A Message from DG Els Van Engelenburg:

May is Youth Service Month. In Rotary there are several programs specifically designed for youth, including:

EarlyAct – a school-wide club for elementary and middle school students from ages 5-14. It is sponsored by a local Rotary club in the township where the school is located. The mission and operation of EarlyAct are closely linked to the ideals of Rotary and provide the foundation and natural succession into Rotary’s high school level service club called Interact.

Interact – a Rotary-sponsored service club comprised of 14-18 year olds. Interact gives young people the opportunity to take part in fun, meaningful service projects. Along the way, Interactors develop their leadership skills and initiative while meeting new friends. s.

Rotaract – a Rotary-sponsored service club for young people ages 18-30. 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.

Rotary Youth Exchange – gives the participant the opportunity to improve their language skills and school and family experiences will teach them the culture of their host country. They also act as ambassadors for their home country
Long-Term exchange involves spending 10 to 11 months in another country. Participants must be between the ages of 16 and 19 and in the upper 50% of their high school class to be eligible and it is possible to go after completing high school as long as the participant is not older than 19 at the start of the exchange year. They will be required to attend a year of high school during their exchange and will live as a family member in the homes of 1 to 3 host families. However, because of Covid, Rotary International has stopped all youth exchange programs through June 2022.

RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) – Young people are chosen for their leadership potential to attend a seminar, camp or workshop to discuss leadership skills and to learn those skills through practice. RYLA aims to:

• Demonstrate Rotary’s respect and concern for youth;
• Provide an effective training experience for selected youth and potential leaders;
• Encourage leadership of youth by youth; and
• Recognize publicly young people who are rendering service to their communities. Here is District 6930 we were unable to have a RYLA program this year due to COVID.

I do encourage each of you to continue with Youth Service programs locally which can include and are not limited to, Scholarship programs, mentoring, Josh the Otter, and Interact.