Carol Benton and Linn Kereji’s clusters celebrated J-day on Sunday, July 23 with a very successful shoe drive at Heritage Park in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Many host families and au pairs attended and brought bags of shoes (over 200 pairs were collected!) and lots of smiles too.    The theme of the event was our cultural exchange program and its benefits to au pairs and host families.  In advance of the event, our au pairs and host families wrote a few sentences about the value of their cultural exchange experience which Carol compiled and distributed to attendees.

One of Carol Benton’s host families, Laura and Michael Gruskin, have been with Au Pair in America since 1994 when their oldest son was born.    They attended our J-Day event with their youngest son Nik, who has grown up with au pairs.  The Gruskins were honored at the event for their outstanding success and are welcoming their 25th au pair in August.

Host mom, Laura, graciously spoke about their positive experiences and offered advice to some of our new host families.   Carol composed and read a poem covering highlights of the Gruskins years in our program and presented them with a certificate of excellence.

It was especially meaningful since the Gruskins began their amazing “adventure” with Au Pair in America in 1994, the same year Carol became a counselor!