Many of you are aware of our District's support and involvement with the Rotary Youth Exchange program which helps build world peace one student at a time. How many of you are aware we offer a short term exchange program that lasts 6-8 weeks as well as the long term exchange program that lasts an academic year? This summer D7430 supported two outbound and two inbound students. Alisa arrived from Finland in late June and was hosted by Sylvana and her family with the support of the West Reading-Wyomissing Rotary Club. They toured many local gems in PA, went to Philadelphia, NYC, Washington, D.C. and even canoed through Canada. The girls participated in the Rotary Club's 4th of July activities including the Field of Honor celebration ceremony and marching in the local parade. All this happened in three weeks! As you read this newsletter August 1st, Sylvana is exploring Finland and learning about its culture. We look forward to hearing about her adventures when she returns.The Emmaus Rotary club also supported a short-term exchange. Kyra, a local Emmaus student, started her exchange in Austria with Pamina's family. As of the writing of this announcement, we are waiting to hear about her adventures in Austria. The girls are traveling to the USA together and Kyra will expose Pamina to our local communities. NYC, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and they have plans to visit the Emmaus Rotary Club, and attend an Iron Pigs game.Please reach out to Rose Galeano-Phillips at RotaryRose@gmail.com for more information about youth participating in the direct family-to-family short-term exchange next summer. There is no cost to the club for the short-term exchange. Students pay the airfare, insurance, and a minimal participation fee.In just a few short weeks we will welcome the inbound long-term exchange class of 2024-25. D7430 is hosting six students. You will have the opportunity to meet them at various district events throughout the year. If you have a special place, meal, or activity you would like to share with the students, please reach out to the committee to let us know and coordinate the details. We also have four outbound students who will be spending 10 months abroad starting in August.We are always welcoming new committee members to serve as much or little as you are able. We typically meet in person in connection with our student gatherings and other times Zoom together to square up details for events. Help as you are able. For some of our gatherings it’s as easy as donating snacks and beverages. Check out our website for more information. Rotary7430YEP.orgBelieve it or not, it’s time to start contacting your local high schools to determine if they have any students aged 15-18 who are interested in studying abroad 2025-26. Applications will start being accepted mid-September 2024. We don’t want to rush the summer but we want to be prepared for the fall. Grace Clancy is our outbound student coordinator for D7430. Grace can be reached at clancygrace@hotmail.com.Linda Kennedy is the District Youth Exchange Chairperson and can be contacted at yepchair7430@gmail.com if you have any additional questions. We hope you have the opportunity to interact with these wonderful students and learn about their experiences.
