“I will under no circumstances take a position where I could be accused of merely ‘selling a name’ for publicity purposes for a corporation."

(Quote from Stephen Ambrose’s biography “Eisenhower, Soldier and President,” page 234, 1st paragraph.)

President Eisenhower Never Founded the People to People Organizations
President Eisenhower never founded People to People “organizations.” He never was a chairman for the organization. People to People Foundation dissolved on June 10, 1958, and went private. The U.S. State Department did not run People to People. President Eisenhower’s granddaughter, Mary Eisenhower, and People to People International sold the rights to the People to People name to Ambassador Group International for an undisclosed amount of money around 2002 (New York Times article June 10, 1958).

Support T Hill Bill for Safety Standards
Support the T Hill Bill for Safety Standards and voice your concerns about the need for safety standards to protect children. There are many ways you can get involved; write your Congress and Senate leaders to advocate for the T Hill Bill for Safety Standards.

People to People Nomination Letters
If you received a letter from People to People stating that your child has been nominated for the honor of student ambassador by a teacher, student or prior ambassador, call People to People and ask who nominated your child. If your child was not nominated, or if they do not provide information regarding the nomination, file an “Unfair Deceptive Acts of Practice” (UDAP) complaint with the Federal Trade Commission AND your state’s attorney general.

The Iowa Attorney General expressed concerns about the manner in which People to People programs are marketed by Ambassador Group, Inc. In a letter to Gerald Chizever, Loeb & Loeb LLP, representing Ambassador Group, Inc., Steve St. Claire, assistant Iowa attorney general wrote (June 2006):

As you know, our concerns began when the mother of a child who had died in 1993 at seven weeks of a received a letter last September from People to People inviting her son to “join other outstanding middle school students from the Des Moines and Central Iowa who are eligible for People to People…” The letter indicated that her son had been “recommended for the honor by a teacher, former Student Ambassador or national academic listing.”

The letter raised concerns that parents were being led to believe that their child had been chosen for an honor based on recommendations or academic performance, criteria that could not possible have applied to the infant who died years ago at seven weeks of age. We later learned that in-person presentations to families who received the invitation letter also convey the message that students are specially selected as an honor, and we found that People to People representatives with whom our investigator had phone contact described the program in the same manner.

Although People to People agreed to modify the letter, Tyler Hill received a similar letter in August of 2006. Sheryl Hill phoned People to People asking who invited her son. She was told that this information was not readily available. No proof of nomination was ever provided. 

The Iowa attorney general conveyed … “their concern to People to People that parents who are induced to believe that their child was selected on merit are potentially misled, and may be improperly manipulated into making substantial expenditures they might otherwise decline to make."

Unfair Deceptive Acts of Practice should be reported to the Federal Trade Commission. If you were induced to believe that your child was selected on merit, please request that People to People provide evidence of the nomination. If they can’t, you have the right to file a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and your state’s attorney general. 

Unfair & Deceptive Acts of Practice
Sheryl Hill filed an Unfair and Deceptive Acts of Practice (UDAP) complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on February 8th, 2008.  (Click here to read more).