About Sacramento and its Friendship Force Club

Friendship Force Sacramento

Our club is just one of some 360 similar clubs located in more than 60 countries from all over the world. We are a nonprofit corporation committed to furthering international peace by forming international friendships. We are affiliates of Friendship Force International headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. (http://www.TheFriendshipForce.org)

To achieve the purpose of international peace through friendships, members travel in small groups as "good will Ambassadors" to one or two host cities on what is called an exchange.

While on an exchange, members are home hosted individually or in pairs for a week in each city by members of the receiving Friendship Force club. It's a unique, if not rare, opportunity to share in the lives of a family and to learn of their culture. It's a lot more than just sharing bed and board. Members sometimes find themselves attending a wedding, visiting a school, or even observing a cremation. They may be taken to a spa in Japan, an underground salt cathedral in Colombia, or visit an ice palace in Sweden. You just never know...

In turn, our club annually hosts exchanges from other countries. In addition to hosting them in our homes, the week usually includes a party or two and several all day group outings to the Redwoods, Gold Country, Lake Tahoe, or, perhaps, San Francisco.

When on an exchange, ambassadors pay their own travel expenses plus an administrative fee to FFI in Atlanta, which coordinates exchanges worldwide. The total cost for one week's room and board is appoximately $ 400 plus travel fees.

Our club started in 1988 with an exchange to Bogota, Colombia. Since then some of the countries we have had exchanges with, both outbound and inbound, include Australia, Brazil, Chile, England, Germany, Japan, Germany, Italy, Kyrgystan, New Zealand, Peru, Poland and Turkey..

Our members come not just from Sacramento but also from nearby communities such as Folsom, Carmichael, Roseville, Fair Oaks, Orangevale and beyond.

It may sound like we are a travel club but we are not. We are a lot more. Because of it, we are looking for others who want to make foreign friends to better understand their culture, lifestyle and values. If this sounds interesting to you, we want to hear from you. To check us out better or to become a member, contact us.
SUGGESTIONS FOR PLANNING AN EXCHANGE TO SACRAMENTO

TRANSPORTATION: Visiting clubs should arrange to fly into Sacramento's International Airport (SMF), which is located about 12 miles outside of the city. Your host families will greet you when you exit the secure area.

It is also possible to fly to San Francisco's International Airport(SFO). That airport is about two and a half or three hours from Sacramento. For a group, it is necessary to rent a bus to transfer the group to Sacramento. The cost is several hundred dollars. We will be happy to make arrangements for you, if you wish.

SIZE OF GROUP: Normally the inbound groups number about 20 to 25 persons. However we can accommodate up to 30 ambassadors.

WEATHER: The best time to visit Sacramento is probably during April, May, and June as well as September and October. We often have exchanges during the summer, but Sacramento summers are quite hot (39C to 42C) during the days. Even on very hot days our nights are often mild(16C to 18C) and the air is dry. Houses and cars are air conditioned. Rain is uncommon from May through September.

ACTIVITIES: Sacramento is about two hours away from many interesting places, including San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Reno, and the Gold and Wine countries in the nearby foothills. Visitors may also see California's Capitol building, a world famous Railroad Museum, and the restored "Old Town" part of Sacramento.

Normally we have a welcoming gathering and a going away party for each exchange in the hope that our ambassadors will be able to meet other club members who are not home hosting.

PLANNING: Clubs planning to visit Sacramento are encouraged to contact the Exchange Director appointed for your visit concerning dates, arrangements or to ask any questions they may have concerning their visit here.

We will work with other clubs you may be visiting to arrange transportation between them and our club.

SACRAMENTO FACTS

LOCATION:  Sacramento is located near the center of California's central valley at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California.

SIZE: The City of Sacramento covers nearly 96 square miles of Sacramento County's total 999 square mile boundary.

POPULATION: The City of Sacramento is home to 466,488 people.

ELEVATION: Seventeen feet above sea level.

