At our January Club Assembly, Youth Services Director Travis Magoulias (image above) spoke about the need for more help with the Rotary Exchange Student Program. Our Club has traditionally agreed to sponsor Inbound and Outbound Foreign Exchange students. These are high school-age students who live with a host family and attend high school in the community where they reside. Most of you know that we are currently sponsoring Eve, an inbound exchange student from Taiwan. Over the past few years we have had an increasing difficult time finding host families for these students. For example, we were unable to find host families for Eve for the 2025-2026 academic year. Fortunately Rotarians Barb and Lee Malany agreed to host her for both semesters. We also need Rotarians who are willing to counsel and spend time with these students. We thank the club members who have spent time with Eve, agreed to give her rides when needed, spoken with her when she comes to our club meetings, and gone to some of her performances in the Springfield Youth Symphony, but we need more help.
If we are going to continue sponsoring inbound exchange students, then we need members who are willing to serve as host families or help recruit host families, and to spend time with these students. Please contact Travis if you are interested in helping with exchange students, think you might want to serve as our Youth Exchange Counselor, want to get more involved in Youth Services, or have thoughts on the future of these programs.