Are you looking for a passion project? Join the RotaryYouth Exchange Rotarians! Upcoming opportunities looking for Rotarian (and community) Volunteers.
- Students ages 15-18½ to participate in summer or academic year exchange programs
- Families to host exchange students (approx. 3 months)
- Rotarians to volunteer time to take trips with the inbound students
- Rotarians to offer opportunities for inbound exchange students to experience Americana
Have we piqued your interest? Reach out to our district chair, Linda Kennedy, to be connected with the right person from our committee to help you get involved. Want to learn more about the youth exchange programs? One of our committee members would be delighted to be a speaker at your meeting to tell your club more about the benefits of being involved with the program.
Facts and timeline:
- Each student must be sponsored by a Rotary club. The student's family does not need to belong to a Rotary club.
- Applications for Academic Year (long-term) exchange are due before December 8. (We will continue to accept applications until February 2025, but placement locations become limited after the December 8 deadline.)
- District Interviews are December 8, 2025 near Ambler, PA in the early afternoon.
- Short-Term Exchange Program (summer) applications are open. Reach out to Rose Galeano-Phillips (RotaryRose7430@gmail.com) for questions and to get directions for the application process. This is a 6-week summer cultural exchange direct between two families. Students will travel for three weeks to another country and host a student for three weeks in their homes.
- December 7: you’ll find the students marching in the Ambler Holiday parade. Care to join us?
If your club is hosting an exchange student this year, be sure to drop off a gift or two to the host family for the student to open up on Christmas morning. Do you have or make something a teenager would love? Let us know and we will connect you to the host family for the nearest exchange student.
Check out our website www.rotary7430yep.org for additional details.
Activities with Youth Exchange:
1. Shout out to Souderton-Telford Rotary Club who sponsored a trip to the United Nations in NYC for our exchange students. Four students were able to participate and get inside the UN and experience New York for the first time.
2. Shout out to District 7505 RYE Chair who opened his family home to our students so they could enjoy extra time in New York City. We met up with two other districts and explored NYC all day Saturday, Nov. 16, from Central Park to the High Line and the Edge. These students walked 10 miles and saw many of the top sights the city offers.
3. Shout out to Rose Galeano-Phillips for opening her home to host a Friends Giving celebration. The students learned some of our Thanksgiving traditions, made some crafts and had a feast with everything from turkey and cranberry sauce to mixed veggies and sweet potatoes. Thanks to our committee members for bringing the sides. The students really enjoyed it (as did the adults!).
