This year, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rotary Youth Exchange as an official program of Rotary International. For five decades, we’ve enabled students to experience new cultures, develop lasting friendships, and become global citizens. We’re grateful for the dedication of the Rotary members and host families who make the program possible.
If you’ve worked on Rotary Youth Exchange in your club or district, you’ve likely noticed that it takes a tremendous effort to prepare students and volunteers for an exchange and support them during it. Creating a valuable, positive experience for students hosted abroad requires time and planning by both the students and the volunteers.
What does that mean on a global scale? Since 2018, on average, we’ve sent and hosted 7,500 exchange students each year, and it has taken 25,000 volunteers to make it happen. When we discuss Rotary Youth Exchange, we often think only about the students’ experience, but both their home and their host communities are enriched by an exchange, too. Connections and understanding are built between cultures. And the massive effort volunteers have made through the decades is part of what we celebrate this year.
If you’ve worked on Rotary Youth Exchange in your club or district, you’ve likely noticed that it takes a tremendous effort to prepare students and volunteers for an exchange and support them during it. Creating a valuable, positive experience for students hosted abroad requires time and planning by both the students and the volunteers.
What does that mean on a global scale? Since 2018, on average, we’ve sent and hosted 7,500 exchange students each year, and it has taken 25,000 volunteers to make it happen. When we discuss Rotary Youth Exchange, we often think only about the students’ experience, but both their home and their host communities are enriched by an exchange, too. Connections and understanding are built between cultures. And the massive effort volunteers have made through the decades is part of what we celebrate this year.
Read More: https://rotaryserviceblog.org/2025/02/20/by-the-numbers-50-years-of-service-in-rotary-youth-exchange/
