Rotary District 6110 Youth Exchange

Hosting a Rotary Youth Exchange Student can be as rewarding as being one. Involvement with an Exchange Student challenges a host family to become familiar with another culture, while providing the opportunity to share a young student's hopes and ambitions. The challenges and opportunities promise to enrich the lives of every member of your family. It is an opportunity to make a personal contribution to advancing world understanding while expanding your own horizons and those of your family. And it is a change to build a relationship with someone special, someone will will be a part of your life for a long time to come.

If you have children of your own, you can appreciate the responsibility that comes with hosting a Youth Exchange Student. You will be expected to provide parental guidance and supervision for the student as well as room and board during his or her stay in your home. To facilitate the student's assimilation into the culture and to allow more families in the community to participate in the Youth Exchange experience, long-term exchange students usually stay with three or four families, for three to four months each, during the year of their visit.

What types of families open their doors to Rotary Youth Exchange? All type. Rotarian and non-Rotarian families - with young children, grown children or no children at all. All it takes is the willingness to care and a heart that is ready for a touch of adventure.

While Rotary International offers support to local Rotary Youth Exchange programs through publications and suggested guidelines, each Rotary District and Rotary Club operates the program independently of Rotary International. Therefore, each District will have its own specific rules for students to follow. Students accepted into the program sign and agree to abide by a list of program rules prior to their departure from home. While the student's hosting Rotary Club will discuss all program rules with both you and the student, you may wish to review the program rules with the student yourself to be sure that everyone has a clear understanding of what is expected. Program rules consist of common-sense stipulations, such as no driving of motor vehicles, and the need to obtain special permission for international travel while on the exchange. In addition, romantic entanglements are discouraged (although companionship in accordance with cultural standards in the host county is encouraged).

Just as there is no perfect exchange student, there is no perfect host home. Each young person who comes to us from abroad is an individual; each family is unique. But just as there are certain criteria which make it more likely that a student will be a good exchange student, there are certain criteria which make a family more likely to provide an enjoyable and beneficial experience for the student.