Friendship Force of Columbia Cascade
Portland, Oregon/ Vancouver, Washington
WHAT IS THE FRIENDSHIP FORCE ?
The Friendship Force is a private, non-profit international organization which brings people of all ages and backgrounds together in friendship across the barriers that divide them - barriers of distance, culture, language or political differences. Through home hosting, individuals and families enhance the opportunity to build friendships, enrich relationships, and contribute to world peace and world cooperation.
Piracicaba, Brazil 2007
Friendship Force members visit other countries as ambassadors or guests in the homes of The Friendship Force members of that country. They join in the day to day activities as well as special Friendship Force events. While learning about the culture of that country and sharing ideas, lasting friendships are made. Members host ambassadors from other countries in their homes for one week during an incoming exchange. They share life-styles and activities such as school, church, shopping, community events, individual interests and show off points of interest in the great Pacific Northwest. Sometimes members choose to day host guest ambassadors for a host family and provide a different perspective of our American way of life. Whether you host, travel or both, The Friendship Force experience is one you will remember for a lifetime. The joy of meeting new friends, the delight in experiencing new cultures and languages and the good feeling of knowing that you have brought the people of the world a little closer together--these are the benefits of membership.
HOW DID FRIENDSHIP FORCE START?
The Friendship Force was established in Georgia in 1977 by Dr. Wayne Smith with the support of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. The organization has now become one of the largest international exchange programs in the world, with 25,000 volunteers in 50 countries, exchanging 7,000 to 8,000 people each year.
WHO CAN BELONG?
Anyone of any age who wants to make friends with people of other countries can join. The Friendship Force members come from across the entire spectrum of American life.
WHAT QUALIFICATIONS ARE NEEDED?
FLEXIBILITY! It is the one word that summarizes what makes a good Friendship Force member. Ambassadors pay their own travel and personal expenses plus an induction fee which is given to the host chapter to cover some expenses of hosting the visiting club. The Friendship Force hosts provide meals and housing and do not charge for their hospitality.
INTERESTED?
Click the Membership Application link (above on the left). By joining The Friendship Force of Columbia Cascade, you will receive information about upcoming activities through the club newsletter. You will also meet local people with similar interests and be encouraged to participate in club and hosting activities. All seek a world at peace.
World Friendship Day
Did you know...
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World Friendship Day is celebrated by Friendship Force clubs around the world. The first ever was celebrated on March 1, 2005 with 216 clubs in 37 different countries participating in a 24-hour, around-the-world celebration. World Friendship Day is a day to celebrate the powerful message of friendship in honor of FFI founder, Wayne Smith.
In 2008, the Friendship Force of Bavaria, Germany celebrated the occasion with a Wildschweingulaschfest – a hog goulash festival. Goulash is a popular German dish.
In 2009 the Friendship Force of Lincoln, USA hosted a 55-person celebration, inviting their friends from Connecticut. They viewed the annual migration of the Sand Hills cranes—a very exciting opportunity for nature lovers!
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN
If you have not read Charlene Terrell’s book The Other Side of the Mountain about the history of Friendship Force, you might want to borrow a copy from our club. It is a fascinating look at how our organization began.
Early History of Friendship Force Columbia Cascade
The idea of a nonprofit organization with a mission to “create an environment where personal friendships can be established across the international barriers that separate people” was initiated by former minister Wayne Smith of Atlanta, Georgia. He presented the idea to President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter who in turn introduced the concept at the National Governors’ Conference in 1977. Each governor was asked to establish The Friendship Force in his state to give all citizens an opportunity to participate as good-will ambassadors and hosts world-wide.
In the beginning Friendship Force exchanges involved groups ranging from 150-400 ambassadors traveling on charter flights to the partner city where a group of the same size boarded the plane to return to the original city. None of these early travelers knew of their “secret destinations” until an Induction Meeting was held three months before departure. The first exchange was between Newcastle upon Tyne, England and Atlanta, Georgia on July 4, 1977. In that first year there were three exchanges. In 1977 organizers Eleanor Van Tilburg and Maryjane Brown, with hundreds of potential members with the name "Southwest Washington Friendship Force Club", became one of the first Friendship
Force Clubs in the world. That year, forty four ambassadors from Washington and Oregon traveled to Korea on the first NW exchange; forty Koreans returned on the plane. Two years later a reciprocal exchange between Korea and the Northwest happened and in 1981 there was a reciprocal exchange with West Berlin. In 1982 groups were reduced to 20-40 ambassadors who traveled on regularly scheduled flights providing more flexibility. Also, reciprocal visits were not necessarily scheduled.
Beginning in 1980, local Friendship Force clubs were chartered, the first being established in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 1982 our club received one of the first charters granted to Friendship Force Clubs. Soon smaller groups of the original potential members, being from other cities in Washington and Oregon, began to seek assistance to form other clubs in the Pacific Northwest. Friendship Force Olympia, Sea-Tac, Whidbey Island, and Lower Columbia in Washington plus Mid-Willamette and Southern Oregon in Oregon emerged through the 1980s and the 1990s. By 1988, when more members from Oregon joined SWWA, the club name was changed to "The Friendship Force of Columbia Cascade" because members lived on both sides of the Columbia River near the Cascade Mountain Range. By 1997, the 20th anniversary of The Friendship Force, clubs had formed in over 350 communities in 41 states and 60 countries.
Supporters Around the World for Barack!
Helen from the Sunshine Coast of Australia visits with presidential candidate, Barack Obama, at a bake sale in his honor, Summer, 2008.
