The Light - An Alumni Publication Fall 2015 | Page 9

surprised when our programs team embraced the
challenge of finding the perfect home for Vera.
Vera, remarkably, was among the first students
placed — early in April. Then in August we got word
that her original host family had to cancel their
participation. We were now left with only a few weeks
to find a home for Vera before school started.
The universe works in mysterious ways sometimes. Vera
would ultimately get placed with my former college
professor, in a town that I consider my home, due to
the incredible work of St. Bonaventure University, my
alma mater, and a few people there who refused to
give up. I could share a crazy week’s journey with you
about these colleagues alone, but I want to mostly
share the story of Vera’s host family and her host
community, and in full disclosure, to ask for your help.

The story is a remarkable one. The Olean School District
found ways to get extra technology and resources for
Vera, and the Bartimole family made it their personal
mission to help find Vera navigate this new experience. At
the end of the day, however, the school informed us that
Vera would need a full-time aide if she was going to be
able to navigate the year at OHS. The price tag: $10,000.
When I asked the school if they thought Vera could
have a successful year, I said, “we also owe it to Vera
to tell her it may not work out if you believe that’s the
case.” The school’s response: “that would be unjust.”
A brief side note: this story has been reminding me
more and more about what is so special about YFU: we
have host parents that are fiercely protective, volunteers
who serve as passionate area representatives and some
of the best schools in the country. YFU communities
are remarkable places, and
Olean, a first-time YFU
community this year, was
clearly going to fit right in.

“...any student that wants
to come on an exchange
year deserves a shot.”

Prof. John Bartimole
is one of those
professors that
comes right out
of a movie. He’s
passionate about
journalism, his original craft, and has taught countless
Bonaventure students how to be better writers. He
cares deeply about his students and has almost a
“Mr. Keating” from “Dead Poet’s Society” following.
When we asked John to consider hosting Vera, I
didn’t hear back from him for a week. I awoke one
Sunday morning to an email from John that simply
said, “Michael, call me when you wake up.” I couldn’t
bring myself to call him for an hour. If he said no, we
would likely not have a home for Vera, and we had
all committed to making sure this didn’t happen.

John would explain to me on that call that he and his
wife had been looking for a week for a reason to say
no. He had a relatively new job running a health care
consortium and had a full family life already, but he also
shared that the coincidences were too great: 1) he had
raised a blind daughter; 2) his wife had Hungarian roots;
3) he was the past chairman of the local school board
and just knew that they would accept her. In short, John
said, Vera was destined to be their exchange daughter. To
say we were all relieved would be an understatement.
Vera was soon off to Olean, NY, and the Bartimole
family. When she arrived, we soon discovered that
Vera’s hearing was also a challenge for her in the
classroom. John and his family refused to let any of
this stop them. They soon created what they called
“Team Vera.” The school and YFU would soon be
getting emails calling us to a “Team Vera” conference
call to figure out a way to keep her on program.

YFU didn’t hesitate to
authorize spending the
funds to help Vera get the personal support she
needed, but, as you might imagine, we don’t usually
budget for this level of support. That’s where I hope
you can help. I wanted to share Vera’s story with you,
our alumni, because it reminded me, and I hope it
does you, of the incredible volunteers, families and
schools that make our programs possible. I hope it
reminds you of your own time on a YFU program.

But I also hope that you will be as inspired by Vera
as I am, and the community that she is calling home.
We are launching a “Team Vera” campaign this
month – in this month of the US Thanksgiving – to
raise the funds we needed for Vera’s full-time aide. If
you are inspired by Vera’s story, or simply grateful
for your own, we would be very thankful for your
assistance in helping us support “Team Vera” and
this extraordinary journey she’s on through YFU.
We appreciate any support you might be able to give,
and we would love to welcome you to “Team Vera.”
My heartfelt thanks,

Michael E. Hill
President and CEO

Donateto
Donate
to Vera
Team
Team
here

YFU

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Vera
here