Complain about a product or service

People to People: "Ambassadors" or Tourists?

People To People's CEO "Mortified" by Recruiting Letter

By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 20, 2006

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 • 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

The non-profit organization behind the "you've been chosen" recruiting letter inviting students to be "ambassadors" on one of its international tours is People To People International, which President Dwight D. Eisenhower founded in 1956.

People To People International is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. President Eisenhower's granddaughter, Mary Jean Eisenhower, is the group's president and chief executive officer.

She recently sat down with ConsumerAffairs.com to discuss parents' concerns about the organization's marketing tactics and the problems in Iowa.

"I was mortified when that happened," Eisenhower says of the letter sent to the woman who lost an infant son. "I've lost a baby so I know how devastating that is.

"What happened in Iowa was an unfortunate mistake caused by a mailing list," she adds, pointing out the Attorney General's Office did not file any charges against her organization. "It was human error, and it unfortunately caused people to doubt our mission. We are sincerely sorry people feel misled or hurt. Believe me, nobody wants to dupe anybody."

Eisenhower says her organization donated $5,000 to the Iowa SIDS Foundation and $20,000 to Blank Children's Hospital in honor of the baby who died.

Wording Of The Letter Changed

People To People has also changed the wording of its letter, Eisenhower says.

"It now says 'you're invited' to go on a trip and talks more about People To People," she says, adding the changes were made to all the letters -- not just the ones sent Iowa parents.

Those revisions, however, didn't go into effect until mid-October. Eisenhower says the original letters were already processed and couldn't be pulled. That's why parents received invitations stating their children were "named" for the Student Ambassador Program as recently as early October.

Eisenhower also apologized to every student who believes the organization deceived them -- or made them think they weren't special. "I feel awful that the letter made any child feel that way. They are special."

Eisenhower says her organization is "very selective" about the students invited to take one of its trips. And invitations are only sent to academic achievers.

"The mailing list we use contains the names of good academic students and students who are receptive to learning about other cultures," she says. "The kids then go through a screening process, they write essays, and they put in a certain amount of community service. These are very special kids we pick."

How Does People To People Get Names?

Eisenhower says the names of potential student ambassadors are generated from three sources:

• A mailing list compiled by the American Student List company;
• Nominations from parents and teachers; and
• Nominations from individuals who've traveled with the organization.

Private individuals can also nominate students on the organization's Web site.

But ConsumerAffairs.com discovered People To People's Web site doesn't ask for any supporting information about the student -- or their qualifications for the program. It doesn't even ask for the name of the person making the nomination.

ConsumerAffairs.com reporter Joseph Enoch nominated himself to be a People To People Student Ambassador.

Enoch soon received letters stating he was recommended for the Student Ambassador program and the organization had identified him "as a remarkable and motivated student."

Eisenhower says she was unaware the organization's Web site didn't ask for background information on student nominees.

"There should be a place on there that says why this student is being nominated," she says. "I will talk our Web site people about this immediately."

Ties To The Ambassador Group, Inc.

During our interview, Eisenhower described the relationship between her non-profit organization and the for-profit company that markets the trips and makes all the travel arrangements.

That company is the Ambassadors Group, Inc., which sent the letters to students nationwide on People To People letterhead.

The publicly-traded company (EPAX ) is based in Spokane, Washington. It describes itself as a "leading educational travel company that organizes and promotes international and domestic educational travel and sports programs for youths, athletes and professionals."

A majority of those programs are marketed under the People To People name, including:

• People To People Student Ambassador Programs,
• People To People Sports Ambassador Program,
• People To People Ambassador programs (for adults);
• People To People Leadership Summits.

Eisenhower says her organization has partnered with the Ambassador Group since 1963. "We've had a long, legitimate relationship with them," she says. "They're more than a travel agency. They do all our logistics."

The Ambassador Group also puts money into People To People International's coffers. Revenue generated from the trips it markets goes into People To People International's operating budget.

People To People International's Tax Return

ConsumerAffairs.com reviewed People To People International's tax records for 2005. Those records listed its total revenue at $4.7 million dollars. Of that amount, records show the organization received:
• $940, 657 from Student Programs;
• $701,983 from Adult programs,
• $1,867,274, from what is listed as "other programs,"
• $712,499 from membership dues; and
• $45,154 from licensing fees.

Eisenhower says private donations to her organization are tax-deductible and do not go into the operating budget. She says 100 percent of any donation goes to the specific program named by the donor.

Tax records also reveal Eisenhower's annual salary is $157,628 plus $24,042 in other benefits.

That's substantially less than her counterpart at the for-profit Ambassador Group. Jeffery Thomas is the company's president and CEO, and stock information listed on Reuters.com reveals his annual salary is $1,203,673 plus $872,206 in other compensation.

Cost And Safety Concerns

What about the cost of the Student Ambassador overseas trips?

Parents repeatedly asked ConsumerAffairs.com why the trips are so expensive and if they're worth the money? The average price for a 20-day trip is about $5,000, which Eisenhower agrees is high.

"But these are academic programs and students can receive school credit for going on these trips," she says. "There's an educational aspect to the programs, and because of that content the price is a little higher."

Eisenhower assures parents the trips are worth the money. She says students go to places they might never have the opportunity to visit and many meet foreign dignitaries.

How do students pay for these trips abroad?

"We encourage kids to hold fundraisers like car washes and bake sales," Eisenhower says. "Some kids also write to corporations and request donations, but if they're going on one of our ambassador programs those donations are not tax deductible (because the Ambassador Group is for-profit organization).

"We also have scholarships that students can apply for," she adds. "And we pay 100 percent of the cost for students to go to our Peace Camps."

Safety Measures To Protect Students

Parents also wondered what safety measures are in place to protect their children in a foreign country. And they questioned whether background checks are done on the adults who supervise the students.

Eisenhower says safety is the organization's top priority.

Teacher leaders, she says, are specially trained how to handle a crisis overseas, including a terrorist threat.

"We had students in London when the terrorists bombed the subways last summer," Eisenhower says. "I was in Belfast and immediately went to London. We quickly updated our Web site and called every parent to let them know their children were safe.

"We pride ourselves on our safety measures," she adds. "We have a very good safety net in place. Only two people cancelled trips after that terrorist bombing. That shows you how much trust parents have in our ambassador programs. It puts them at ease."

The organization also screens everyone who travels with the students, Eisenhower says. "Most of the student leaders are teachers who've already undergone background checks."

First Complaints In The Organization's History

Eisenhower says these complaints are the first ones leveled against People To People International during its 50-year-history.

She said she takes each one seriously. And personally.

"I know something like this would be very upsetting to my grandfather," she says, adding he founded the organization to create world peace -- not controversy -- by bringing people from diverse cultures together. "And that's so upsetting to me.

"I'm just mortified this has happened. We are sincerely sorry and we've taken measures to correct these problems. I hope that in spite of all of this, people will still want to marry us."

Some parents applaud Eisenhower for listening to their concerns and those raised by their children.

But Tracie Y. of Niagara Falls, New York, says Eisenhower's comments haven't swayed her views.

"People To People shot my son's hopes of going overseas down the tubes," Tracie says. "I was lied to and I don't take being lied to lightly. If they lied to me about this, then they lied to me that I can trust them with my child.

"I don't want anything to do with them again."

Next: Parents Object to Student Lists

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |