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CSFES (Committee for Safety of Foreign Exchange Students)

Committee for Safety of Foreign Exchange Students (CSFES) is a non-profit organization that was started in the US in 2004 by Danielle Grijalva.

Grijalva had worked as an area representative for CCI (Center for Cultural Interchange). CCI is a foreign exchange student program that is based in Illionois. As an area representative it was her job to ensure the safe placement of exchange students travelling to the United States. As she gained experience as a representative, Ms. Grijalva learned that not all exchange students were placed with safe host-families. She saw the need to raise public awareness about the issue.

The idea behind CSFES is that every exchange student deserves a safe exchange experience. To ensure this, Ms. Grijalva tries to educate various government agencies, the exchange organizations themselves and potential host-families.

Unfortunately, not all exchange students end up in safe host-families. CSFES then steps in and acts as an advocate for exchange students in the US. Due to the efforts of CSFES, many exchange students who have felt alone in difficult circumstances have been able to achieve their goal of a good experience.

Since the beginning, Ms. Grijalva has gained the attention of the US media. Not everyone has been happy about this attention. There have been lawsuits against CSFES by exchange organizations because of the work that CSFES does. Media in non-US countries have contacted CSFES to get their take on the way the exchange industry works in the US. They have become the go-to fount of information that has been needed.

CSFES' dream has started its spread across the world. They work together with Child-Safe in the United Kingdom and Aktion Bildungsinformation e.v. in Germany. Representatives of CSFES can now be found in various countries around the world.

In 2013 CSFES joined the social media Facebook.