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.
Cultural exchange experiences can be life-changing for the high schooler AND for the host family AND for the host pets! We were delighted to hear this story from Bob and Shawna about their host mom and dad experience this past year….what pleasant surprises and unforgettable moments. And yes, there’s a puppy involved!
“This was our first time hosting a student. What was I thinking! We were empty nested. I thought I’d like to try new things. Why not? We couldn’t host until after our children were grown and out of the house. Time to give back.
We reviewed about four applicant files before becoming comfortable with our chosen student. We wanted to make sure she would fit into our lifestyle and we mutually with hers. We chose Jone from Sopela, Spain. It was strange to hear how her school programs worked. No breakfast or lunch offered. No school sport programs. All the activities are in extracurricular clubs.
We had to convince the school board to allow more than two students per year into the district. If we didn’t; we wouldn’t have had the pleasure of meeting Jone and her family. By doing this, the district opened two more spots for exchange students in our high school.
Hosting was a fantastic experience. We were learning about her culture, and she was anxious to learn about ours. Jone jumped right into the school. She joined the cross-country team for fall. She continued with winter weights to keep in shape until track began in the spring. She decided to try hurdles and found that challenging. Jone attended her first Homecoming dance, Winter formal, and Prom. I think she was excited and seemed to have a great time with her friends.
Jone was exceptionally quiet. Her dad even warned us. It was a struggle to get her to relax, smile, and laugh. We did later find out that her dad and Bob (host dad) were similar. We celebrated New Year’s Eve with her family via Skype. It was only 5:00 p.m. here and midnight in Spain. We tried to go about how they celebrated with family; her grandparents, mom, dad and sister. In Spain, they eat a grape every time the bell chimes. We learned that I should have bought smaller size grapes. We looked like we had chipmunk cheeks.
The hardest adjustment for us was having to pick up Jone from school sport practices. We live 11 miles from school. She rode the bus to and from school when there wasn’t any practice. Those days were few. Exchange students are not allowed to drive while here. If you already have kids in sports and are used to driving, then it’s no big deal. We admit we were spoiled when our kids were able to drive themselves to and from school, sports and work. At one point, Jone wanted to go back home for the summer then return here for school. She loved the school.
While Jone was here, our Welsh Corgi Pembroke, Isabel, had six puppies. We had the Yellowstone litter born October 4th, 2022. We had one male and five females. Jone loved coming home to the puppies. She loves dogs and cats. She is a magnet for animals.
When the puppies were about two weeks old, Bob asked her if she would like to take a puppy home to Spain, on one condition – her parents would have to say yes. The very next morning Jone came running into the kitchen before school and said, ” my dad said yes”. And so, the saga began on how we get a dog to Spain. Jone started researching what was required for the pup to travel. In Spain, they need to have a pet passport, be microchipped, and up-to-date on vaccines, as well as have a rabies certificate. Also, when traveling internationally the pet must have a USDA stamp for flying, within 10 days of flight. Easy. No problem, right? WRONG.
The first bump in the road was that certain airlines do not allow international travel of pets in the main cabin. Most require them to go cargo. Cargo is EXPENSIVE ($X, XXX). The airline she was booked on – cancellation/change policy had already passed since it was purchased as a round trip back in March 2022. So, we did look into cargo. It also had a major flaw, the temperatures. Excessive heat or cold and the pets don’t fly. Well, being from Kansas and the first stop was Dallas, TX which gets even hotter than Kansas was a no-go. USDA paperwork was done for June 5th – too hot to travel. The puppy had to stay with us. Upset Jone, Upset host family. Drained emotionally.
The saga continued. We began frantically searching all avenues to get Jone her pup, Teeter. Shawna found an airline that allowed two pets per flight internationally in the cabin for a reasonable fee. The planning began to get Bob (host dad) out to Spain with Teeter. A date was chosen by Bob and Jone’s dad, Jon. July 13th ready or not here they come. All vet paperwork and USDA paperwork had to be completed again. Tiny little problem; Teeter had grown some more. The kennel that had to fit under the seat had to conform to 11″x11″ x 18″. Teeter herself was 22 in long. Teeter practiced for two weeks prior to travel in her kennel. We were sure glad she liked to sleep all curled up. The soft kennel expanded so she could stretch out once the seatbelt sign was off. Bob said Teeter did great on the flight.
Jone and Teeter were reunited on July 14th morning. Teeter now has two German Shepherds and a cat for siblings. Bob got to spend a week with Jone’s family; he celebrated grandma’s birthday, saw some amazing sites, and enjoyed their culture.
There is an open invitation to Jone and her family to come visit anytime and should Jone choose to go to college here, she is more than welcome.
I believe our host year was a great success for both parties…and Teeter!
In addition to the host family’s story, Janice, their Greenheart Local Coordinator, added:
“In addition to what Shawna has told you, I want to add my praise. Jone was an exceptional student in every way, adjusting beautifully to the family, school and community. She maintained a perfect 4.00 grade point average and embraced the American school extracurricular experiences, truly having the “Friday Night Lights” experience. She volunteered 32.5 hours and was selected as one of the students to go on the Greenheart Hawaii trip. Naturally quiet and shy, we watched her become more confident as the year progressed and she developed strong relationships with family and friends. As a coordinator you always work for a perfect family/student/school match and we definitely got that with Jone. I wonder how many Spanish words Teeter has learned? It took a lot of effort but he and his person are back together again.”
Thank you, Shawna and Bob, Jone and Janice for sharing such an inspiring experience with us! Here’s wishing Teeter all the best on her cultural exchange experience.
Interested in hosting a Greenheart Exchange high-school student like Jone? Visit HostwithGreenheart.org to learn more, to Meet our Students, and to apply.