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INTERACT
"The Beginning of Sustained Youth Activities in Your Rotary Club"
Interact is an international organization of service and social
clubs for young people ages 14 to 18 that fosters leadership and
responsible citizenship and promotes international understanding and
peace. The name was created by combining the words "international"
and "action." Interact clubs are sponsored by Rotary clubs as a
program of Rotary International. Rotary clubs provide guidance and
inspiration, but the Interact clubs are self-governing and
self-supporting. Clubs take a variety of forms, both single-gender
and mixed as well as large and small. The membership base of a club
can be drawn from the student body of a single school or from two or
more schools from the same community.
Each year, Interact clubs complete at least one community service
project and at least one project that furthers international
understanding and goodwill. Interactors develop a worldwide network
of friendships through exchanges with local and overseas clubs.
Along the way, Interactors develop their leadership skills and
initiative while meeting new friends.
It is sometimes difficult in the United States to have a
Sustainable Interact Club. The reasons are many, but one key reason
is that United States young adults have more than they can ever want
and so many activities to choose from in our High Schools. Interact
is necessary throughout the world but even more so in our country
because we must teach our young adults the power of service to
others with the focus on sharing the abundant blessings we have with
those less fortunate throughout the world.
For Rotarians that are interested in service to the youth of
their community and the world, Interact is that avenue.
When our club decided in 1992 that we wanted to start an Interact
Club it was because we were concerned about all the negative
exposure our children were getting. The single event that changed
the soul of our club was chartering that Interact Club. Sure, we
were very proud, but more than that we began a course of working
with the youth of our community that has nurtured other projects
such as International Youth Exchange, RYLA, Rotary Dictionary
Project, Preserve Planet Earth, Four-Way Test Speech Contest, Rotary
Youth Community Leadership and now, in 2006 CHOICES® education in
our area schools. Our own huge fundraiser has become another
opportunity for our members to "interact" with the youth of the
Mountain Home area.
The following is from our experience as well as some from our
neighboring club in Bull Shoals/Lakeview, who started a sustained
club at Flippin Arkansas a couple years prior to our club. I
emphasize sustainable because of the 18 clubs started at sometime in
District 6110 only 9 are still active.
The key to starting and nurturing a sustainable club in our
District and many others I am sure is as follows:
- Be sure that you have Club Commitment both from the Board of
Directors as well as members. Commitment in time and money is key!
Remember our goal is a sustained club. Your Rotary Club must be
committed to the long haul!
- Find an in-school sponsor that is committed! Get help from
fellow Rotarians for names of key individuals that are part of the
High School faculty. Interview if necessary. We are fortunate in
that our sponsor in the school is a Rotarian. We also received
much help from the school's Principal, who is a Rotarian and the
Superintendent.
- Order and understand the Rotary International requirements in
the Interact Handbook. They are not very strict and easy to meet.
Get all the information and use it wherever you can. All
information and FAQs are easily downloaded from the
www.rotary.org
website.
- After you have chosen the committed in-school sponsor, sit
down with him/her and review the Rotary Information and set some
short and long range goals.
- Start recruiting; encourage the right students to join.
Students that are committed to service. Recruit a broad age range
(freshman - seniors) remember the goal is a sustainable club. If
you have all seniors, you will have to start all over next year.
You need some seniors for credibility; the Principal and
Superintendent were again big assets in encouraging the right
students to join.
- Use incentives. The Mountain Home club offers a $1500 - $2000
Interact Scholarship annually. All "active' Interact members are
eligible. This is handled in conjunction with our annual
scholarship awards.
- Once you have your first meeting and it looks like it will be
a go, start planning the charter banquet. Our club budgeted a nice
banquet for this event. Rotarians were assigned to pick up
Interact students and sit with them at the banquet. We have
continued the tradition at our annual Rotary/Interact banquets and
or picnics.
- Rotarians should attend the first meetings in order to keep
the club focused. For at least six months depending on how they
meet and how the club matures. Remind the students that this is a
service club. To be part of it you must want to and be active in
serving others.
- Once chartered, splatter the newspapers and radio with
articles about the members, about Interact and Rotary. Also
continue to publicize everything the club does.
- Recruit key junior members of your Interact Club for
attendance at the annual RYLA camp in April. These students will
be your senior officers for next year. Our Club sends 4 students
each year to RYLA camp.
- Have fun!
I'm dedicated to new Interact Clubs in District 6110 but will answer
any and all questions I can in helping any clubs worldwide start
their own "Sustainable" Interact Club.
Yours In Service To Others
David Matty
Past Club President 1995 -1996
District 6110 Interact Chairman
Mountain Home, Arkansas
Contact David Matty
This information prepared by
Dave Matty of the Rotary Club of Mountain Home, Arkansas
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