Youth Exchange alumni honored
A group of former Rotary Youth Exchange students in District 3054 (India) was selected in April as the winner of the 2020-21 Rotary Alumni Association of the Year Award. The award, which was established in 2011, honors an alumni association that displays heightened awareness of the role that alumni play in Rotary and demonstrates the significant impact of Rotary’s programs. The 35-member Rotary District 3054 Rotex Alumni Association (Rotex 3054) was recognized in part for its ability to adapt to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As COVID-19 cases spread throughout India in April 2020, Rotex 3054 members organized a fundraiser for frontline workers in their district, which covers parts of the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. By tapping into their networks of Rotarians and friends, they managed to collect $5,150 within two weeks. Combined with a $2,000 district grant, the funds allowed the association to purchase 1,100 PPE (personal protective equipment) kits and masks, which members distributed to hospitals, health centers, police, and public health authorities. The group also purchased 100 grocery kits for low-income workers whose livelihoods were affected by the nationwide lockdown.
Rotex 3054 members helped fight COVID-19 in northwestern India by providing protective items to frontline workers.
Rotex 3054 was formed in 2018 by Rotary Youth Exchange alumni in District 3054. Members coordinate the orientation of outbound exchange students in the district and host inbound students in a short-term exchange program that they help facilitate. They also serve as ambassadors for Rotary Youth Exchange at district events and club meetings as well as at schools.
Since its inception, the alumni association has led a number of community-service projects. In 2019, members celebrated Christmas with children in a cancer hospital, distributing blankets and providing games and entertainment. As the COVID-19 crisis worsened in India earlier this year, the association launched a crowdfunding campaign to provide oxygen concentrators to those who needed oxygen at home. Other service activities have included clothing drives, a tree planting, and an art competition for children at a school near Ahmedabad.
The association collaborates with Rotary and Rotaract clubs in the district and is advised by Bhanu Gupta, a member of the Rotary Club of Ahmedabad West. Members meet for skill-sharing sessions, bike rides, and weekend brunches.
Rotary alumni associations are organizations of people who have participated in any of Rotary’s programs, including Rotary Peace Fellows, Ambassadorial Scholars, Group Study Exchange participants, Interactors, Rotaractors, and others. Associations may include alumni from various Rotary programs or be exclusive to alumni from one program, and most are organized within a Rotary district. Rotex 3054 is one of 37 Rotex (Rotary Youth Exchange) alumni associations found throughout the world.
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Nominations for the 2021-22 Alumni Association of the Year Award are due 15 September.
This story originally appeared in the August 2021 issue of Rotary magazine.
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