Cultural Care Au Pair Brazilian male caregiver named International Au Pair of the Year

April 13, 2009 - PRLog -- A young journalism student from Natal, Brazil who has shown compassion and
dedication in his daily care for a special needs boy, has earned the distinction of being
named the “International Au Pair of the Year”, the second consecutive honor for a
Cultural Care au pair, an agency that places au pairs with families in Washington DC,
Maryland, and Virginia.

The “Au Pair of the Year” Award honors au pairs who are caring, dependable and
exceptional providers of childcare to their host family. Francisco Ricardo Silva de
Araújo, au pair to the Boyer family of Richmond, Virginia was chosen from among local
nominees as well as au pairs around the world in more than 50,000 host families. He was
presented with the award at the 15th Annual International Au Pair Association Conference
in Vienna, Austria on March 25th. Linda Falter from Germany, another Cultural Care au
pair, won the award in 2008.

The International Au Pair Association established the Au Pair of the Year Award to
recognize the many great young men and women participating in the au pair program.
Marji Epstein, local childcare coordinator for Cultural Care Au Pair in Potomac, MD. says,
“It is wonderful that IAPA, through this award, allows so many in the au pair community to
reflect on what an incredibly positive program this is and the many lives it touches and
enriches along the way.”

The Boyer family nominated Ricardo for this prestigious award because of his devotion
to their son, Taylor. Taylor is multi-handicapped and does not speak. “Ricardo is an
exceptional young man, full of compassion, patience, gentleness. He never tires of
encouraging Taylor to meet his challenges and reach beyond them,” says Kim Boyer,
Ricardo’s host mother. “He has truly enhanced Taylor's life in a way I never thought
possible.” Epstein says that she often hears from her local host families that, like Ricardo,
their au pairs have exceeded expectations and truly enriched their children’s lives.
“We could not be more proud of this fine young man and our au pair program that has
now won the award for two consecutive years,” says David Fougere, President of
Cultural Care Au Pair. “I think Kim Boyer said it best in her nomination. ‘Ricardo is an
excellent example of all that one would hope for in a childcare provider. He is truly the
spirit of Cultural Care and the best in mankind.’”

For a video about Ricardo, please visit: www.culturalcare.com/award .
The International Au Pair Association is the global trade association for qualified au pair
agencies actively engaged in the au pair industry. Headquartered in Denmark, there are
143 members in 38 countries around the world. http://iapa.org

Cultural Care Au Pair is the leading provider of intercultural childcare and educational
exchange. Since 1989, Cultural Care has placed more than 75,000 au pairs in welcoming
American homes. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., with an extensive
network of recruitment, screening and orientation offices worldwide.
http://culturalcare.com

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We provide families with experienced au pairs with legal visas. Our au pairs from all over the world, are carefully evaluated, selected and trained. They are excited to spend a year with an American family to provide up to 45 hours per week of childcare.