Our June au pair meeting is also a safety training on spring and summer topics of Continuing Education Program (CEP): bicycle safety, driver/passenger safety, playground safety and water safety/drowning prevention. After the safety training we are going kayaking on the Charles River. Please take a look at the evite and let me know if you will be able to attend:

http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/KDJKIMWXHQTIWCXPOTFU/June2010Meeting

See you there!

Apply to Cultural Care Au Pair between Wednesday, May 12th and Tuesday, May 18th to get a $500 program fee discount, complimentary overseas connection service during the matching process (a $150 value) and a $200 gift certificate to Barefoot Books - America’s leading distributor of cultural literature for children. Your total savings is $850!* Barefoot Books www.barefootbooks.com make fantastic gifts for birthdays, holidays and special occasions all throughout the year, so stock up!

*To qualify for this promotion, you must be new to Cultural Care Au Pair, apply between May 12 and May 18, 2010 and welcome an au pair into your home by October 22, 2010. Total program fee savings cannot exceed $650. Host family must redeem Barefoot Books gift certificate by August 31, 2010.

AU PAIR MEETING GUIDELINES
Successful completion of the program requires planning and participation!

• Schedule. Every au pair must attend at least one (1) meeting each month. The meeting schedule is always posted on my website three months in advance, so plan your personal life around it. Also, be sure to discuss the meeting schedule with your host parents so they can plan your weekend work schedule. You cannot be scheduled to work during our monthly meetings. Meetings are usually scheduled on Sunday afternoons. However, depending on the event, occasionally we may meet on a Saturday.

• You cannot miss more than 2 meetings per year. It is required that you attend at least 10 of the 12 monthly meetings for successful completion of the program. If you are unable to attend a meeting, please let me know why you are unable to attend and make arrangements to attend a meeting that month organized by another LCC. When signing-in at another LCC’s meeting, you will have to indicate that I am your LCC, so that the other LCC can inform me of your attendance. If you need help locating another LCC meeting for that month, please let me know. You cannot ‘make up’ one month’s meeting by attending more meetings in other months.

• Four (4) Continuing Educational Program trainings. It is each au pair’s responsibility to make sure s/he attends at least four (4) CEP safety trainings during the year for successful completion of the program. I organize two CEP safety trainings/meetings per year and cover all 4 CEP topics, so make sure you don’t miss those two meetings.

• RSVP/Payment. Always respond to my monthly meeting evite, and if there is any payment required, pay by the deadline given in order to attend. If you are bringing a friend, you will have to let me know in advance. If you cannot attend and have already confirmed your attendance, you have to inform me at least 24 hours before the meeting. When sending payment, take into account that it takes two days for mail to reach me. Use checks made out to my name, with your contact information clearly indicated. If you must send cash (which is not recommended) please do not send coins or drop off cash in my mailbox without an envelope. If I’m purchasing a ticket for you in advance and you are unable to attend, you are not eligible for a refund.

• Transportation. Public transport is recommended. If not, carpooling with other au pairs in your area is recommended.

• Arrive on time. Plan ahead how to get to our meeting location and consider being there at least 15 minutes early. Please remember that there are often unforeseen delays with public transportation, so allow for plenty of time to reach the event on time. If you are more than 15 minutes late, you will need to come to another meeting that month to get credit for attendance.

• Participate! To get credit for attending, you must actively participate in the event. It’s more fun when everyone participates. If you don’t like a particular activity, please plan to attend a different meeting that month.

Program Completion Form: I will keep a record of your meeting attendance in order to confirm your Program Completion Form, which is a document proving your successful program participation and adherence to U.S. State Department rules.

Cultural Care Au Pair

One Education Street

Cambridge, MA 02141

Toll free phone: 1-800-333-6056 Monday- Friday 9:00am-5:30pm - for assistance with account and billing questions and general program questions

For emergencies: 1-800-333-6056, press 9 and on-call staff will respond.

Fax: 1-617-619-1101

E-mail: aupair@culturalcare.com

www.culturalcare.com

You are invited to Cultural Care Kids First Fair and Yard Sale on Saturday, May 22nd from 9am to12pm (rain date- Sunday) at 4 Meadowbrook Rd, Lincoln.

Come look for treasures, buy goodies at the bake sale, and bring the kids for face painting and fun activities. All proceeds to benefit Cultural Care’s Kids First Charities including an Orphanage in South Africa and a Child Center in Brazil http://kidsfirst.culturalcare.com. Kids First supports child advocacy groups and non-profit organizations benefiting children in need. It provides monetary contributions, necessary supplies and matched funds.

We need your help to make this a success! Start cleaning out your garage, attic and closet to support a good cause. Donation of furniture (bureaus, tables, chairs, rugs, chandeliers etc.), household items (lamps, dishes, vases, paintings, cookware, small working appliances etc.), sports equipment, tools, children’s items (outdoor games, clothing in good condition, toys, cribs, strollers, car seats, baby gear, maternity items etc.) in good, working condition are gratefully accepted.

Please no electronics, adult clothes, shoes, VHS tapes, or toys with missing pieces. For questions or drop-off instructions (after May 19th), contact Katrina.Ohl@lcc.culturalcare.com.

This is my tentative plan for monthly au pair meetings until September:

1. July: 07/11 - trip to Rockport beach (rain date 07/18)
2. August: 08/28 - Boston Harbor boat cruise
3. September: 09/12 - Boston bicycle tour (rain date 09/19)

See you then!

What do au pairs learn at the Au Pair Training School? Where is the campus located? What is their schedule like? What are the meal options?

Visit our new Au Pair Training School Website for more information!

We are very excited to launch our new Host Family Survey Website! Learn more about the survey methodology used, see all survey questions and results, read testimonials and learn about program changes Cultural Care has made based on feedback received in past surveys.

Au paired up in town is an article about Cultural Care au pairs and host families in Belmont, MA written by Christian Schiavone, reporter for Belmont Citizen-Herald. This is the link for the article: http://www.wickedlocal.com/belmont/topstories/x43877645/Au-paired-up-in-town

A special thank you to the Horsley host family and their au pair Ella Stallman from Germany, who was featured in the photo slide show, as well as the Smith host family and their au pair Ana Gabriela Bohorquez Vargas, who was also included in the article.

I also wanted to thank all the host families and au pairs who offered to participate in this article.

Cultural Care Au Pair is excited to invite families and au pairs to participate in our first-ever Cultural Care Au Pair Video Contest! Do you have something interesting, funny or inspiring to say about the au pair program? If so, we want to see it on film-and we’ll give you the chance to win an entire year of free childcare (for host families) and $1000 (for au pairs) for sharing it with us and the rest of the world!

Step 1: Get Creative!
Encourage everyone - kids, parents, au pair - to participate in sharing your experiences through video.

Step 2: Upload your video!
Go to our video contest page and submit your family’s video through our easy registration process. http://contest.culturalcare.com/

Step 3: Spread the Word!
Share the link to your video with your friends and family- they’re our judges! The host family and au pair with the most votes for favorite video will win the Grand Prize - a year of free childcare and $1000!

Check out the contest requirements and other exciting prizes at http://contest.culturalcare.com/rules and get out your video cameras! Good luck! We look forward to seeing your family’s video!

Lights! Camera! Action!