Did you know?
In 1961, RI President-elect Ray Klinginsmith began his Rotary career as a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar. In addition to studying at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, he traveled 16,000 miles across Southern Africa to speak to 35 Rotary clubs. This international experience "encouraged me to join Rotary immediately and to work in Rotary all these years," he recalls.
Former Rotary World Peace Fellow Arik Gutler-Ofir, of Kibbutz Cabri, Israel, strives to use his theater background and Rotary experience to help foster social change. He organized a five-day War, Peace, and Social Justice Festival, which focused on globalization, the oppression of women, and poverty. Half of the 10 plays featured at the event were in Hebrew, the other half in Arabic.
If your Rotary club has sponsored a young person to attend your district's Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) event, consider sending him or her to Montréal, Québec, Canada, in June for the International RYLA. Participants ages 18-30 learn advanced leadership techniques alongside peers from around the world.
Learn more, and download an
application.
The Rotary Club of Port Shepstone, South Africa, is trying to recruit quality young members by demonstrating that there's a place for everyone at its family-oriented events, such as the annual Fun Day at the South Coast Mall. Members believe that including children at club functions generates great publicity and encourages the youngsters to join Interact, and later Rotary.
Interactors from the Otjiwarongo Secondary School in Namibia have been helping their community on various fronts. Recent projects include delivering toys to street children at the Joy Centre; collecting clothes for the Orwetoweni Multipurpose Centre, which provides shelter for the elderly; and assisting at a fundraiser organized by the Rare and Endangered Species Trust to raise awareness of the Cape Griffon vulture.
