Tag Archives: J-1 visa

Celebrating 18 years as an APIA Community Counselor!

Eighteen years ago I started as a community counselor with Au Pair in America! I have met so many amazing au pairs, host families and colleagues in that time and had the opportunity to learn about the world and other cultures. About 7 years ago, Lisa Maxwell made the decision to join me in the au pair world and we make a dynamic duo!

U.S. Capital

This last year has been a challenging time for cultural exchange. Hopefully things will continue to improve and we will be able to keep on Bringing the World Together. 🌍❤️🌎❤️

The Au Pair Education Requirement

Au pairs are required to complete 6 credits or 7.2 CEUs or 72 or more hours.

EduCare Companions are required to complete 12 credits or 14.4 CEUs or 144 or more hours.

You may take credit or non-credit classes from an accredited college. Look on the right side of this page under “Education Options” for accredited schools in our cluster area. If you want to take a class at a school not listed here on my blog, please check with me first to make sure it is accredited. Otherwise, it would not count toward your education requirement.

Your host family will pay an education allowance to assist you in completing your education requirement. Au Pairs education allowance – $500, EduCare education allowance – $1000

There are ways to get your credits for just your education allowance, but it will not give you a lot of choices. Normally au pairs will contribute some of their own money ($200+) towards their education.

The APIA Advantage UCLA Course is the only State Dept. approved class with an online component. No other online classes are accepted.

Note: Au pairs are allowed to take one weekend course for up to half their education requirement per contract year. The Department of State views our program as a cultural exchange experience and an au pair going to a campus over the length of a semester alongside her American peers facilitates this while promoting the spirit of the program.

Photo: CollegeDegrees360

30 Hours of Service Update – Sending Smiles

Back in May, we announced that our cluster would be celebrating Au Pair in America’s 30th anniversary year with 30 Hours of Service in 2016. We are counting the time preparing for and carrying out the volunteer projects.

We have done these project so far:
April 10 – Making Sandwiches for the Homeless (5 hours of service)
July 31 – J-Day Shoe Donation (3 hours)
August 9 – Storm Drain Project (6 hours)
September – Preparing for International Festival (4 hours)

And at our November 27 cluster meeting – Making cards for Sending Smiles (2 hours)

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Still to come:
December – Holiday Global Awareness presentation for Cub Scouts, buying and wrapping gifts for needy kids, making scarves and volunteering at a school Santa shop.

The Au Pair Education Requirement

7658288734_de19b54754_zAu pairs are required to complete 6 credits or 8 CEUs or 72 or more hours.

EduCare Companions are required to complete 12 credits or 16 CEUs or 144 or more hours.

You may take credit or non-credit classes from an accredited college. Look on the right side of this page under “Education Options” for accredited schools in our cluster area. If you want to take a class at a school not listed here on my blog, please check with me first to make sure it is accredited. Otherwise, it would not count toward your education requirement.

Your host family will pay an education allowance to assist you in completing your education requirement. Au Pairs education allowance – $500, EduCare education allowance – $1000

There are ways to get your credits for just your education allowance, but it will not give you a lot of choices. Normally au pairs will contribute some of their own money ($200+) towards their education.

The APIA Advantage UCLA Course is the only State Dept. approved class with an online component. No other online classes are accepted.

Note: Au pairs are allowed to take one weekend course for up to half their education requirement per contract year. The Department of State views our program as a cultural exchange experience and an au pair going to a campus over the length of a semester alongside her American peers facilitates this while promoting the spirit of the program.

Photo: CollegeDegrees360

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30 Hours of Service Update

Back in May, we announced that our cluster would be celebrating Au Pair in America’s 30th anniversary year with 30 Hours of Service in 2016.

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J-Day Shoe Collection Event

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Storm Drain Marking Project

We have done three project so far:

April 10 – Making Sandwiches for the Homeless (5 hours of service)

July 31 – J-Day Shoe Donation (3 hours)

August 9 – Storm Drain Project (6 hours)

 

 

 

 

Still to come…

September – Making Cards for Hospitalized Kids

October – Bowie International Festival

 

Celebrating APIA’s 30th Anniversary with Service

Au Pair in America launched the first U.S. au pair program in 1986. We are celebrating our 30th anniversary this year. Lisa and I discussed ways to celebrate this momentous occasion and came up with a plan for our cluster to carry out 30 Hours of Service in 2016.

Au pairs always enjoy opportunities to take part in service projects. We normally do one or two projects each year as a cluster. This year we are stepping up our game. We are looking for ways to volunteer in a variety of different types of charities (benefitting the homeless, children, animals, the environment, etc.) We will post updates as our projects continue. So, check back to see what we can do when we work together.

We have done one project so far:

April 10 – Making Sandwiches for the Homeless (5 hours of service)

 

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How are we counting the 30 hours?

We are counting the time our group works on the project together (making sandwiches 1 1/2 hours), time preparing for event and purchasing supplies (2 hours) and time delivering them to DC Central Kitchen (1 1/2 hours.)