The Rotary Club of Rochester is accepting applications for its Youth Exchange Program

Rotary’s goal is to promote world understanding one person at the time. Every year, over 7,000 young scholars explore new cultures and communities through the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. Rotary clubs exist in more than 200 countries and geographical areas, and Youth Exchanges take place in nearly all of them.

Rotary Youth Exchange Study Abroad Program

“We help with both inbound and outbound students. We help find host families for inbound students and act as a sort of welcome and support committee. And we also help local outbound Rochester students find host families in other local Rotary districts around the world. It’s really wonderful to help facilitate both aspects of this incredible opportunity.” – Dave Archbold, Youth Exchange Chair.

This year, Rochester Rotary helped locate a host family for Eva Meisl of Austria. Now they are looking for a few local youths to venture out into the world to experience new places and people starting in the summer of 2017. The deadline for long-term outbound applications is January 2, 2017. If you have a high school student, or know someone who has a 15-18 year old, who is interested or could benefit from the experience, please encourage them to consider the Rotary Youth Exchange Program.

Study Abroad Program Accepting Applications

Long-Term Exchanges are focused around the school year. They usually last from August until the following June, during which students attend school and live with families in their host country. To gain a greater understanding of the culture, students will live with at least two, preferably three, host families during their stay. To ensure student safety, the host Rotary club conscientiously screens and selects all host families.

Short-Term Exchanges typically take place during the summer and vary in length from 4-6 weeks. Although students generally would not attend school in the host country, the hosts may be able to tailor the exchange to match the student’s interests or to include tours of specific places or regions. Rochester Rotary would get in contact with a Rotary club in the desired area and work to arrange a direct exchange so that their student could also come to experience live in the Rochester community.

Eligibility

Rotary Youth Exchange programs are open to students ages 15-19. To qualify, applicants should be above-average students who have demonstrated leadership in their community. Candidates should also possess qualities such as flexibility and a willingness to try new things that will enable them to fully experience life in another country and become excellent cultural ambassadors. All applicants must be sponsored by a local Rotary club and complete a written application and in-person interview

About Rotary

Rotary is a global network of community volunteers. Rotary club members are business, professional, and community leaders who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. More than 33,000 clubs conduct projects to address today’s challenges, including illiteracy, disease, hunger, poverty, lack of clean water, and environmental concerns. For more information, contact Rotary International staff at youthexchange@rotary.org.