by Regional Director, Faith Morse
I’ve worked with Greenheart for a while now and I’d like to think that I know a good Local Coordinator candidate when I see one. It’s probably true that there are qualities that I look for. Someone outgoing, who is well known and well connected in their community of course always makes a good candidate. But the truth is that great local coordinators come in many shapes and sizes and aren’t always what you’d expect them to be.
Doris, a new Local Coordinator
I have a new Local Coordinator, we’ll call her Doris. She’s just what you’d picture as a local coordinator. She’s somewhere around 40 and is a school teacher. She works in the language department and teaches high school Spanish. Add to that, she’s been an exchange student herself and is a “new” American and you can already see the magic writing on the wall.
Doris came on board to be the Local Coordinator for a friend of hers who wanted to host a second year. I’d been Doris’ friend’s LC the first year and she lived at the edge of my 120 miles so I asked this host mom if she had a friend who, might be willing to be her LC so I didn’t have to drive through the mountains in the winter. She agreed to be a Local Coordinator for this special case, and yet, just five weeks later, Doris had placed her 5th student!
I had sent her profiles of students I thought she’d like, and she told me which family she knew who should host each student. In every case, once she told the family about that student–they agreed, and they signed up to host!
Doris is bubbly, enthusiastic, too busy to add another thing to her schedule and yet somehow, she makes it work. She knows everyone and everyone loves her. She instantly falls head over heels in love with a student and then is on a mission to find that kid a host home! I’d say Doris is a natural born Local Coordinator. She even has great instincts for monitoring and staying in touch through the season. She makes recruiting host families look effortless and easy.
But remember how I said good Local Coordinators can come in different packages? Well don’t despair if you aren’t a Doris. I want to tell you about another good Local Coordinator I have who is very different and still successful.
Mary, another good Local Coordinator
No one would ever describe Mary as bubbly, not even Mary. She’s more of a serious and even solemn person. She’s retired, still busy but definitely not in the same way or to the same extent that Doris is.
Mary had been working for Greenheart for a couple of years already when I inherited her region. She hadn’t placed her first student when we met, and I don’t think anyone expected that to change. But when I talked to Mary a beautiful thing happened. Mary shared some of who she is with me; she has a real passion for helping kids. She believes in our mission, in the idea that international student exchange can change the world. Over the next few months Mary and I talked about specific kids, ones that she saw who had that special something and needed a chance and a host family.
Mary worked hard, she set up meetings with her local schools. She asked her parish to let her speak at a special time in front of the women’s group. Mary printed out flyers about her special kids, the ones she couldn’t stop thinking about. She talked to people who were retired, and to her sorority group when they met for an annual meeting. She spoke to teachers and preachers. Some of the students she picked to find families for were Muslim, so she called the local mosque. Mary tried asking young couples and single women, she called school athletic programs and equestrian centers. She talked to so many people, she had to print more flyers and still she hadn’t placed her first student. She worked hard and diligently. I got tired just watching her.
And then it happened. Someone said yes, they would host a student!
They agreed with Mary’s vision that exchange can change the world. They submitted a host family application, picked a student (one of Mary’s favorites, of course), the school signed the High School Permission Form, and without trumpets or confetti–Mary had placed her first student! It wasn’t glamorous, or quick. She had worked hard to get this first placement. But diligent Mary didn’t pause, she kept doing what she’d been doing. She printed more flyers. We talked about other kids and she picked new favorites. Mary kept talking to the people at the grocery store, the hair salon, the nail boutique, and the seamstress. People told Mary why they don’t host, why they can’t host, and she nodded and went on, always kind and always asking for referrals. Mary had placed no students in her first year and no students in her second year. But that year, she placed six students in eight months. She is also a great Local Coordinator!
So what makes a good Local Coordinator? Well two things help. First, I think you have to believe–in the students and in the mission, and second, you just never give up. You could be a Doris or a Mary. The turtle and the rabbit both make it to the end of the race, because they just keep going!
Think you’d be a good Local Coordinator? Apply today at PlacewithGreenheart.org.