The Friendship Connection, Inc. is going into its 42nd 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 41 years, nearly 34,100 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 2023-2024 school year, we will be offering both our host/travel program as well as our 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 in-person travel exchanges between these VFC partners!