly games that got us wet. Just the roller coast ride on the rapids made us all smile.”
One of their favorite things to do with John is travel, and its been a blast for both family and student. Bill says “There are so many things to remember about this experience. As we love to travel and therefore it was very rewarding to take John to Florida, Washington State and Southern California.” During a Florida theme park vacation, Don remembers vividly John’s face as he watched an impressive evening light show. Don and Bill had been frequent visitors to the park, but John couldn’t get his head around the grand themes and atmosphere.
Seeing John watching the show with a look of awe on his face, “that was a highlight,” Don says. He snapped a photo to capture the memory.
John himself speaks fondly of the experience and says “that place was awesome and we had so much fun together!”
But besides the opportunity for travel, the room tailored to welcome John, and all of the other wonderful things that Bill and Don have done for their student, there was something else that was at the foundation of their approach to hosting. They knew instinctively that universally, some things are true.
Bill says “We are a couple who have been fortunate to travel internationally on a regular basis. In our travels we learned that there are wonderful people everywhere and that all cultures aspire to have the same basic needs met.
Those needs include food, family, safety and comfort. We wanted to give a foreign exchange student an opportunity to experience, as we have, another culture. We also felt that with a life full of experiences we might have some life learning’s that we could share. We also expected that a student living with us would teach us many things about his/her life and culture.”
Don shares, too, how going forward with this understanding that essentially we are all the same, helped them prepare with open minds for the exchange. And though there are still some differences (such as the way that John always removed his shoes before entering the home, and now Don finds himself questioning whether he should remove his shoes upon entering his friend’s homes), generally, they see how life and family in Sweden is very much the same as it is in California.
Bill too has noticed John’s healthy lifestyle, and how he is not drawn towards the stereotypical American teen junk food diet. “We have learned the importance of sports and how his good health is part of his sense of well being. His outlook is consistently healthy.” But again,where there are some small differences, the larger theme of human universality is there. “I think John has learned that living with two dads or a dad and a mom are not much different. It’s all about having the same values and ethics.”
Having had such a great year, Bill says, “We would strongly encourage others to try hosting a student. Their are many little rewards to this experience that are difficult to articulate…. hosting gives you an opportunity to experience the world differently and do things you haven’t done in years.”
For all involved, this exchange has been a wonderful opportunity, and hopefully not a one time experience. The three plan to keep in touch through the years, as is often the case in many exchanges. If you are lucky, you gain a family for life, and it appears to be so in this case.
If you are interested in hosting, please check out how your family can become part of this amazing experience with CCI Greenheart by clicking here.