Kathie Dodd, Barbara Cohen and Beth Duncombe drive the Globe Runner Scholarship Fund. They, and generous community donations, are the reason that more than a dozen high school students have been able to experience the life-changing effects of international cultural exchange and family stays over the past three years. Globe Runner, set up in 2021, provides scholarships for half of the exchange program costs, domestic travel and one-on-one mentoring.

The AFS-USA Faces of America program for high-achieving, under-represented high school students funds the other half of the program costs. Duncombe had experience with AFS Faces of America in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the 10 years she and her husband sponsored foreign exchange scholarships there.

“The Foundation provides the framework to accept donations, manages the paperwork, and works to find other donors interested in the cause so we can expand to more students,” Dodd says. “So far, we’ve sent 13 students to places like Spain, Colombia, Kenya, Egypt, Germany and Ghana.”

Helping families and students—many of whom have never been on an airplane or traveled outside their local areas—prepare for an international exchange is complicated and time consuming. “But inspiring and worth it,” Cohen says. “The kids are amazing! They change their perception about their future opportunities after living with a family abroad. And the parents grow, too. We had one Native American mom who had many concerns about sending her son on an exchange. But after he returned, she now tells everyone about the program and how valuable it was for her son.”