Presidents Remarks;
These past two weeks, we heard from the District Chairs of two of our Youth programs. First Marc West spoke about RYLA and then Kevin Wermer spoke about Rotary Youth Exchange. The Star of the show this past week was our very own Inbound Exchange Student Sophia.
RYLA
Marc West spoke to us about RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards), also known as Camp RYLA. This program is directed at high school students generally preparing for their senior year. RYLA, encourages our youth to learn, live and lead by the principles Rotarians value. They encourage youth from all walks of life to work together and learn about each other. RYLA provides educational classes, team building exercises, and encourages personal growth through them all.
It was great to hear our own Rotarians share their experiences from when their children attended RYLA. Let's continue to provide the tools our youth need to build a greater tomorrow, today!
Rotary Youth Exchange
Kevin Wermer reminded us about the past 50 years of providing our youth the opportunity to change their lives through Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE). He also encouraged us not only to host inbound students but also to send students from our schools abroad, hence the "Exchange" portion of the program title.
The one thing that greatly differentiates RYE from other exchange programs is that there is little to no cost for the students and their families. Rotary views this as a Scholarship program for our students. Through this program our youth are able to immerse themselves in a new culture and educational system, create new friends, and become part of a new family. Even these cannot fully embody how our youth fully benefit from RYE.
I personally know some of the benefits, as my family hosted an Exchange Student each of the years I was in High School. Not only do the exchange students benefit from this program, but the host families do as well. I have kept in contact with all four of my exchange brothers.
In 2015, you probably remember that a devastating earthquake hit Ecuador, this happened a day prior to our District Conference. At the conference, I was speaking with Past District Governor Jack Young, The Chair for ShelterBox. I asked him if ShelterBox was on the ground in Ecuador, and he said that the Ecuadorian Government had not responded to their offers for support. I had been in communication with one of my Exchange Brothers, Javier, in Ecuador, making sure he and his family were alright. While speaking with Jack I remembered that several of Javier's family members had been part of the federal government. So I told Jack that I would reach out and see if he could provide any assistance to get ShelterBox in. I do not know if this communication had any part in it or not, but within an hour ShelterBox was contacted and asked for help.
Rotary is one of the largest Service Organizations in the world! We are in more countries than any other service organization! We have the largest and most impactful Foundation in the World! There is no other organization that performs anywhere close to the amount of service provided by Rotarians! To continue to build our relation through out the world and open doors to provide the needed services through ou the world, we need to build our youth programs.
Through programs like these, we are able to help build a better tomorrow—wait, no, a better today. I have always believed that our youth are not just our future; they are also our present. Thank you to Marc, Kevin and Sophia and all those that make it possible to bring incredible programs to our Youth.
Yours in Rotary Service,
Larry Lohman