The Rotary Minute is a quick one-minute story that features the work and impact of Rotary in our community and world!
May is Youth Service Month in Rotary, where clubs around the world focus on youth services programs.
In our club specifically, we focus on Youth Services all year long with our Youth Services Committee, our Vocational Services Committee, and our Foster Kidfest Committee. I am happy to see that our Youth Services Committee will be honoring students with Emerging Artist Awards today!
Globally Rotary services youth by sponsoring several Rotary Clubs that are specific to a younger generation. For example:
Interact is a Rotary-sponsored service club comprised of 14–18-year-olds. Interact gives young high school-aged students the opportunity to take part in fun, meaningful service projects while developing their leadership skills. The word Interact stands for “international action” and today there are more than 10,700 clubs in 109 countries.
Rotaract is a Rotary-sponsored service club for young people ages 18 and up. Rotaract clubs are usually community or university-based and are sponsored by a local Rotary club, making them true “partners in service” and key members of the Rotary family.
Rotaract stands for “Rotary in Action” and Rotaractors follow the motto “fellowship through service”. Rotaract is one of the fastest-growing programs of Rotary service with more than 9,500 Rotaract Clubs with 291,000 members in 177 countries.
Rotary Youth Exchange is an excellent way for high school-age students to travel and study in a foreign country. Each year the Rotary Districts that are part of the program send approximately 300 young people to other countries and accept 300 young people from other countries in return. The goal of the Rotary Youth Exchange is to promote the advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace at the person-to-person level. And speaking personally, it was an honor to get to know this year's Club 21 Youth Exchange member from Germany.
And lastly, there is RYLA, which stands for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, which involves thousands of young people worldwide every year. Started in Queensland, Australia in 1959 and officially adopted by Rotary International in 1971, the RYLA program enables young people to develop leadership and human relations skills while having fun and making friends.
So, remember, May is Youth Services Month, and we cannot talk about the future without talking about our youth, because they are our future! And that’s today’s Rotary Minute!