OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Every year, hundreds of young people come to the area from foreign countries to work summer jobs on a J-1 Visa, a program established to promote cultural exchange between the U.S. and students from abroad.

Finding your bearings in an unfamiliar country can be daunting, and the Community Watch Council has made it part of its mission to not only welcome the young people into the community, but make sure they have a reliable resource.

A group of chamber of commerce members and local officials had in the past organized a welcome breakfast for J-1 students, but over the years it fell through the cracks, said Community Watch Council, or CWC, member Pat Brown.

Last year there was a situation where a J-1 student needed assistance, and didn’t know who to turn to. The CWC was contacted, and since then, dedicated CWC members like Chairwoman Helene Whittaker and Brown have made it part of the group’s work to support the J-1 students.

Whittaker and Brown did research and have compiled information so if a J-1 student needs help, they know who to contact at a sponsoring agency, or if a J-1 student’s housing falls through, they have a list of housing providers.

“They never had a central source,” said Brown. “It’s brought it all together … we know who to talk to resolve issues.”

This year, there were two orientation meetings ”“ one for student workers that gives them information on local resources such as public safety and banks, and another orientation for businesses. There is also a website, oobJ1.com, with information as well as a Facebook page keeping J-1 workers updated on events in town.

Antonio Molina, 22, from the Dominican Republic, is spending his third summer in Old Orchard Beach. Molina is working three jobs, and said it would take him a year and a half in his home county to earn the money he can make in a summer in Old Orchard Beach and Saco. Molina will use the money he makes here to pay for college, fund his screen-printing business, and help his family.

“People are so friendly here,” said Molina. Molina has a firm grasp on the English language, but that wasn’t always the case.

He recalls his first summer in Old Orchard Beach. “If you asked me ”˜How are you?,’ I’d say ”˜three o’clock.”

Molina came to the United States through CCI Greenheart, a nonprofit agency which facilitates cultural exchange and service learning opportunities.

Molina is also an ambassador for CCI Greenheart, and as part of his duties, he is organizing a volunteer project for J-1 students.

He sought advice from Brown and Whittaker for a project, and is recruiting fellow J-1 students to volunteer at next month’s Challenge Maine triathlon.

Though they both work many hours, Molina and fellow J-1 student Janeen Marshall, who is from Jamaica, seem to never run out of energy and are both enthusiastic about volunteering.

Marshall said every time she sees an opportunity for volunteer work, “my face lights up.”

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].