Current Opportunities for Hosts & Volunteers

Host for an evening, a weekend, or our usual 7-10 day homestays for university students. Can't host overnight? Read below to see options for you!

For the safety of our hosts, students, and the community, we take appropriate health precautions, and hosting opportunities are subject to change depending on COVID-19 updates.

CURRENT HOSTS: If you haven't done so yet this past year, please fill out the “update host profile” form in addition to the availability survey to update your host profile. We understand a lot has probably changed for our hosts in the last 2-3 years and this helps us stay up to date with all our wonderful volunteers.

Overnight homestay Opportunities | seeking hosts now!

Upcoming opportunities:

• March 2-17, 2026 | 2 weeks | - Ehime university students from Japan

• 7-10 days | end of March 2026 - Welcome Week Homestay for new international students arriving in Seattle

Hiking Day Hosting Opportunities

Some of the most popular FIUTS events for students are going on hikes and appreciating the natural beauty that we are surrounded by in the PNW. Unfortunately, the cost of chartering a bus has become prohibitively expensive, an expense then passed down to the participants. While we work with some of our institutional partners to find ways to partner and reduce costs for students, FIUTS still wants to provide hiking opportunities. We know that many of our visiting program host families love to take their students on hikes, and that many hosts enjoy day-hosting events like the Super Bowl and Thanksgiving. Therefore, as the weather improves, we want to combine this shared love of hiking and day-hosting and recruit hosts who would be willing to take a small number of students on hikes around the area that would otherwise be inaccessible to students who don’t drive. If you are interested in hosting a hike or just want to learn more, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Evening hosting opportunities (no overnight homestay)

Coming soon

Host a Student for Thanksgiving

Many international students visiting Seattle area are eager to experience American traditions and culture.

Thanksgiving represents the very best ideals of our community spirit and tradition. Hosting a student (or students) for Thanksgiving dinner is a wonderful way to get involved with the FIUTS hosting community and share a special holiday meal with international visitors.

If you have never hosted through FIUTS before, please fill out the FIUTS host application to sign up to host for Thanksgiving.

(Student sign ups begin on Friday, October 24).

Frequently Asked Questions

How do students sign up for Thanksgiving?

Seattle area international students (ranging from freshmen to PhD candidates and visiting scholars) sign up online to be matched with a local family or group of friends to join them for their Thanksgiving celebration. The deadline for students to sign up is Thursday, November 16. If you are a student you can register here!

How will I be connected with my students?

Once we have all the signups, we’ll start sending emails to hosts and students connecting them with one another. Once you receive an email connecting you with your student (or students – you’re welcome to host more than one) you’re all set to communicate with them directly and let them know where and when to meet you on Thanksgiving day. Emails connecting hosts and students will be sent on Monday and Tuesday, November 20 and 21.

What countries/regions do students come from?

The majority of students who sign up for Thanksgiving are from China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. There are also students from Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and other parts of the world. If you are interested in getting to know students from a particular country or region, please let us know when you sign up to host, we can't make guarantees, but we will do our best!

How old are the students?

University students range from freshmen (approximately 18 years old) to Ph.D. candidates and visiting scholars - so they represent many ages and levels of study. If you are particularly interested in hosting a particular level of the student, please let us know when you sign up to host.

How do students get to my home?

Most students are adept at using public transportation - if you are not able to give them a ride, you are welcome to just let them know how to get to your house via bus. Otherwise, you can pick them up on campus or at another mutually convenient location.

I'm a new host. How do I sign up?

In order to ensure that we are being responsible when connecting students with community members, we ask that all prospective hosts fill out our online host application. This is our standard application for all our homestay and friendship programs so if you’re just applying to be a Thanksgiving host, just select that option and skip all the homestay-related questions.

Thank you to all new, current, former, and possible hosts!