Friendship Force Long Island is a chapter of Friendship Force International.  Friendship Force Long Island is the only Friendship Force chapter in the New York metropolitan area.  Our members reside in Nassau and Suffolk Counties as well as Queens in New York City.

Voice America Radio Interview about Friendship Force Long Island

Friendship Force International (FFI) is a worldwide network of clubs that bridge the barriers separating people in order to promote global understanding. We do this by connecting people from different countries and cultures at a personal level. For Friendship Force, travel is more than taking a vacation. Through home-hosting and other meaningful travel experiences, both international and domestic, participants learn about other cultures, develop a better understanding of our world, promote goodwill and discover our shared humanity. Through these exciting personal encounters and unique journeys, strangers become friends—and by experiencing different views we can discover common ground. When local hosts open their homes to visitors from other lands, true understanding develops through the sharing of meals, conversation, laughter and daily routines. The experiences can be life changing and frequently result in lasting friendships. Visit the Friendship Force website for more information Friendship Force International.

 A “journey” or an "exchange" is a visit to or from a club in another part of the world or another state. This involves home hospitality, the heart of a Friendship Force journey, which provides the opportunity for people of different backgrounds and cultures to connect at a personal level. We refer to it as an “Outbound Journey” when we visit another club. Often an optional tour of the area follows a journey. An “Inbound Journey” occurs when a club visits us. Friendship Force Long Island often has two outbound (international and domestic) and two inbound Journeys (international and domestic) per year that are arranged in conjunction with our international organization.

We schedule a variety of group activities for the 5 to 7 days of the journey. Be prepared for action packed days and a great deal of walking. There is always one day when the home hosts and the Ambassadors can plan activities on their own. The group activities include a welcome dinner or breakfast and a farewell dinner, and a mix and match dinner hosted by club members who are not home hosting. Breakfasts are provided daily by the home host, as are several days of box-lunches. Ambassadors enjoy visits to Long Island attractions such as beaches, museums, historical sights, gardens, farms, vineyards and more. One or two trips by Long Island Railroad are into the heart of New York City. Typically, a full day in “The Big Apple” might include a visit to lower Manhattan with a visit to Ground Zero and the 9/11 museum, a walk through the Wall Street area, a trip on the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, and dinner at a downtown pub. A full day visit to midtown Manhattan often includes the Metropolitan Museum of Art or another well-known (or lesser known!) museum or cultural sight , a walk through Central Park, a stroll down Fifth Avenue, or Times Square at night. We often cap off our day in midtown Manhattan with dinner in the Theatre District. For those visiting Ambassadors that are interested, we also arrange for an optional “add-on” Broadway show.

Traveling with Friendship Force of Long Island (FFLI) is a totally safe experience because you will be hosted by a member of the Friendship Force hosting club. That means that your host has been thoroughly vetted by the hosting club and is committed to following the Friendship Force code of hospitality. This assures you that you will given your own room and your privacy will be respected.

Further, each outbound journey will be led a fellow FFLI member serving as “Ambassador Coordinator” (AC) who is also committed to making sure that you are comfortable with the host and accommodations you will be receiving. Should anything arise that concerns you, the AC is responsible for resolving your concerns. As a result of the vetting process, traveling with Friendship Force has become a favorite way of traveling for single individuals.

Likewise, hosting someone from another club that is visiting FFLI will also be a comfortable experience. All visitors will have been thoroughly vetted by the visiting club to assure that you will be comfortable hosting their ambassadors. FFLI has a Mobility Statement and a Health and Safety policy which all visiting ambassadors are required to comply with before they are accepted to participate in the Journey. These requirements further assure our home hosts that their visitors will not require special attention.

 On an outbound journey, we pay for our own transportation to and from the host city and a small fee to Friendship Force International for the journey. A host fee is determined by the two clubs which is paid to the hosting club to cover the cost of meals eaten out as a group, admissions and activities, and local transportation. In addition, Ambassadors usually bring a small gift for their host family and treat them to lunch or dinner once during the home-stay. Ambassadors do not pay for staying at their host’s home. If there is an add-on tour following the journey, you would pay the cost of the transportation, tour, lodging, and meals if you choose to go. Members are expected to return the favor and participate during Inbound Journeys by home-hosting, day-hosting, dinner hosting, and/or helping to arrange and participate in the group activities and meals.

There are home hosts, day hosts, and dinner hosts.

Home hosts agree to share their home for five to seven days and nights with a Friendship Force Member(s) from another country or state and in doing so, learn about another culture. The host will have the opportunity to participate in a number of group/club outings so the host won’t have to plan everything for their guests. The cost of events, admissions, and outside meals for group activities is paid for in advance by the ambassadors (visitors). Just as you would entertain a friend in your home, hosts do not receive compensation for meals at home, transportation in the host’s car, and their own activity/tour costs.

A “day host” is someone who wants to participate in the journey, but, for whatever reason, is not going to home host. This individual volunteers to escort an ambassador for one or more days to a scheduled activity, or if it is a day when no group activity is planned, decides how and where to spend the day with the ambassador.

Dinners are usually held in member homes who are not hosting an Ambassador. Dinners are usually for 6-12 people including the home-stay hosts, their Ambassadors, and other Long Island club members. You decide how many guests, in addition to the number in your family, you feel comfortable having for dinner on an evening specified by the Journey Committee. The menu is your choice and generally you provide the main course and arrange for your invited guests to bring a salad, dessert, appetizer, or wine. It is entirely up to you. The evening is for you to plan whether you play a game or just visit. The whole idea is to share the culture of your guest and give them the opportunity to visit another home and meet others. When space allows, members, new and potential new members are included as guests. Of course, the guest’s host family accompanies them to your dinner.  Sharing fun, laughter, and conversation are the goals for the evening.

