The Friendship Connection, Inc. is going into its 41st successful year!
This program was conceived and developed by Ohio high school German teachers in cooperation with English teachers in Germany. The goal was to provide an inexpensive, “on-going” exchange program which would enable participants to enhance their ability to speak German and to develop a greater appreciation of the German culture as well as long-lasting friendships with their German partners. In the first 40 years, nearly 34,000 German and American students have participated on our exchange program.
During the unprecedented 2020 year, the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to suspend all student travel for three springs/summers. Therefore, we developed a NEW branch of our program: Virtual Friendship Connection! In this 2022-2023 school year, we are finally bringing back the regular travel program, but we are also very excited to continue to provide this newer “virtual” option (VFC) moving forward! It is our hope that by connecting the students “virtually” we can continue to provide a “bridge” between our two countries and help inspire lasting, international friendships as well as encourage future travel exchanges between these VFC partners!