Operation Friendship Hosts Annual Ski Swap

Thanksgiving weekends tend to put people in the mood to shop.

And every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, people can shop for the ski lovers in their lives while helping a local nonprofit organization.

Operation Friendship hosts a Ski Swap on the Saturday after Thanksgiving at the on Grafton Common. The swap will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Consignment items will be accepted during the two hours before the swap. New and used equipment from Wachusett Ski Resort and Strands & White is available.

Proceeds benefit Operation Friendship, a youth exchange program between European and American families. The organization was founded in 1965 and has chapters in seven European countries: England, Germany, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Holland, Sweden and Wales.

The organization is governed by a national board and organized by local communities. Membership is open to youths between the ages of 14 and 22. Each person spends one to three weeks in the host family's home while learning their aspects of life.

The Grafton chapter was established in 1976. The town hosted its first group from Ireland in 1977. Since then, Grafton has hosted groups from Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Germany and Wales.

"Operation Friendship came in to our lives when our teenaged daughters were looking to broaden their view of the world,'' said Caron Merrill, chairman of the Grafton chapter of Operation Friendship. "What better for them than a program where we would host teens from one of six European countries for three weeks in the summer, and in exchange, our girls would be able to travel to Europe and live three weeks there the following summer?''

The organization aims to create international friendships that give insight and understanding to each other's cultural differences and likenesses. The Grafton chapter has arranged trips to New York, Boston and Washington, D.C., among other locations. They have also sent families to popular restaurants, beaches and amusement parks.

They always host welcome and farewell parties. Families also have five days when they can arrange their own activities.

Merrill said the rewards of the program can last well beyond the visit. Her family's guests from Sweden two summers ago are still close friends with her daughters, she said. Her daughters traveled to Germany this summer where they lived with a host family for about three weeks and immersed themselves in German life, culture, food and history and even learned a little German.

All of this is accomplished by fundraising, so there is little to no out-of-pocket cost for being a part of Operation Friendship. In addition to the annual ski swap, other fund-raisers include monthly middle school dances, a pizza fundraiser, a spaghetti dinner and a car wash.

"We truly appreciate the support we have from the community,'' she said.

For contact information and to stay up-to-date with news from Operation Friendship, go to http://www.ofgrafton.com or find them on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/operationfriendship.