March 20, 2023, San Francisco, CA –
AuPairCare, the premier au pair agency matching U.S. families with international au pairs who provide live-in childcare as part of a cultural exchange experience, was proud to volunteer at the 38th Los Angeles Marathon presented by ASICS, at the U.S. Department of State BridgeUSA-sponsored water station, along with other J-1 cultural exchange visa participants.
Au Pairs are young adults from all over the world between the ages of 18-26 who come to the United States for a year-long cultural exchange program and live with host families. They provide childcare while sharing their culture, language, food specialties and customs. The key to the success of the program is for the au pair to be welcomed as a part of the family and take advantage of different American cultural and community experiences.
The AuPairCare team of volunteer au pairs and staff were based at Mile 20, where they helped set up and distribute water to help keep the runners going! Cheers and encouragement were high and the au pairs enjoyed meeting other au pairs in their community.
“It is spreading positivity,” shared AuPairCare au pair Aroonthip from Thailand. “We’re almost at the end of the marathon line and most people are tired and need to be motivated. And cheering helps lighten up the mood of all the people.”
Through the au pair cultural exchange program, au pairs get to take classes at a post-secondary university and also attend monthly fun events organized by AuPairCare’s local support in the community.
“This volunteer experience was a way to be helpful and be involved in something very important,” said AuPairCare au pair Camille from France. “It’s socializing, it’s being together, meeting new people, cheering for and motivating other people.”
“As a J-1 visa au pair program sponsor, we love bringing our participants together in their local community to take part in a very unique American value of volunteering,” shared Kristin Friedman, Director of AuPairCare. “It’s such an inspiration for our au pairs to volunteer while watching top elite professionals alongside local amateur runners, many of whom also run to raise money and awareness for local causes. It is a joy to see au pairs making the most of their time here volunteering at events like the Los Angeles Marathon while in the United States.”
AuPairCare is an award-winning, U.S. Department of State designated Au Pair Sponsor matching host families in the U.S. with international au pairs. As one of the first au pair agencies, AuPairCare has matched over 90,000 au pairs from all over the world with host families in the U.S. since 1989. AuPairCare helps to provide reliable and flexible childcare that grows with a family.