Youth Exchange
A s a Rotary Youth Exchange student, you’ll spend up to a year living with a few host families and attending school in a different country….making a difference!
Whether you participate in Rotary’s long-term or short-term Youth Exchange programs, you’ll learn a new way of living, a great deal about yourself, and maybe even a new language. You’ll also be an ambassador, teaching people you meet about your country, culture, and ideas. You can help bring the world closer – and make some good friends in the process.
More than 8,000 young people each year have experiences like these through Rotary Youth Exchange. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.
For over 75 years, students and host families have broadened their horizons through Rotary Youth Exchange. More than 80 countries and over 8,000 students each year participate in the program, which is administered at the regional level by Rotary districts and at the local level by Rotary clubs.
Rotary is committed to creating and maintaining the safest possible environment for all participants in its programs, including Youth Exchange.
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Community Partnerships
Rotary clubs have a wealth of local resources and potential volunteers at their fingertips. Effective projects involve the community from the planning stage. Assessments, for example, allow clubs to find out about their community’s assets and skills. Tapping existing resources and involving local groups, businesses, and other volunteers fosters community support and helps promote a sense of ownership, increasing the likelihood of real, meaningful change.
Partners in service Rotarian Action Groups and Rotary’s partners in service – Rotary Volunteers(
), Rotaractors(), Interactors(), Rotary Community Corps() and other service organizations – all have special talents that can strengthen a Rotary club’s service efforts.
Through the Rotary Volunteers program, Rotarians and other service-minded people put their vocational skills to use by participating in hands-on projects. Chances are, your community has boundless opportunities for volunteer service. Consider mentoring children at a local school, participating in a neighborhood cleanup day, helping establish a landscaping project for the community, river or lake cleanup, planting of trees in a city park and food bank projects for the needy.
A Rotary Community Corps (RCC) is a group of volunteers who don’t belong to a Rotary club but share Rotary’s values and commitment. Under the guidance and support of a sponsor Rotary club, RCC members put their own skills to work to improve the quality of life in their communities. The possibilities of an RCC are limited only by the resourcefulness and dedication of its members and sponsor Rotary club. RCCs can be an excellent way to introduce the community to Rotary.
Clubs interested in working with partners in service should consider how potential projects might harness these skills. Reaching out to these groups reinforces the family of Rotary, forms strong bonds across communities, and enhances Rotary’s public image. It also helps plant the seeds for future Rotary club membership.
Interact
Rotaract
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is Rotary's leadership training program for young people. RYLA participants can be ages 14-30, but most clubs and districts choose to focus on a narrower age range, such as 14-18 or 19-30.