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People to People: How Selective Is It?

November 20, 2006
People to People International has impeccable credentials and some very impressive stationery. Its honorary chairs start with its founder, the late President Dwight D. Eisenhower and include nearly every President since then, up to and including George W. Bush.

People to People International An Investigative Report by Lisa Wade McCormick • Introduction • P2P: Ambassadors or Tourists? • P2P CEO "Mortified" • Parents Object to Student Lists • Not Everyone's Happy with People to People Trips • Fast Facts About People to People International • Update 12/06: It Happens Again • Deceased Cat Invited to be Student Ambassador --- News about P2P • People To People Leaders Allegedly Drank Beer While Student Was Dying • American Teens Go Missing on People to People Trips • People to People Parent Company Faces Securities Class Action • People to People Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit • People to People Uses Dead Student's Name as Recruiting Tool • Feds Asked to Probe Student's Death on People to People Tour • Student 'Ambassador' Dies Neglected & Alone • People to People Invites Dead Girl ... Again • People to People Executive Sentenced to Prison • People to People "Clarifies" Its Invitation Policy • Student Travel Service Still Misleading Parents • Student Travel Service Agrees To Modify Marketing --- • Consumer Complaints • Consumer Compliments

President Eisenhower wanted the organization to further peace and understanding through international student exchange programs, and by most standards, it has succeeded admirably, operating for decades to nearly universal praise and commendation.

But more recently, the organization has come under fire for its recruiting methods. Its letter to prospective student "ambassadors" give the impression the student has been specially chosen when, in fact, many of the names come from lists the organization purchased.

Questions were raised earlier this year when the organization sent an invitation to an Iowa child who had been dead for years. The state's attorney general investigated and People to People agreed to modify its practices.

But has it?

Lisa Wade McCormick spent weeks investigating People to People's operation and interviewing students, parents and the organization's president, President Eisenhower's granddaughter, Mary Jean Eisenhower.

Next: People to People: "Ambassadors" or Tourists?

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