Welcome to the Map for Change

Welcome to our Map For Change, a community-supported resource to help you connect with volunteer opportunities at post and home. Foreign Affairs employees and family members actively give back to their community and show the world the best of the American spirit of volunteerism. Supported by the Cox Foundation, the Map’s mission is to support and promote volunteerism as a form of diplomacy. AAFSW celebrates volunteerism with the annual Secretary of State Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad (SOSA).  Visit the Map for Change.

Continue Reading

Professional Development Opportunity with AAFSW

Professional Development Opportunity Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW) and COX Foundation Oral History Project As part of an Una Chapman Cox Foundation project on American Diplomacy and the Foreign Service, AAFSW is looking to train two individuals to produce topic-focused oral histories. These oral histories differ from traditional ones because they feature a discussion and insights on a topic specific to Foreign Service life. They also run up to a maximum of three hours. Some examples of suggested topics may include: Beating the odds and building a successful career as an Eligible Family Member Challenges and successes of Foreign Born Spouses Best Practices/Lessons Learned Raising Children in the Foreign… Read More

Continue Reading

AAFSW Announces its 2022 Scholarships

Application Deadline: April 15, 2022 The AAFSW Merit Scholarship for College StudentsCurrent college freshmen, sophomores or juniors continuing college in Fall 2022 are eligible for this scholarship. The application form is on the AAFSW website here. Two scholarships are available for $2,500 each. If you prefer the Word version of the application form, contact office@aafsw.org. The AAFS W “Twice Exceptional” Merit Scholarship for High School Seniors, Gap Year, and College StudentsCurrent high school seniors, gap year, college freshmen, and college sophomores with a current IEP, a 504, or equivalent program are eligible for this scholarship.  In 2018 AAFSW introduced the “Twice Exceptional” Merit Scholarship for AAFSW member students with special… Read More

Continue Reading

Bidding this Fall? Do it Efficiently with OBC’s Post Info to Go Research Tool

Post Info to Go (PITG) is post-specific research tool specifically designed to assist foreign affairs employees and their family members in the bidding and assignment process. Managed by the Overseas Briefing Center (OBC), this easy-to-use platform is available online on the OBC OpenNet, GO Browser and Post Info To Go-External, a password-protected website for family members. It offers a comparison of over 270 posts worldwide, more than 2,000 anonymous Personal Post Insights, and over 6,000 post-specific documents. Find TM3 “Welcome to Post” cables, CLO welcome and orientation materials, technology surveys, consumables guidelines, schooling and childcare options, family member employment information, pet import and quarantine restrictions, disability and accessibility surveys, post videos, housing handbooks and photos, and a… Read More

Continue Reading

AAFSW here to support returnees from Kabul

Many of your friends and colleagues and perhaps even yourselves are coming home on short notice in dire circumstances with little warning or baggage.Please know that the Evacuee Support Network from AAFSW (Associates of American Foreign Service Worldwide) is ready to support your needs.  We have almost 100 volunteers willing to help.  We can take you shopping, help you find housing, provide a meal.  We even have a volunteer who would like to help with your pets.The Network has been active since the mid-80s when we worked with telephone trees.  These days please let us know your needs or your colleagues needs via email at a_laporta@yahoo.com Ann La Porta

Continue Reading

AAFSW Announces the Winners of the 2021 Student Merit Scholarships

  Alyssa Burkhalter Alyssa is a rising junior at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She is studying Double Bass at the Blair School of Music, with a second major in Psychology. After college, Alyssa is interested in a variety of pursuits, including joining the Peace Corps, practicing music therapy or other social work, and being a freelance musician. Alyssa’s passions outside of music include dance, volunteering as a piano teacher at W.O. Smith Music School, and attempting to keep her bonsai tree alive. Alyssa would like to thank her family and friends for their support, as well as AAFSW for this opportunity.                … Read More

Continue Reading