GRSP HOST FAMILIES
As GRSP gets closer to its 75th year of operation, we are finding that many things have changed. The Rotary Clubs in our District expect more from the students, since tuition costs have grown exponentially. The Endowment tries to keep up with these costs with a goal of paying more and more in tuition, but the costs are rising quicker than the GRSP Endowment and GRSP is also feeling that pain.
We all realize that the core difference between what we offer students and what other scholarships may offer students is not the fact that it is a full ride scholarship. It is the fact that we have host families and it seems that we are getting many students from families that have already had a student in the program. Why is that? Because of our host families. Why do students continue to brag on the program years after leaving the program? It is because of our host families. Yes, some families get more involved with the student than others. There are times when the student never even meets their host families, but that is the exception rather than the rule. When we speak to families that have hosted in the past, most talk about what a wonderful year THEY had.
All of this makes us wonder why some clubs have trouble finding a host family. As our society changes with televisions in every room and mini-computers in every hand – even down to our two-year olds, we are becoming more homebound and less social. Many people are worried about losing their privacy, which seems to be talked about more and more in the media. One difference in this program rather than some scholarship programs is that the student does not live in the home. They live on campus and we find as the year progresses that we see the student less and less. The year may have started with having the student in your home for as much as a week and then for an occasional weekend and perhaps a little during Thanksgiving and Christmas, but by the second semester they are fully engrossed in campus life and we only see them at Rotary meetings.
Why don’t you try sitting with your student at a Rotary meeting? You may find out things that you don’t hear on the news. I spent a few minutes with a student in District 6910 who is from Pakistan. As I listened to the news on the way to work this morning, I wished that I could talk to Daniel about what is really happening in Pakistan and India right now. There is no doubt in my mind that the clubs in 6910 are hearing the real story.
STRATEGIC PLANNING
We continue the Strategic Planning process and are meeting at least every other month to continue this process. When there is minimal change for nearly 75 years, this is not something that can be accomplished in a matter of a few months, so we continue to discuss our goals.
We have adopted a new vision, which should be our vision for the next 35-40 years. It is to develop leaders who promote understanding and peace around the world. Our mission: GRSP provides scholarships to advance cultural understanding and social experiences through friendship, develop potential global leaders and expand the ideals of Rotary around the world.
Our Values are:
The strategic plan has six main goals:
These are lofty goals and come directly from the Rotarians that responded to our questionnaire many months ago. We have been working on these goals for awhile, but it always helps to put it out to the general Rotary audience, as we continue to seek input.
OSLO SCHOLARSHIP
This year we selected Joshua Ellis Partridge, who was recommended by the Columbus Rotary Club. Josh will be spending six weeks in Oslo, Norway at the American University on a full-ride scholarship, including airfare to and from Oslo. He will do some traveling while there to see the beautiful country of Norway during the summer. He will interact with students from around the world, including two other students from Georgia. We look forward to hearing about his adventure.