Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the International Rotary Youth Exchange Program is on pause until June 2022 for active exchanges, but that doesn’t mean your Club and District Youth Exchange programs aren’t hard at work, gearing up for a strong return in 2022!
In fact, District 5050’s Youth Exchange Committee is building the program for the coming year, looking for more of our District Clubs to participate. Over the last few years, about 15-18 Clubs in the District have participated serving an average of 40 inbound and outbound students in a given year between our long-term and short-term exchange programs.
Because each active student exchange in our long-term exchange program is actually a three-year cycle (preparation year, active exchange, and return year), although active exchanges cannot resume until 2022, the District Youth Exchange Committee is working with Clubs on their outbound student recruits for the 2022-2023 school year. Recruiting of students occurs in September-November for the following year which means we are just a few short months away from needing to fill those spots!
We are also using this time to reconnect with our ROTEX (our returned outbound students) and building strong connections. When our students return from Exchange, they understand more about Rotary’s impact on an international level; they have lived it; they are ready to give back to their sponsor Club and community, and they are our future Rotarians! It is investing in our youth that will keep Rotary vibrant for years to come.
The District 5050 Youth Exchange Committee will be sending out information via mail to Clubs with information on both our long-term and short-term exchange programs as this is a great time to begin thinking about your Club’s role in the program.
We also invite you to attend our information session on Zoom in which we will lay out the components of the program, explain the roles of the District and the Club, review the financials, and illustrate how this program can build your Club membership:
Date: May 12, 2021
Time: 7:00 pm
If you have questions, please contact Felicity Dye, District 5050 Youth Exchange Program Chair by email or telephone at 360 815 3199.
