AFS started as a volunteer-powered organization, shaped by the AFS Volunteer Ambulance Drivers in the two World Wars. AFS volunteers are shaping the future, as global changemakers, cultural connectors, and passionate educators who foster understanding between people from different backgrounds. Each of the 50+ AFS offices worldwide couldn’t imagine their programs without the 30,000+ volunteers who drive our work by:
- Supporting exchange students, host families and schools to create bridges between communities and countries
- Leading workshops and educational activities to empower young people with global skills and perspectives
- Developing their own personal and professional skills, and building connections that last a lifetime
- Creating impact to foster peace, understanding, and cooperation in an increasingly divided world.
95% of AFS volunteers say that they find their activities meaningful, demonstrating how our volunteer opportunities allow people to develop as active global citizens. This data comes from our bi-annual Volunteer Survey and Evaluation (VSE) which included over 4,500 responses, making it one of the biggest surveys of its kind in a non-profit globally. The survey also found that:
- 90% of responding AFS volunteers say that the main motivating factor for people to volunteer with AFS are the relationships and community they develop as they volunteer.
- Volunteers aged 18–34 represent 49% of the total AFS volunteer base globally,
- 30% of our volunteers have been volunteering for over 10 years.
How It All Began?
The first AFS volunteers were young men who drove ambulances in the two World Wars. Most of these young people were enrolled in universities at the time and felt compelled to serve with the AFS mission. By the end of WWII, 2,196 AFS volunteers served in parts of France, North Africa, the Middle East, Italy, Germany, India, and Burma, carrying more than 700,000 casualties. The day-to-day experiences of these drivers are documented, often in great detail, in original letters, journals, photo albums, newspaper clippings, field notes, and bulletins now cared for by the AFS Archives.
After the wars, AFS transformed into a secondary school student exchange organization. In 1947-48, the new American Field Service International Scholarships (AFSIS) program brought its first students to the United States, a total of 50 students from 10 countries. AFS’ ability to effectively recruit, organize, and communicate during wartime translated nicely into the post-war era, and the organization’s network grew rapidly in the 1970s to expand the AFS mission internationally. Today, we have more than 30,000 volunteers who serve the AFS mission.
AFS Archives: Preserving the Memory of Volunteers
The AFS Archives host several collections that speak to the day-to-day activities of dedicated volunteers, including those individuals who founded or led local chapters. For example, Florence (Flossie) Norton volunteered as a host mother in the late 1950s and early 1960s before becoming a district representative in charge of six AFS-participating schools in Western New York. Flossie interviewed and supported host families, American students traveling abroad, and students who came to study within the U.S.
As AFS continued to expand to new countries, Flossie, who was an International Trustee at the time, was instrumental in the founding of AFS-USA, separate from the international administration of the now global network. She would become President of AFS Western New York, was elected to AFS’ International Board, and devoted a great deal of time to AFS’ Teachers Program.
Other volunteer collections in the AFS Archives recall creative methods of fundraising. John E. (Jack) Brennan was involved with several AFS Chapters in California. In January 2021 he donated several regional items, including coins from the San Bernardino Chapter Coin Project. The coin project was created to raise funds for scholarships to send American students abroad in the 1970s. The Barstow Chapter, represented by the 1991 t-shirt in his donation, was equally as strong. They hosted an international weekend every year, to which they invited exchange students from all over Southern California.
Join Our Community
Driven by the mission to foster greater intercultural understanding, AFS volunteers have built an impressive global AFS community of more than 1 million people committed to creating a more just and peaceful world. Join us by contacting AFS in the country where you live or find out more at afs.org/volunteer.
This article originally appeared in the 2025 AFS Janus magazine. Click here to download the full issue.