AFS Greater Chicago

05/08/2026

It’s Teacher Appreciation Week! 🍎📚

The dedication and care of educators across the country help create welcoming classrooms where exchange students can learn, grow, and feel at home – which is why they deserve to be celebrated. During this week-long celebration, we encourage our community – and especially our exchange students – to show teachers how much we value their role in the AFS-USA network.

If you’re a student hosted in the U.S., submit a photo of you with your teacher to [email protected] and tell us how you're thanking them during this special occasion. Our winner will receive some fun goodies to give their favorite teacher! You can also bring your teachers a treat or trinket from your home country or write a thank you note.

Don’t forget to tag us on IG at ! We hope you have fun showing your teachers some love this week!

04/30/2026

🎙️LIVE in-studio TOMORROW!

Join us as Patti Vasquez sits down with AFS Chicago for a special 30-minute interview to celebrate Whitney Young’s own Anne-Michelle Boyle as this year’s AFS Global Educator of the Year. Together they’ll chat about the importance of global learning and share details about the call to action to save international exchange funding!

Friday, May 1
5:30 PM
📻 WCPT 820 AM

Tune in via The Patti Vasquez Show on Facebook or catch the podcast after!

Photography ChicagoArtists

04/29/2026

Come discover Chicago this summer!

About The Table We Share: Food and Culture This one-week, homestay-based program will immerse students in Chicago’s neighborhoods, cultural centers,…

04/17/2026

Our AFS cowgirls, cowboys, and rodeo stars did not disappoint! 🤠 BBQ, country line dancing, great music, and an even better crowd made for such a fun weekend at the annual AFS Fun Fest!

04/15/2026

What a weekend in Washington, D.C.! 🌟 AFS Chicago Area volunteers joined an inspiring community of AFS representatives, alumni, and partners from around the world at the AFS ECA Programs Workshop and Community Summit, spending the weekend attending workshops and seminars, sharing best practices, and strengthening connections around this year’s theme: Cultivating Community and Creating Impact through global exchange.

The weekend was full of meaningful conversations, new connections, and valuable insights, and it served as a wonderful reminder of just how much heart and dedication our local AFS community brings to this work every single day.

And to top it all off, we had the incredible honor of watching our very own Anne-Michele Boyle be recognized as the 2026 AFS Global Educator of the Year! We could not think of a more fitting way to cap off an already inspiring weekend. 💛

Thank you to everyone who represented AFS Chicago Area so beautifully. We are so proud of this community!

04/14/2026

The FY27 President’s Budget Request proposed a 68% cut to U.S. international exchange programs - programs that have helped millions of people build cross-cultural understanding.

But Congress, not the Administration, decides the final funding. Last year, the exchange community sent 20,000+ letters to Congress, and lawmakers rejected a proposed 93% cut. Now our community must speak up again!

Join us in urging Congress to reject the proposed 68% cut and support strong funding for international exchange programs.

Take action today: https://www.votervoice.net/EXCHANGE/campaigns/136301/respond

04/10/2026

04/09/2026

Something exciting is coming this weekend! 🌍 Meet Amr, our AFS exchange student all the way from Egypt, who will be taking over BOTH the AFS Chicago Area () AND AFS-USA () Instagram accounts this weekend!

Get ready for an inside look at life as an AFS exchange student in Chicago: through Amr’s eyes! From his favorite local spots to the moments that have made his exchange experience unforgettable, you won’t want to miss it.

Give Amr a warm welcome in the comments and follow along this weekend for all the fun! 👋🧡

04/09/2026

A huge congratulations to Anne-Michele Boyle, honored as AFS Global Educator of the Year! 🎉 Anne-Michele was recognized in Washington, D.C. for her incredible dedication to creating transformative global learning experiences for her students at Whitney Young High School — and we couldn’t be more proud to call her one of our own here in the AFS Chicago Area community.

This recognition is so well deserved. Thank you, Anne-Michele, for inspiring your students to think globally and embrace the world around them. You make us all proud! 💛

04/08/2026

"Shoot for the Moon and even if you miss, you'll land among the stars"
In celebration of Artemis II making it's way around the moon, we'd like to highlight our future space engineer Giordano!

Interested in hosting an AFS-USA exchange student next school year? Learn more at afsusa.org/host

04/07/2026

Happy Founders’ Day! Many qualities set AFS apart from other exchange organizations - and our remarkable legacy is one of the most meaningful.

From their early days as volunteer ambulance drivers during World War I and World War II to decades of fostering active global citizenship through intercultural exchange, our AFS Founders set in motion a movement that has transformed countless lives and communities around the world. Honoring our roots reminds us of the values that continue to guide AFS today - and you can help us celebrate that legacy.

Join us in honoring our AFS Founders today by:

💬 Sharing your own AFS origin story on social media

🤝 Becoming an AFS volunteer, host family, or encouraging others to get involved

📱 Spreading the word about AFS Founders’ Day by resharing this post

Curious about the origins of AFS? Visit https://www.afsusa.org/founders-day and take a journey through our history!