Gillette College

Adopt a Pronghorn

Host Family Program

The GCC Host Family program was originally established as an additional support program for the Pronghorn basketball teams. The program has grown to include any GCC student. The program consists of local families who are willing to "adopt" a GCC student for the current academic year. The program consists of both traditional and non-traditional families, as well as several grandparents. Not a live-in program, GCC host families engage in various activities throughout the year with their GCC student. Families should plan to be in contact with their student(s) at least two times a month and attend at least half of the student's home events. We understand that families have their own priorities, and some families may have the freedom to allot more time to their student.

GCC has two main goals for the host family program.

• Provide GCC students with a home away from home. GCC feels it is important to help our students become adjusted to Gillette by introducing them to a family that they can connect with over the course of the year.
• Introduce families in Gillette to a diverse field of students from all over the United States, as well as internationally. Exposing your family to different cultures from around the world can be a rewarding experience.

GCC understands that you have your own priorities with your family. For this reason, you are allowed to decide the level of commitment with your student. The main expectation is that each family keeps an open line of communication with the student. We ask that each family understand that students are busy and often are away from home for the first time, and many may not want to spend an extraordinary amount of time with their host family. GCC truly wants this to be a positive experience for both the families and the GCC students. Here are some suggestions for things you may want to do with your student:

• Invite them to a meal at your home with your family
• Invite them to watch a movie at home with your family
• Invite them to one of your children's extracurricular events
• Invite them to your house on a Sunday afternoon to have a quiet place to study
• Invite them to other community functions your family may be attending
• Invite them to call or text if they ever need a local referral (doctor, dentist, car repair, etc.)
• Call or text once a week to check in with your student

GCC's Host Family Program is available to all students. In order for GCC's student-athletes to participate in the Host Family Program, the College complies with rules and bylaws enacted by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The College's Host Family Program is administered by the institution with no direct affiliation to the athletic department and the Athletic department staff plays no part in the arrangement of host families. Additionally, Athletic department personnel may not serve as Host Family volunteers.

For students to remain eligible in the NJCAA, NCAA, and NAIA systems, they must be considered amateur athletes. When student-athletes are given benefits or gifts from outside entities, their amateur status can be put in jeopardy. For this reason there are certain actions that ARE NOT PERMISSIBLE within the Host Family Program if you are a host family for one of our student athletes. These actions include:

1. No financial, fiduciary, or monetary transactions may transpire between a volunteer host family volunteer and a student-athlete. This includes, but is not limited to: loans, co-signing of loans or leases, long distance telephone calls and provision of tickets.
   
2. A Host Family Volunteer must not take student-athlete on trips involving excessive mileage and/or expense.
   
3. A Host Family Volunteer may not provide tickets or gifts of any kind.