Co-Chairs
Ingrid Bolding
(Midtown Memphis)
Smith Murphey
(Sumner)
Marty Petrusek
(Memphis Central)
Rotary Youth Exchange is a program in which the expense of sending a child to another country to experience the culture and language is greatly diminished by a reciprocal agreement with fellow Rotarians. There are two programs – a Short Term Exchange Program which lasts 3-4 weeks (STEP) and the Long Term Exchange Program (LTEP) where the child stays a full year and attends school in the other country. Each program has a different cost associated with it.
When the local Rotary Club decides to sponsor sending a student abroad for a year, they obligate their club to hosting a student from the country where our student goes for a year. However, the Short Term Exchange Program is a family-to-family exchange with very little Rotary Club participation.
There is a cost both to the club and to the parent of the child that takes part in the exchange. Further, the child need not be the child of a Rotarian to participate, but must be sponsored by a Rotary Club.
Our District 6800 operates under an umbrella or multi-district organization called SCRYE (South Central Rotary Youth Exchange). It includes 37 districts in 18 states and part of Canada. Please check out their website as http://www.scrye.org
ANSWERS to your questions about Rotary Youth Exchange
Study abroad scholarship website:
https://www.studyabroadscholarships.org/contact-us/
Bar Code:
Rotary Youth Exchange video:
https://msgfocus.rotary.org/c/1ovs2rNEQjMojHoc7RlIynN5sV3
What It Is
The Short Term Exchange Program is a program where a child is sponsored by a Rotary Club to spend 3 to 4 weeks in a foreign country with a Rotary family as part of that family. When they return, they return with their host sibling, who then spends 3 to 4 weeks in the United States. Normally, this all happens in the summer and so some clubs call this ‘Summer Exchange a Family-to-Family Exchange.
Who Qualifies
- The child must be between 15 and 19 years old
- The student’s family agrees to host a foreign student in their home for 3 to 4 weeks
- Children of both Rotarians and non-Rotarians are eligible
Where You Can Go
Of course, the list of countries may change from year to year. This year, the choices are:
| Germany | Switzerland | Canada | India | S. Africa |
| England | The Netherlands | Thailand | Australia | Turkey |
| France | Mexico | Taiwan | Brazil | Norway |
| Czech Republic | Poland | Denmark | Sweden | Belgium |
How Much Does It Cost?
Of course, the amount depends on several factors – the main factor will always be where you are going, because the parents will need to purchase the ticket.
The cost of this program is minimized by the hosting families picking up the expenses of housing and food and possibly any travel on a summer vacation. For the STEP program, the cost is as follows:
| $350.00 | Application Fee | A fee that covers insurance for both participants, and district administration. |
| $700 to $1,700 | Airfare | This cost of course depends on where you are going. |
| $400 to $500 | Personal Expense | Souvenir money and possibly shared host family travel expenses. |
| $80 | Passport | This will not be needed if the student already has a passport. |
So, the cost is between $1,450.00 and $2,450.00
What It Is
The Long Term Exchange Program is where a child is sponsored by a Rotary Club to spend ten or eleven months in a foreign country. While there, they are hosted by (lives and eats with) Rotary families and families with Rotary connections from that country. Later, a child from that country visits your club for a year.
In this case, three to four families would share the responsibility of the child so the child will spend three to four months with each family.
Please be aware that the student will be attending high school classes in the native language of the country that they will be visiting and so they should be conversant in that language.
Who Qualifies
- The student must be between 15 and 18.5 years old on the day of his/her departure
- Have average grades or better
- Children of both Rotarians and non-Rotarians are eligible
- Exchange countries usually require that the student have at least two years of schooling in the native language of the country
Where You Can Go
Of course, the list of countries may change from year to year. This year the choices are:
| Germany | Switzerland | Canada | India | S. Africa |
| England | The Netherlands | Thailand | Australia | Turkey |
| France | Mexico | Taiwan | Brazil | Norway |
| Czech Republic | Poland | Denmark | Sweden | Belgium |
How Much Does it Cost:
Of course, the amount depends on several factors; the main factory will be where you are going, because the parents will need to purchase the ticket.
The cost of this program is minimized by the hosting families, so the largest expenses – housing and food – are taken care of.
For the LTEP program, the cost is as follows:
| $750.00 | Application Fee | A fee that covers SCRYE Outbound Orientation Camp, visa, blazer, shirt, name badge, business cards, and district administration. |
| $850 to $1,700 | Airfare | This cost of course depends on where you are going. |
| $500 | Personal Expense | Souvenir money and possibly shared host family travel expenses. |
| $400 to $2,000 | Travel Cost at Destination | This is an estimation |
| $200 | Gifts | This is an average amount that is spent for gifts to the host family and for trading pins. |
| $80 | Passport | This will not be needed if the student already has a passport. |
| $850 | Insurance | |
| $500 | Language Camp |
So, the cost is between $3,550.00 and $6,550.00
Note: Not all clubs participate in the Youth Exchange Program. Check with your local club before applying.
- A club must sponsor a student in order for them to participate
- The student must be between 15 and 18.5 years old on the date of their departure
- The parent of the student will incur both a financial commitment and a commitment to reciprocate with another student from the country to which their child is travelling.
Note that besides the cost listed here, there is the cost of the commitment to hosting a reciprocal student. In other words, if your child spends time at the home of a Rotarian family in another country, you are committing to hosting a student from that country in your own home. You will incur cost for food and incidentals, of course.
Cost to Clubs
There are costs incurred by each club that participates.
For the Short Term Program the club only has to pay approximately $250. This money covers banners and pins. Many clubs offer other financial support, but it is not required.
- The commitment of clubs for the Long Term Program is more serious.
- There is a monthly allowance of $125 paid to the incoming student
- $100 will be paid for gifts
- $450 will be paid by the club for travel and registration to SCRYE Conference held in Tulsa, OK each February
- The club must find 3-4 families to host the incoming student
For more information, please contact either co-chairs, Ingrid Bolding (iboldingbmk@gmail.com), (Smith Murphey (smurphey4@yahoo.com) or Marty Petrusek (mpetrusek@trane.com)