FRIENDSHIP FORCE INTERNATIONAL INC

The goal of Friendship Force International is to promote friendship and understanding across cultural, religious and political boundaries. With each new friendship made, our mission of uprooting the seeds of prejudice, discrimination and hate is accomplished. However, we also see the need to grow and change as the world around us changes. We are moving forward in supporting more opportunities for youth, families and individuals to participate in our mission.

In the future, Friendship Force International aims to be an organization that provides opportunities to participate in our mission throughout a lifetime - youth can participate in a language learning exchange, families can travel and meet other families in the country they are visiting, working individuals can travel and explore the world and retirees can join a club and travel with a group to find adventures and make new friends.

We launched a new website in early 2017 that is bringing new individuals to our mission. As this website and database continue to be updated, we will have the capacity to accept individuals to our organization as global members, giving them the opportunity to participate in our mission even without belonging to a club.

Youth journeys have taken place throughout FFI's history and we will begin more regular programs for youth including language learning journeys and leadership development programs.

At the beginning of FFI's history, families took part in journeys on a regular basis and we plan on making this an option again. With the opportunity for individuals to travel, there will also be options for families to visit other families.

We already have an amazing worldwide network of members that have opened their doors to new experiences over the last 40 years. They are a great resource for us moving forward and extending our mission to others.

We are also leveraging modern technology with a new website that will enable our members to communicate with each other across language barriers in a safe, private platform. And we are finding ways to open our mission to others outside of the club network already in place, offering more experiences for youth and families to participate.

We have been successful in creating millions of friendships over the last 40 years. Our clubs and network have grown and there have been innumerable lives changed because of Friendship Force International.

But we still have a long way to go. We need to offer more opportunities to youth, families and individuals so that our mission can remain relevant in the years to come.

We are leveraging modern technology with a new website, database and CRM but there are still many more steps to take before we are utilizing these services to their greatest potential.