Exposure to different cultures ranks as one of the most powerful ways to promote international understanding and peace. The Rotary Youth Exchange program provides thousands of young students with the opportunity to meet people from other countries and to experience new cultures, planting the seeds for a lifetime of international understanding.
The program offers numerous benefits to its young participants and their Rotarian hosts and mentors, as well as to the community at large. Through Youth Exchange, students learn firsthand about all aspects of life in another country. As their concept of the world expands, they mature and develop a deeper understanding of themselves. Immersion in another country’s educational system enhances their academic and personal growth. Host clubs and families and the entire community are enriched by extended, friendly contact with someone from a different culture.
We welcome boys and girls between the ages of 15.5 and 18 to come study and be a part of our community in District 6400.
District 6400 coordinates Long-term exchanges in conjunction with Central States Rotary Youth Exchange. These exchanges usually last one year, during which the student lives with more than one family in the host country and is required to attend school there. Long-term exchanges may be extended to include part or all of the holiday/vacation periods immediately before and after the academic year.
IT’S that time of the year! Your club can commit to hosting a inbound student or sponsor a outbound student. Download Commitment Form for 2024
YE Committee District Contacts
District Chairman – Wendy Parsons wpsh5@hotmail.com
Inbound Coordinator Dustin Kane kane.dustin.m@gmail.com and Canadian Coordinator Crystal Hendricks cheinrichs84@gmail.com
Finance – PDG Paul Sincock psincock@ci.plymouth.mi.us
District Youth Protection Officer/Trainer – Dave Towar dave@towar.com
Outbound Coordinator– Carrie Thorpe carrie.thorpe@gmail.com
Making peace, one exchange student at a time
Learn more about exchange opportunities through Rotary Do you have a Rotary Youth Exchange story?
If you have a story from your year abroad, if your experience as a member of a host family changed your life, if you met new friends and professional connections through your alumni association, tell us about it! Send your story to youthexchange@rotary.org. It could be featured in this newsletter or on the Rotary Voices blog.