ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE

AN EXCITING ADVENTURE AWAITS YOU!  
What an exciting adventure awaits you, as a potential Rotary exchange student or host family,  as you look to expand your horizons as they've never been expanded before.    
We invite you to explore our site, learn more about the program, and, if it's right for you, take those first steps toward one of the most amazing, memorable, adventurous years of your  life.  

WHO ARE WE?
Rotary International is the world's oldest and most international service organization, with  over 1.2 million members in 34,000 clubs, in almost 200 countries. The official Rotary motto  is, "Service Above Self", and Rotarians live their lives in accordance with the Four Way  Test. 8,000

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS A YEAR PARTICIPATE  
Each year, over 8,000 high school students participate in the Rotary Youth Exchange program  worldwide, learning a new language and experiencing a new culture, through the efforts of  Rotary volunteers around the globe.  

Our rotary club’s RYE program is supported by Ohio-Erie Rotary Youth Exchange Program, Inc.,  the regional rotary volunteer organization that oversees all the logistics. If you think you  might want to be a Rotary exchange student, we would recommend you visit the Ohio-Erie  website to learn more. Here you  will find more details and links on the Summer Short-term  Exchange  Program (STEP), Long-term school year programs (Inbound and Outbound), and Host  Family information. Navigating to these links will provide you the answers to many of your  preliminary questions.  Also at these links you will find all applicable forms and  applications.  
After you review this information,  email us and we will be back in touch with you with the more specific information.    

THREE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS

SHORT TERM PROGRAM - FAMILY TO FAMILY EXCHANGE  
Rotary International has sponsored a Youth Exchange program for more than 30 years. The goal  of our program has always been the creation of world-wide goodwill and international  understanding.

The Short Term Exchange Program (STEP) is one of the ways that Rotary  implements this goal. Through STEP, young people from many different countries get the  opportunity to spend a summer together, learning about different countries and cultures.  

Our Program:  Your son or daughter will be hosted by his/her matched family in another  country for four weeks during the summer. Your family will reciprocate by hosting your  matched international student for a similar period. Students traveling to Finland will  exchange in reverse, with the Finnish students arriving here in June and our students  traveling to Finland in July. Some of the Southern hemisphere countries have “split- exchanges” with each student traveling during their appropriate school vacations (typically  December-January). Due to conflicts with school calendars, it is always possible that  students may have the added bonus of attending school for a week during their exchange.  

What Does it Cost?:  The parents and student pay the cost for the student's airline ticket  and an administrative fee that includes health insurance for both the Outbound and Inbound  student. The total cost for a student is usually less than $1,500.

    
LONG TERM PROGRAM  

Who is Eligible?:  Any High School student who ranks in the upper third of his or her class,  possesses good character, has an outgoing and pleasant personality, is able to accept  discipline, and is capable of adjusting to new and sometimes challenging conditions is  eligible. a desire to learn about other countries and cultures and to appreciate and accept  these differences, is essential. Children of non-Rotarians as well as those of Rotarians are  equally eligible to participate. The student must be at least 15 years old and cannot be  older than 18 1/2 at the time school begins overseas, usually in late August or early  September in the Northern Hemisphere.    

How Do You Apply?:  Application forms are available for download on the Ohio-Erie website.  Once you have given your application to us, you will be interviewed by a member of the Club  and given more information regarding the selection process.

HOST AN EXCHANGE STUDENT 

Consider the rewarding experience of being a host family to an exchange student from another  country.  Throughout the academic year, the exchange student will live with three different  families, giving them three different experiences.