Friendship Exchange

The Rotary Friendship Exchange program gives Rotarians (including spouse, significant other or one family member) the opportunity to host and visit Rotarians around the world. In addition to experiencing other cultures and making lasting friendships, an exchange provides a strong foundation for carrying out other international activities and service projects.
 
The primary goal of a Friendship Exchange is to build greater international understanding and goodwill. In addition, exchange participants can learn how their vocations are practiced in other parts of the world, observe new customs and cultures, and promote an appreciation of cultural diversity worldwide.
 
District Powerpoint concerning Friendship Exchange can be found here:  District RFE Powerpoint
 
District Policy concerning Friendship Exchange can be found in the District Leadership Plan.  Of particular note; the policy favors first time RFE'ers in cases where trips are oversubscribed. 

 

District 6250 Friendship Exchange Committee Co-Chairs.  

Contact any one of our chairpersons if you are interested in hosting or traveling.  For specific RFE's listed below please note and use Team Leader contact information if it is given.

 
David Clemens
Email: dclemens541@gmail.com
Cell phone: 608-408-8941
 
Mark Etrheim
 
Edwin Bos
 
Past District 6250 Organized Friendship Exchanges
 
District 4340 in Chile, January 2020.  Team Leader, Dave Clemens.  Chile Trip Report.
District 5520 in New Mexico, October 2019.
District 5520 in the Netherlands, May 2019.  Team Leader, Edwin Bos.
District 3850 in Philippines by Fort Atkinson Interact, March 2019.  Team Leader, Jim Nelson.  
District 9640 in Brisbane Australia, February 2019.  Team Leader, Mark Moody.
District 3231 in Tamil Nadu, India, January 2019. Team Leader, Dave Clemens.
District 4920 in Argentina, August 2018. Team Leader; Mark Etrheim.
District 2410 in Latvia/Sweden, May 2018.  Team Leader, Dave Clemens.
District 4455 in Peru, November 2017. Team Leader; Dave Clemens.
District 3060 in Gujarat, India, January 2017. Team Leader; Dave Clemens.
District 3850 in Philippines, January 2017.  Team Leader, Edwin Bos.  Philippines Trip Report.  Philippines Trip Report #2.
District 3292 in Nepal, October 2016.  Team Leader, Dave Clemens.
District 3850 in Philippines, January 2015.  Team Leader, Darla Leick.
District XXXX in Australia, 2015.
District 9110 in Nigeria, 2014.
District 3230 in Tamil Nadu, India, February 2012.  Team Leader, Dean Ryerson.

Friendship Exchange News

2022 Rotary Friendship Exchange Planned for Poland (expression of interest deadline July 31, 2022)

 

  
 
Rotary Friendship Exchange – District 6250 (Wisconsin) and District 2231 (Poland) – Open to All District 6250 Rotarians.
 
Please read fully … contact Edwin Bos at edwin@bosdesignbuilders.com if interested.  If you don’t receive a confirmation your interest has not been noted.  Please resend.
 
What:  Rotary Friendship Exchange (home and hotel stays, meetings and tours) with various Rotary Clubs and Rotarians in Poland.  Return leg will bring Polish Rotarians to our District.  See also:  Rotary International Website RFE Information
 
When:  District 6250 travel to 2231 … approximately September 22nd to October 3rd, 2022.  District 2231 to 6250 … TBD but probably 2023.  No visa requirements in either direction, just a passport. 
 
Where:  Primarily northern Poland.  Fly into Wroclaw and then by train to Poznan, Szczecin, Bydgoszcz, Olsztyn and Gdansk.  Transport between cities by train.  In nearly all these cities District 6250 has either participated in Rotary Global Grants, offered Ukrainian refugee support or sent Exchange Students.  We will see a friendly face every time we step off the train 😊.  See also map below.
 
Who:  Maximum of 12 interested Rotarians, spouses and/or family members.  If oversubscribed / too much interest, we will use District 6250 RFE policy parameters to put the final group together.  Note that the policy favors RFE novices.  If you travel to Poland you are expected to host and to enlist your club members to host when the Polish Rotarians visit Wisconsin.
 
How:  TBD but probably meet in Warsaw and then fly together to Wroclaw.   RFE (10 days or so), must be willing to let others organize your life and to go with the flow during the RFE.  Private travels within Europe both before and after the complete RFE are your choice.  Final District 6250 RFE group will meet in Wisconsin at least once prior to the trip to work out details, presentations etc.
 
Costs:  Round-trip cost for an open-jaw 12-hour flight to Wroclaw (via Warsaw) is around $500 right now.  There will be train and bus travel expenses.  Typically, as part of the RFE, you are hosted by local Rotarians, however, given the refugee situation in Poland at the moment we will need to be flexible as this may not always be possible or practical for our hosts.  These details are being worked out by the Trip Leaders. 
 
Timing:  We hope to have the final group identified by the end of July 2022.    
 
Trip Leader 6250:  Rotarian Edwin Bos whose wife is Polish (she will not be joining) and who first visited Poland in 1988 and has extensive experience there.
 
Trip Leader 2231:  Rotarian Irma Kaminska from Olsztyn.  Irma has extensive international experience.  In 2019 Irma led a Global Grant that involved our Columbus, Mayville, Waupun and Beaver Dam Clubs.  Irma spoke at our District conference in 2020 and she currently serves as Rotary Poland’s “Refugee Disaster Chair” and, in that role, provides invaluable assistance to our District in identifying worthwhile and meaningful projects.
 
Please let Edwin know if interested at the e-mail given above.  Questions are welcome but please realize that very few details of the trip have been worked out.  Firm interest appreciated given the trip is only three months away.  At the end of July participants will be asked for a $500 deposit which will be fully refunded upon return.  Sorry to have to do this but we need to be certain that we only have seriously interested people signed up and we need to be certain that everyone participates in the full RFE.
 
Map of Trip / Area
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

District 6250 News