Applications are now available for the Rotary Youth Exchange Program, the Rotary Club of Dearborn announced this month.

The Rotary Youth Exchange Program is open to current high school students and students graduating in 2013. The Youth Exchange Program is for the 2013–14 school year.

Students who participate in the Rotary Youth Exchange Program will spend one year abroad living and learning a new culture and new language. Dearborn students would be sponsored by the Rotary Club of Dearborn in the United States or Canada and in their new country where they attend high school.

Students would leave in August 2013. 

“The Rotary Youth Exchange Program is one of the premier programs of Rotary International and it is supported by Rotary Clubs all around the world,” Dearborn Rotary President Hassen Hammoud said of the program.

Students between the ages of 16 and 18 apply through their local rotary club, and if chosen, spend 11 months in another country learning the language and culture. Outbound students and their parents are guided through months of orientation and information about the country of their exchange year. They then typically stay with two or three Rotary-approved families and receive a monthly stipend for incidental expenses.

Rotary Youth Exchange Youth need to be above-average students who are eager for the chance to try new things and meet new people. Students and families who may be interested in the Rotary Youth Exchange experience are encouraged to watch a You Tube video on the program.

For more information on the Rotary Youth Exchange Program, contact Diane Ives at 313-278- 7233 or info@dearbornrotary.org at the Rotary Club of Dearborn.

There will also be a Rotary District informational meeting on the Rotary Youth Exchange Program from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at Plymouth City Hall, located at 201 S. Main Street in Plymouth.