About EF

Social Responsibility

Social Responsibility

Social Responsibility

Our programs change people in small but significant ways; EF participants broaden their outlook, acquire new skills, see new countries, and gain more confidence. Helping people is an every day part of our business. We are also engaged in a number of meaningful causes and affiliated with a few charitable organizations around the world.  These include:

Drug Abuse Prevention: The Mentor Foundation

Drug Abuse Prevention: The Mentor Foundation

Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the Mentor Foundation is an NGO that works closely with the United Nations to prevent drug abuse and addiction around the world. EF was a founding member and has been a key supporter of this cause for more than ten years. In addition to providing financial support to the foundation, EF founder Bertil Hult also served as Mentor’s worldwide chairman for over seven years.

Disaster Relief: Rebuilding Schools

Disaster Relief: Rebuilding Schools

When Hurricane Katrina hit the United States in 2005, EF Boston rallied and sent employees and funds to rebuild libraries in Louisiana. After the May 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China, EF donated US$800,000 to the Red Cross to help rebuild schools in both China and cyclone-ravaged Myanmar. When Indonesia was hit by a major earthquake in October 2009, EF continued to support school reconstruction by pledging its support for rebuilding badly damaged schools in Western Sumatra. And in 2009 and 2010, EF raised more than US$200,000 for victims of the Haiti earthquake.

Helping our Youngest: Infant Health and Orphanages

Helping our Youngest: Infant Health and Orphanages

Since 2000, EF has supported the March of Dimes, an organization dedicated to improving the health of newborn babies, through donations, fundraising and community events. In 2006 we were awarded the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Humanitarian Award by the March of Dimes for our contributions.

In 2004, EF's Cultural Care division spearheaded the "Kids First" campaign to sponsor some of the world's neediest children in orphanages in Russia, South Africa and Brazil, as well as children impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Over US$100,000 has been raised to date by staff, families and au pairs.