Participating in the Lions Youth Exchange Program is a life-changing experience for many of our community’s youth. Traveling to a foreign country and living with a host family and experiencing another culture are milestone events in the lives. Participants must be between the ages of 15 and 21; be sponsored by a Lions Club; have a basic knowledge of the language of the host country; be suitable to represent their community, Lions Club, and country; and be willing to accept the customs of another culture. Most exchanges last 4 to 6 weeks. Most recently, the Santa Cruz Host Lions sent its youth to Australia and Switzerland.

– Garry Perkins