Overview
This year the youth cultural exchange program will travel to Costa Rica to participate in an exchange of culture, land knowledge, and natural resource importance and preservation. This program is grant funded by the Cherokee Preservation Foundation and is a program under the Ray Kinsland Leadership Institute at the Cherokee Boys Club.
- Applications must be received by 4:30pm November 3rd, 2023 – No exceptions.
- Applications can be emailed, mailed, or dropped off during regular business hours to Levi West. Contact info. below. It is your responsibility to confirm receipt of your application.
- Program participants must be fully vaccinated by December 2023 against COVID-19 and other communicable illnesses.
- Applications are open for students currently in grades 10 through 12 at Cherokee Central, Swain, Jackson, Graham, Macon, Haywood or homeschooled in one of these counties.
- Passports will be required to travel and if chosen applicants must apply for their passport by the end of the first week of December 2022. A receipt of application will be required by that date. You must pay for your own passport. (Passport applications still have an extended wait time, so the sooner you apply the better.)
- All meetings, events, activities, and fundraisers are mandatory for this program. There are at least 2 meetings a month except for December 2023 and May 2024 where there will only be one. Meetings will begin in November 2023.
- If there is an emergency and you cannot attend a meeting the staff will handle those situations on a case-by-case basis.
- The trip will be in July 2023 and most likely 9 days.
- Applicants are required to participate in an interview with the selection committee.
- There are limited slots available for this program, not everyone that applies will be selected.
For questions or more information contact Levi West at: levi.west@cherokeeboysclub.com or 828-359-5543. Mailing P.O. Box 507 Cherokee/Physical 171 Boys Club Loop Cherokee (Behind the Cherokee Boys Club)