CLIMATE: Sacramento enjoys a varied climate with temperatures ranging from 37 to 52F degrees in the winter and an average of 57 to 92F degrees during the summer. The rainy season starts in November with rainfall averaging about 17 inches per year.

INDUSTRY: The primary industries in Sacramento are government, trade, services, finance, insurance, real estate, and manufacturing, including electronics manufacturing.

GOVERNMENT: The City of Sacramento is governed under a Council/Manager system. The Council consists of eight members who are elected from separate districts and a Mayor, elected by the entire city. Council members serve staggered four-year terms, so the four Council seats are open for election every odd-numbered year. A City Manager administers their policies and programs on a day to day basis.

INTERESTING FACTS:

-Sacramento is the capital of California;

-the primary agriculture products of Sacramento are rice, tomatoes, safflower, corn, almonds and sugar beets;

-Sacramento is the site of California's State Fair and Exposition--Cal Expo;

-an electric train system, Light Rail, connects suburbs with downtown Sacramento;

-there are 7 television stations and 29 radio stations; -Sacramento is known to flower lovers as the "Camellia Capital of the World".

SACRAMENTO'S HISTORY: California was first discovered by the Spaniards on September 28, 1542; Sacramento was first established as a colony by Captain John A. Sutter in 1839; Sutter's Fort remains one of America's most fascinating historical attractions; gold was discovered in Coloma near Sacramento on January 24, 1848; California was admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850; Sacramento became California's permanent capital on 1854; Sacramento was the western terminus for the Pony Express.

COMMUNITY INFORMATION: 95 parks, 78 playgrounds, 45 theaters, 15 nine and eighteen hole public golf courses and 5 private golf courses; 33 art galleries and museums, two major symphonies, three ballet companies, scores of movie theaters and live stage plays year around; 11 hospitals with a total of 2554 licensed bed capacity. University of California, Davis, California State University, Sacramento, 4 community colleges as well as 4 private colleges and universities including 2 law schools; annual events include the Camellia Festival, St. Patrick's Day Parade, Water Festival, Dixieland Jazz Festival, California State Fair and more.

                          SACRAMENTO'S EARLY HISTORY

The history of Sacramento is a panorama of stirring events, varied cultures, and daring enterprises. Sacramento was first home to a large population of peaceful Maidu and Miwok Indians. Early explorers visited the area and in the early 1800's explorer Gabriel Moraga named the city's major river and surrounding area "Sacramento," the Spanish word for Holy Sacrament.

In 1839 Captain John Augustus Sutter, a Swiss immigrant, sailed halfway around the world in a rented schooner to find a suitable site for migrating Europeans. Sutter landed at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers and established a camp near the present site of downtown Sacramento. In 1841 Sutter received a Mexican land grant of nearly 97 square miles. Dreaming of building an agricultural empire, Sutter established an inland fort and started the town of New Helvetia. For nine years Sutter prospered, setting up fisheries, trapping expeditions, a flour mill, and a lumber mill to build his new city.

On January 24, 1848, Sacramento's history changed forever and Sutter's empire was shattered. On that day John Wilson Marshall, a contractor at Sutter's lumber mill, discovered GOLD! Sutter and Marshall tried to keep the discovery a secret, but local business man, Sam Brannan, leaked the news to San Francisco, and the gold rush began. Thousands of gold seekers arrived in Sacramento within a year, creating a tent city. Sutter's workers went prospecting, his livestock was stolen, squatters occupied his land, and creditors were pursuing him. To save what he could, Sutter deeded the remaining land to his son, John Sutter who began plotting a Sacramento townsite and selling lots.

Sacramento's population mushroomed from 2,000 in 1849 to 9,000 by 1850, and the city became an important part of the West. California achieved statehood in 1850, and by 1854 Sacramento was the capital.  Soon Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker began planning the transcontinental railroad route that would link the nation. In 1863 the first track of the railroad was laid simultaneously at Front and K streets in the city and on the east coast. With the opening of the railroad in 1869, the City of Sacramento began to grow and prosper.

Sacramento's rich and colorful past is a story of events that have shaped the history of this state and the nation.