Journeys

Travel with a Purpose
Be More Than a Tourist
Be The Bridge

Bridges span the divides and barriers between people, places, and cultures. Friendship Force International’s Mission  is to cross the barriers that separate us as people.  We journey to make friends, learn about other cultures, develop a better understanding of our world, and discover our shared humanity – promoting the causes of Peace and International Understanding.

What Are Journeys?

The Friendship Force journeys are short-term homestays. Friendship Force “Ambassadors” travel from their home clubs and countries to another club’s city and country, where they are welcomed into the homes of that club’s members. After sharing experiences of friendship, personal relationships are established across the barriers that separate people. Differences of language, race, creed or politics become less important.

FF Dallas and FF International offer three types of Journeys – Club to Club, Independent, and Special.

NOTE: To join any journey organized by FF Dallas, other FF Clubs, FF Members, or FF International,
you must be a member of an FF Club or FF International.

A 1992 nominee for The Nobel Peace Prize, The Friendship Force is active in about 400 communities in 65 countries. Since 1977, about a half-million volunteer Ambassadors and Hosts have participated in 3,500 journeys, touching the lives of more than two million people, exemplifying The Friendship Force motto …

A World of Friends is a World of Peace

Club to Club Journeys

Inbound Journeys consist of an international or USA club coming to us; members of our club host the visitors for about a one week. We create a program to share our Dallas & Texas lifestyles, homes and families as well as showing them the culture and lifestyle of our country and cities. We also have welcome and farewell meals and lunches and/or dinners. There is always plenty of free time for the individual host family and/or day host to spend time with the incoming ambassador.

Typical cost for inbound events ranges from $30-100 (for admission fees, meals, etc.).

All members and guests are welcomed to attend any and all events during the inbound journey.

For Inbound Journeys, we suggest a minimum of 10 Ambassadors and a maximum of 15, unless agreed upon between the two clubs.

Inbound Ambassadors can arrive by airplane at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (near Grapevine, TX) or Love Field Airport (in Dallas, TX) or by car, train, or bus. However you arrive, we will meet and greet you and transport you to your homestay location.

Outbound Journeys usually consist of our club visiting one or more international or USA clubs for about one week each, staying in their homes. The hosting club creates a program with visits to sites in their city and area as well as welcome and farewell meals and lunches and/or dinners. The homestay(s) may be followed by an optional tour. Groups range from 10-40 people, with 16-20 being an average.

Typical cost for an outbound ranges from $300-500 (for events & meals there and homestay) to $1500-3000 (for events & meals and commercial tour before or after).

Upcoming FF Dallas Journeys

* Outbounds

Aug 18-24, 2024 : Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada coordinated by Aurora Madrigal — Completed

Sep 21-28, 2024 : Orlando, Florida coordinated by Pat Moreno Fisher — Planning

* Inbounds

Apr 14-21, 2024 : Calgary, Alberta, Canada coordinated by Patty Neimeyer — Completed

Oct 14-17, 2024 : Sarasota, FL coordinated by Barb Taylor — Planning

Past Journeys

You can see the Friendship Force clubs where FF Dallas has journeyed and who we have hosted at Past Journeys.

For more info on or to volunteer to help with our journeys, contact our Journeys Organizer, Lou Ann King friendshipforcedallas+journeys@gmail.com.

To apply for one of our outbound journeys, download and/or print a copy of an Ambassador Application (use for either an International or Domestic Journey). Then contact Lou Ann King to find out how to send it to the appropriate Journey Coordinator.

Ambassador Application and Agreement for International and Domestic Journeys

Each hosting club will provide our Journey Coordinator with Health and Mobility requirements (mobility, home hosting, dietary, etc.). You can view the template they’ll use in this FFI document.

Also, in 2021, our club board approved a Health Policy related to infectious diseases (e.g., Covid-19). See that in this FFD document.

Other FFI Journeys – Independent and Special

Individual FF Members around the world also offer Independent Journeys – short homestays for 1 or 2 members with activities agreed upon by host(s) and ambassador(s). Fees for these journeys are $25 USD per night plus a $25 FFI fee, not including transportation, activity fees, etc.

FFI and FF clubs also offer Special Journeys like cruises, journeys to areas where there are not FF Clubs, and journeys with a special theme such as Nature, Biking, Culture. Fees for these journeys are set by the Journey Coordinator.

See the FFI Journey Marketplace for more information about Club-to-Club, Independent, and Special Journeys. (You must be logged in to https://my.friendshipForce.org to view the marketplace)

NOTE: To join any journey organized by FF Dallas, other FF Clubs, FF Members, or FF International, you must be a member of an FF Club or FF International.
See Member Information for a Membership Form.

NOTE: In addition, per the FFI Policies & Guidelines for Journeys,

“All Friendship Force ambassadors are required to secure adequate travel and medical insurance to cover emergencies during their Journeys.”

You can use your existing insurance policy (if it has international travel & medical coverage) -or- purchase a policy offered by FFI or any travel & medical insurance company.

For more information, see the FFI Trip Insurance page.