While couples will usually be matched with another couple, singles could be hosted by a couple or a single. There are exceptions, but it is your decision. Frequently, the number of bedrooms and type of bed(s) available play a part in matching hosts and ambassadors. Often, guests are matched by common interests, occupations, pet-friendliness, etc. Also, traveling as a single is easier when you are with a group and a family; you are not alone.

Yes and no. The individuals in the group traveling to another state or country are known as “Ambassadors”. Travel arrangements vary. Some or all of the travelers (Ambassadors) depart from the local airport as a group in order to travel together. Some make their own travel arrangements and meet at a specific location in the host city at a pre-arranged time. The latter provides the most flexibility, but group travel can contribute to a more rewarding experience. Ambassadors coordinate their method of travel with the Ambassador Coordinator.

That is usually the case. After matches are made, members communicate with their host/ambassador by email, letter, or phone. Nearly all Friendship Force members around the world now have email. For many, friendships, communications, and private visits continue for years and even a lifetime.

There is no requirement by our club for members to host visitors or go on Outbound Journeys. We hope though, that those joining would want to actively participate in those events, as they are how we can best learn about people in other cultures. If you cannot host or travel, you can still day host or participate with our club members in other activities. Check out our Events Calendar.

There are other opportunities for traveling with Friendship Force. You may travel with another club if there is availability. A listing of Worldwide journeys is available to members. There are also individual journeys where you may stay with a member in another state or country.

An Ambassador Coordinator (AC) is an individual who has applied and been approved by the Leadership Council to plan, organize, and lead an outbound journey. A Host Coordinator (HC)  is an individual who has applied and been approved by the Leadership Council to plan, organize, and lead an inbound journey. These functions are open to anyone who has the desired leadership qualities and can make the commitment of time needed for recruiting Ambassadors from our club or other clubs if needed to fill the journey. For an Inbound journey, the Host-Coordinator would plan the home-stays and activities in Long Island and New York City and the surrounding metropolitan area. Both require a 9 to 12 month lead-time. Our club has some great experienced Ambassador Coordinators and Host Coordinators who are more than willing to mentor a first time AC or HC.

Certainly. Friendship Force is not just a travel club; there are many other aspects of involvement. The mission of Friendship Force is building global goodwill through personal friendships. This can be accomplished in other ways. You might consider being a home host, a day host, a small group dinner host, or someone who attends social activities to build friendships with individuals who have an interest in the goals of Friendship Force. Friendship Force Long Island plans activities throughout the year for members and potential members to participate in. Also, Friendship Force International offers other opportunities for interaction and learning.

The club has general membership meetings throughout the year. Meetings feature speakers or activities. Topics include places we are visiting or hosting, world events, cultures of other countries, presentations on places we have visited, and topics of interest to those who enjoy international culture, travel and friendship. During the year we typically have lunches or dinners at local ethnic restaurants, small group dinners in homes, and a holiday party. Other events may be planned as well. Guests are often invited to attend these meetings.

Dues are for the calendar year. Currently our club dues are $70/yr per member. For additional information, contact a council member or our membership chairperson. In addition, Friendship Force clubs are organized and lead entirely by volunteer members. All members are expected to participate in some way. Members are encouraged to participate in the club's committees. 

Journeys, Membership, Programming, Newsletter, Technology, Publicity, as well as elected Leadership Council Members.

Friendship Force programs bring diverse people together into each other’s cultures and homes to share one-of-a-kind experiences not available to regular tourists. Home hosting experiences provide an up-close look at life in another place. Members can also join cultural travel programs themed around common interests such as agriculture, hiking, wine-making or biking. Members can partake in humanitarian and environmental volunteer programs. Learning and development trips are designed for youth, students and educators. Friendship Force members can participate in the FFI book club, engage in language learning, and participate in the Open World exchange and partnership program. Club members showcase cuisines from around the world as part of our recipe series. The Festival at Sea are wonderful cruise ship journeys. Regional and World Conferences bring people together from near and far. Learn more.

Long Island, New York has had a long-recorded history, from the first European settlements in the 17th century to today. Influenced by the onset of the railroads in the 19th century, Long Island experienced growth in tourism, as well as the development of towns and villages into some of the first modern suburbs in the United States. The rural North Fork, formerly potato and duck farms, became a thriving wine industry. The sleepy South Fork fishing villages became the playground of the rich and famous. Long Island offers quiet neighborhoods, wonderful parks and fabulous beaches. The quiet waters of Long Island Sound to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the south are a combination that vacationers and meeting planners cannot resist. Long Island has over 100 museums, including two nationally recognized art museums, major arboretums, a national park for a U.S. President, formal gardens, as well as an aquarium and a water park. Long Island has the most parkland per capita of any geographic area in the U.S. Sports abound here; we have a professional baseball team (the NY Mets) in Queens and a major professional hockey team ("The Islanders”), and more than 100 golf courses, 30 professional tennis courts, and Belmont Park, home of the Belmont Stakes Triple Crown horse race.The list could go on and on, especially if one includes water-related sports like fishing and boating. There is much to see and do on Long Island and, to top it off, there is easy access to the Big Apple, Manhattan, New York City! Who could ask for anything more?

Join Friendship Force If you believe in the goals and mission of the organization; you like the challenge and excitement of new people, places and experiences; you believe that friendship among people of different countries and cultures can make the world more peaceful; you have a curiosity about the world and enjoy learning about other cultures and ways of life.

For more information about our chapter, or to join, contact us or email us at fflongisland.inquiries@gmail.com