Rotary adopted the Youth Exchange program over eighty years ago as one of its first youth programs designed to build world peace and understanding through sending youth abroad to study for a school year in other countries thus building in youth of the sending and receiving countries a true cultural knowledge of people in other lands.
This year our club has the privilege of hosting a fine young man from Finland---Juuso Haapala. Hosting is a club responsibility. Juuso has been attending Ponderosa High School as a senior. I was his first host family from August 5 until November 20 and he is now with his second host family which has two students attending the high school. Juuso met one of these students in his Peace Jam club at the high school who then spoke to her family about inviting Juuso to live with them.
I am now searching for a third host family.
As the club's Youth Exchange Officer it is my responsibility to find Juuso a third host family which will care for him from March 1 until the end of the school year---about June 1---when he will return to Finland. To state the obvious any responsible individual or couple can care for Juuso. I will greatly appreciate your help in locating someone who will care for this young man. If no one is located then I must again serve as his host family thus preventing Juuso from the benefit of a third host family. The Youth Exchange program envisions three host families caring for a youth so that they can experience different family environments and personalities and can optimize their experience in learning about the country they are visiting. Please help me succeed in fulfilling the purpose of this program.
Please call or write to me with any leads or ideas you may have and I will follow-up. Thank you for your kind assistance.
Mike Oldham
<meoldham@msn.com>
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Michele Duncan
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Annabelle Peterson - Ponderosa Student of the Month! Annabelle is pictured with her Parents (Joel and Beth Peterson), Sister (Lily Peterson), Grandparents (Bob and Betty Dalrymple), Teacher (Gary Courdray), and Rotarian Bill Kelly.
Guest speaker Michael Murphy provided a very inspirational program focusing on how he overcame the challenge of being paralyzed after falling off a roof. He identified his 3 tattoos and the significance of family, faith, and fight. 