District 5870 Rotary - Youth Exchange

Youth Exchange is a Rotary International sponsored program for youth 15 ½ to 18 ½ years old. It is a program supported by District 5870. It is not a program of the Rotary Foundation, but is facilitated by District volunteers and SCRYE, a multi-district consortium that helps manage this program and trains the District volunteers.

The Youth Exchange program in our Central Texas district currently involves 6 inbound students (students coming from other countries to District 5870) and 3 outbound students (students from central Texas who went to other countries).

Youth Exchange supports the Rotary goal of peace and world understanding, one student at a time. It’s a terrific program that changes the life of the exchange students and their host clubs and families forever.

So, what role do you play in all of this? Listed below are the four main players and links to the pages relevant to each group

• The outbound student
• The Rotary Club hosting an Outbound Student
• The Rotary Club hosting an Inbound Student
• The host family (for inbound students)

Youth Exchange News

Students—Inbound and Outbound

District 5870 currently has 3 outbound students who have just arrived in their host countries. David Lander from Caldwell is in France, Spencer Serra from Austin is in Brazil, and Dylan Baddour from Austin is in Argentina.

Our inbound students include Monique Stoltz from Australia who is being hosted by the LaGrange Club, Camila (Mila) Costos from Brazil who is being hosted by the Bastrop County and Cedar Creek Clubs, Francois Pagay from France who is being hosted by the Caldwell Club, Maria Simonsson from Sweden who is being hosted by the Rotary Club of Austin, and Angel Chiu from Taiwan who is being hosted by the Northwest Austin club. In December Monique will return to Australia, and we will bring in Federico from Argentina.

Committee Members needed

We are looking for some Rotarians who would like to serve on the district Youth Exchange Committee. This is a relatively easy committee in terms of meetings since we do most of our work via e-mail or telephone. We would be particularly interested in committee members who have an interest in facilitating the outbound students, promoting the program to clubs and/or prospective students, and/or serving as compliance officer (making sure we have all the documentation needed to survive a Department of State audit). In general, if you have an interest in the international aspects of Rotary and a heart for students, we would love to have you on our committee. For more information contact Judy Duer (254-298-5707, jduer@ci.temple.tx.us) or David Johnson (djohnson@mdanderson.org).

Time to Recruit Next Year’s Outbounds

Although it seems like a long time until next August, we have a lot of paperwork to do between now and then, so now is the time for clubs to begin looking for prospective outbound students. We will be interviewing them at the district level November 21-22 so clubs will need to interview them and submit their names before that weekend. See “For Clubs Interested in Sponsoring Outbound Students” below for more details.

*For Prospective Outbound students

Rotary Youth Exchange sends students from one country to live and go to school in another country. The exchange lasts 10-12 months (a full academic year). During the exchange the student is hosted by a Rotary Club in their host country and will be hosted by 2-4 host families. Although Rotary International does have a short-term exchange program, at present our district is only participating in the long-term program.

Because Rotary Youth Exchange is run entirely by volunteers, the costs are only the actual costs involved with making the exchange (plane fare, insurance, passport/visa costs, blazer, business cards, and souvenir pins to trade with other students). The student’s parents are expected to pay these costs directly.

For more information on Rotary Youth Exchange you can check out http://www.rotary.org/en/StudentsAndYouth/YouthPrograms/RotaryYouthExchange/Pages/ridefault.aspx

And

www.scrye.org

After looking at the information, if you are interested in applying to be an exchange student, the first step is to contact your local Rotary Club to ask them to sponsor you. They will then interview you and if they feel you would be a good ambassador for Rotary and our country, they will recommend you to the district Youth Exchange Committee for further interviewing. Providing you are selected for an exchange, the district will then negotiate with a district abroad to host you. The district will also provide training for the outbound student. One of the questions often asked is whether you will get to choose the country you visit. You will be asked to specify three countries you would like to visit. Usually we are able to work it out with one of those choices.

If you have questions or need to find a contact with the local Rotary club, contact District 5870 Youth Exchange Chair Judy Duer at 254-298-5707 or jduer@ci.temple.tx.us .

*For Rotary Clubs interested in sponsoring outbound students

To sponsor an outbound student, all you need to do is appoint a committee to interview the prospective outbound student and decide whether to recommend that they be interviewed by the district committee. There is no financial responsibility involved in sponsoring an outbound student. The district committee can provide you with suggested interview questions. Contact D5870 Youth Exchange Chair Judy Duer -298-5707 or jduer@ci.temple.tx.us . Sponsoring an outbound student does not necessarily require hosting an inbound student, although we would love it if the club was interested in doing so!

This is a great opportunity for a student from your community to have a life changing experience, so please consider actively recruiting for outbound students. Places to look for them include scout troops, church youth groups, and language classes at the local high school. We are looking for students who do well in school and are interested in learning about other cultures and being good representatives of our area. If you would like a brochure to distribute, contact D5870 Youth Exchange Chair Judy Duer at 254-298-5707 or jduer@ci.temple.tx.us .

The district interviews will be November 21-22 so club recommendations should be to the district committee by early November.

*For Rotary Clubs Interested in Sponsoring Inbound Students

To sponsor an inbound student, the club needs to:

Find 2-4 host families—host families do not have to be Rotarians, but do need to be known by Rotarians to be of good character and suitable to serve as host parents. Criminal background checks will be performed on host families and club members who will be in close contact with the student.
Select a club member (same gender as student) to serve as club counselor. The club counselor will help facilitate the student’s stay and check in with the student at least once a month to make sure all is well.
Provide a monthly allowance to the student of at least $100.
Involve the student in the life of your club. Invite them to participate in club projects and fundraisers. Encourage Rotarians to invite the student to participate in “typical American/Texan experiences” with their families.

*For Host Families

Host families are asked to:

Take the exchange students into their families and treat them like one of their own children
Provide room and board
Provide support through homesickness, culture shock, homework woes, etc.
Show the student what American family life is like