Exchange Club
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The National Exchange Club – a service organization with 700 clubs and more than 21,000 members throughout the United States and Puerto Rico – celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011. Founded in 1911 in
Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, by businessmen who wanted to “exchange” ideas on making their community better, the Exchange Club moved its headquarters to Toledo in 1917. The name "Exchange" was suggested by Charles A. Berkey, the founder who was also a 33° Mason. For a hundred years, Exchange Club volunteer efforts have supported the needs of the country and of local communities, making it the country's oldest American service organization operating exclusively in the United States. Its second oldest club is the Exchange Club in
Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...
, formed in 1913.


Service projects and programs

During the 1940s, Exchange had organized its club activities around seven areas of service that included: education; agriculture; aviation; citizenship; commerce and industry; federal youth rehabilitation; youth and geriatrics. In the mid-1960s, Exchange adopted its present National Programs of Service activities. The National Programs of Service brought into greater focus the most pressing issues of the day and affords local clubs the ability to structure activities according to their specific community. In 1979, Exchange adopted the Prevention of Child Abuse as its national project, today Exchange's programs include three Programs of Service: Americanism, Youth Programs, and Community Service and its National Project—the prevention of child abuse. Exchange has partnered with Veterans Matter, another national nonprofit. Veterans Matter is dedicated to providing deposits/first month's rents for veterans who can use can use
HUD-VASH Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937 (), commonly known as Section 8, provides rental housing assistance to low-income households in the United States by paying private landlords on behalf of these tenants. Approximately 68% of this assistance ...
vouchers to obtain into safe, permanent housing. Veterans Matter has a 100% success rate in getting veterans housed in a government program that has a 91% success rate in keeping veterans housed.


Youth and senior services

The Exchange Club specializes in helping
youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...
and service to
senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...
s. The Senior Outreach Program, adopted in the 1980s as a national program, helps senior citizens remain active. For youth, the Exchange Club gives
scholarships A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need, research ...
and
awards An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...
such as the ''Accepting the Challenge of Excellence (ACE) Award'', ''Youth of the Month'', ''Youth of the Year'', and ''Citizenship Award''. A "Junior Exchange Club" is offered to high school students, called the Excel Club, volunteering the same amount of work as the National Exchange Club.


Awards and honors

The Exchange Club support Teacher Appreciation Day to honor teachers educating youth. The ''Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award'' honors a member in law enforcement that has given credit to protecting a community. The Exchange Club also gives out ''Rookie of the Year'' and ''Exchangite of the Year'' awards to members that succeed in doing a substantial amount of work and contributions for the club. The Exchange Club's most prestigious award is the ''Book of Golden Deeds Award'' given to a special person that has dedicated their time and efforts to strengthen their
community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
. This award may be given to a member of Exchange or a non-member. National A.C.E. Of The Year Award Recipients Youth Of The Year Recipients * 2020 Youth of the Year Winner, Victoria Orcutt Legacy Of The Year Recipients * 2020 Legacy of the Year Winner, Baleigh Childress


Organizational structure

The National Exchange Club is organized into 31 districts and 12 regions throughout the United States. The national
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
presides over every Exchange Club in the entire country. The regions are headed by a vice-president overseeing several districts, each headed by a district president. A local Exchange Club is managed by a president, president-elect,
vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
,
secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...
,
treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...
and 6 to 8 members of a
board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
.


References

{{reflist


External links


National Exchange Club Website

National Exchange Club Foundation

National Exchange Club's National Project: Prevent Child Abuse

Believe in the Blue - America's Child Abuse Prevention Project
Clubs and societies in the United States Service organizations based in the United States