ARLINGTON SISTER CITY ASSOCIATION INC

I attended the event to support the Ukranian City of Ivano-Frankivsk and am very thankful for the work this organization does to support sister cities around the globe.

I joined ASCA because, as a Ukrainian-American, I was excited to find out that Arlington is a sister city to Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. It was very easy to join and the group welcomed me warmly! I have been involved since July 2021 and am now a Co-President of the Ivano-Frankivsk committee.

Since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022, our committee and all of ASCA have been so supportive of Ukrainians both here in the US and in Ukraine. We have hosted numerous events and programs to support Ukrainian organizations and awareness about issues surrounding the war, including a charity event at Clarendon's Northside Social in late March, which was able to raise around $10,000 for a local charity in our sister city of Ivano-Frankivsk. I am so happy to have joined ASCA and am excited for the great work that we will continue to do for both Arlington and our sister cities.

When finding ways to give back to the community, getting involved with families from all over the world and making connections through government, economic development, arts and culture and education, Arlington Sister City Association checks all the boxes!!

My family participated in the 5th grade exchange with our sister city of Aachen and it was wonderful to experience daily life with a family in Aachen. ASCA programs bring together people from Arlington and our Sister Cities so we can learn about each other one person or one family at a time. I have also served as the Local Coordinator for high school students from our sister cities who come to Arlington to live with a local family and attend high school for a year or semester. ASCA programs are life changing and many participants develop life-long relationships with their partners from abroad.

While I am a newcomer to Arlington Sister City Association, ASCA, having joined the Board in 2021, I quickly realized it is an amazing but perhaps little-known organization. Even though I am semi-retired, I still wanted to stay active professionally and apply my business, organizational, and volunteer experience to socially oriented non-profits. I have previously served on boards of grass roots neighborhood educational and international cultural organizations in Baltimore and Washington DC, so when I serendipitously found ASCA I was immediately drawn to their mission and work. The promotion of international understanding, learning, and culture is critical to the health of any society, but particularly so for Americans, especially in today’s’ highly unsettled geopolitical environment. ASCA officers, members and volunteers demonstrate this dedication to fostering international global weal through their activities that bind our sister cities, such as cultural and educational exchanges, and business development opportunities. Perhaps the most impressive one was their recent work with Arlington County’s support for its sister City Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, which brought home to us the real and immediate dangers and dire needs that not only our sister city residents, but all their country people face today - https://bit.ly/3xSK74u. I cannot think of a more worthy organization to devote your time and financial consideration to than the Arlington Sister City Association.

My family has participated in two student exchanges through the Arlington Sister City Association (ASCA). These well-organized exchanges provided an incredible, eye-opening and extremely meaningful experience for the whole family, expanding our knowledge about another country and culture and introducing us to wonderful people. We also gained an even greater appreciation of our own community as we saw it through our visitors' eyes. In addition to these exchanges, I have attended numerous lectures, panel discussions and events organized by ASCA which have expanded my knowledge of international history, politics and culture. ASCA is a real gem in the Arlington community.

In the 1990's, ASCA had no French sister city and no student exchange with France. I was teaching French at Yorktown High School in Arlington and had tried several times to start an exchange with a French high school, so that my students could have that very enriching experience. I turned to ASCA, where members wanted both a French Sister City and were willing to sponsor a student exchange. We started the exchange in 2001 and Reims became our French Sister City in 2004. Bravo and huge thanks to Arlington Sister City Association, where I have been a member for over 30 years.
Elizabeth Schollaert, President, Reims Committee.

Proud to be affiliated with ASCA to build a rich legacy of culture, education, and economic bridges with our sister cities in Germany, France and the Ukraine. ASCA is working hard to promote Arlington’s global identity and international alliances in the world of business, culture, education, immigration, tourism, and humanitarian causes.

As a member of ASCA, I’ve been involved with the Arlington-Reims high school student exchanges for over 10 years. The exchanges provide enriching opportunities for Arlington students to use the French language and culture they are learning in school to interact with students and families from Reims. It’s an amazing and rewarding opportunity for our youth to become better citizens of the world.