THE GREATER PUGET SOUND AFS represents an area extending from Gray

Remember our roots keeps us
closer to our mission.

The picture to the right is important to the history of AFS (American Field Service). The man in uniform is Norman Kunkel a surviving AFS ambulance driver. Norman and his wife Georgie, live in Seattle, Washington. Thanks to Norman and many other American Field Service ambulance drivers, AFS exists, as we know it today.

Norman's Story

AFS USA

The proud history of AFS (formerly the American Field Service) dates back more than 85 years, to 1914 in Paris when the American Ambulance (Service) was founded in conjunction with the American Hospital at Neuilly to assist in evacuating the wounded from the battlefront during World War I. Then, in World War II, volunteer ambulance drivers again rescued the battlefield wounded and also helped to liberate concentration camp survivors at Bergen-Belsen.

After experiencing the devastation of two world wars, these young ambulance drivers, not much older than our AFS students of today, met to discuss what they could do to help stop the devastation of war from happening again. They believed, as we believe today, that if people know and understand each other, it makes it a lot harder to fight one another. They formed the American Field Service (AFS), dedicated to promoting peace through student intercultural exchange.

In 1947, AFS awarded 52 scholarships to students in 11 countries. Today, AFS exchanges more than 10,000 students annually worldwide, offers 128 programs in 44 countries and has the 2^nd largest volunteer based organization in the world.

AFS GPS

The AFS-Greater Puget Sound Area Team (AFS-GPS) was formed in 1996-97, when AFS volunteers from throughout the Greater Puget Sound area met to create an alliance within our region. AFS-GPS represents a region extending from the islands of San Juan County, to the Pacific coast off Aberdeen to the Cascade Mountains of the east. It includes the major urban centers of Seattle and Tacoma as well as other prominent cities such as Bellingham, Olympia, Bellevue and Everett. Within the Greater Puget Sound Area Team are found active volunteers, returnees, host families, natural families and hosted students. The activities of these volunteers are tied directly to AFS-USA INTERCULTURAL PROGRAMS, an organization committed to intercultural learning. The AFS-GPS Area Team - all AFSers in the area – meets the first Saturday in April to attend to annual business. The Leadership Council meets quarterly to carry out the governance of the Area Team.

AFS-GPS Area Team volunteer officer positions include: Chair; Treasurer; Student/Family Support Coordinator; Liaison Coordinator; Orientation Coordinator; Hosting Coordinator; Sending Coordinator; Volunteer Coordinator; FLEX Coordinator; and YES Coordinator.

The AFS REGIONAL SERVICE CENTER, located in Portland, Oregon, provides the Area Team with staff support. AFS Portland staff work closely with the local volunteers to ensure students and families in the Greater Puget Sound area are supported. The Area has great pride in being considered by Washington schools the number one exchange program for students wishing to spend a year or semester abroad. The Area often sends more students on exchanges than it hosts!

Students from abroad are also anxious to be hosted in our area. AFS volunteers seek, throughout the year, qualified families to participate in the AFS hosting adventure. As the American family has changed, so has the AFS "typical" family. Today's families include single parent families, "empty nesters families”, gay/lesbian families and young families without children. AFS welcomes families who wish to provide intercultural learning opportunities for young adults (and even teachers!). Local volunteers (liaisons) provide families and students support throughout the hosting time period.

AFS-GPS is a VOLUNTEER-DRIVEN organization. Outstanding AFS volunteers in our area - and recipients of the Dean Esterbrooks AFS Volunteer Leadership Award - include Ann Lawrence 1999 and Thom and Heidi Henderson (Olympia AFS FLEX Coordinators), 2000. The award is in honor of Esterbrooks who dedicated much of his life to AFS volunteer work in Puyallup and the south sound area.

You are cordially invited to inquire about volunteer opportunities with us. Contact any of the officers on our contact page and we'll get back to you about AFS program and/or volunteer opportunities. It's a wonderful way to work for peace and understanding in our diverse world, and it affirms our faith in the dignity and worth of every human being. You are cordially invited to inquire about volunteer opportunities with us.