World Learning (Brattleboro, Vermont) is a 75-year old nonprofit that operates international education and development programs in more than 70 countries worldwide. Over 250,000 people have participated in World Learning projects, and the total number of non-U.S. homestay families is about 3,500.

In 2007, approximately 3,753 high school, undergraduate college and graduate college students from 32 countries were active in World Learning programs.

For high schoolers, the “Experiment” program in 2007 allowed more than 1,100 young students to live with local families in 27 countries. Students learned about different cultures, languages, and explored themes from the arts to ecology.

For undergraduates, over 200 institutions sent more than 2,000 undergraduates to study abroad in 2007 through the SIT Study Abroad program. Students studied with field-based faculty in nearly 50 countries. Working with local nongovernmental organizations and other partners, students develop Independent Study Projects that enhance their awareness of global issues and better equip them to make positive changes in the world. The top universities represented in the program last year were the University of Colorado-Boulder, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and Wesleyan University.

For college graduate students, the SIT Graduate Institute provides in-depth studies of global issues. Through a combination of field-based and classroom learning, participants study in fields ranging from international education to international development.  667 students were enrolled in 2007, representing 32 countries and 98 language groups.

World Learning also conducts 61 International Development Programs in 20 countries that focus on areas such as HIV/AIDS, children at risk, global education crisis, and government accountability. Some of the projects include working with HIV/AIDS orphans and vulnerable children

in Ethiopia, bridging differences among religious and ethnic groups and strengthening the rights of women and minorities in Indonesia, and building civil service capacity projects in Angola.

More information on their activities, including donation opportunities, can be found on their website.