Welcome

 

On Saturday, June 15, the New Voices District 7780 Rotary Club was chartered with 33 new members.  The newly minted Rotarians – who range in age from 18 to 30 – are all graduates of the District’s phenomenal RYLA program.  They were introduced to RYLA and Rotary youth leadership at age 15 as rising high school juniors, and since then, they have stayed active through the District’s RYLA Reset program for RYLA grads, RYLA workdays, and RYLA leadership opportunities.  What these young people have in common is a love for what RYLA – and by extension Rotary – offers them in terms of positive youth development.  But, with high school graduation looming, many of them were expecting to leave the Rotary orbit.

“We have a strong track record of getting RYLArians into Interact, if they aren’t involved already,” explains Phil Giordano, executive director of RYLA in District 7780 and past president of the Scarborough (Maine) club in that District.  “Then they graduate from high school and go off to university, and we tell them to check out a local Rotaract club, or start one if there is none on campus.  We lose many of them then – and more when it’s time for them to graduate college and concentrate on their careers.”

It’s a common problem throughout Rotary in North America.  “We have the greatest pipeline in the world of young people coming up through RYLA, Youth Exchange, and Interact and Rotaract,” says RI Director Jeffry Cadorette, who participated in the Chartering.  “Other organizations would kill for a pipeline such as we have.  But we are only now beginning to learn to capitalize on it.  New Voices gives us a critical tool to do just that and turn our Rotary youth alumni into Rotarians.”

This spring, it suddenly became evident to RYLA director Phil and me, as the District 7780 Growth Chair, that the changes enacted by the 2016 Council on Legislation meant that the young people could form a club of their own – a club that would focus on youth leadership and which would meet (mostly) on line, with three or four “live” events each year – events which the young people are already involved in.

Phil Giordano reached out to his RYLA leadership team, determined solid interest in a new club, and helped them get organized. First, the young people created their own Mission Statement:  New Voices D7780 will be a new type of Rotary Club that is accessible to people of all geographies, abilities, and ages, and is for folks who share a passion for youth leadership development and service to others; our goal is to expand the traditional model of Rotary to as many people as possible.

And they thought about why they wanted to be Rotarians:

How would the club function differently and measure success?

What do we want to accomplish?

Paige’s interest in a service trip is matched by many, if not all, of the young people.  That has become the club’s first major annual goal.

What is clear is that New Voices is a whole new kind of Rotary club, focused on capturing an underserved population that happens to be already excited about Rotary, but who – because of time constraints, school commitments, and job expectations – could never commit to a weekly or biweekly mealtime meeting.  In Rotary parlance, the closest existing model is a Passport Club, and certainly, the New Voices Rotarians expect to “make up” with Rotary clubs in communities where they may be studying or working in order to engage with them in service or fundraisers. 

The Chartering itself was held at a workday to prepare the camp for this year’s RYLA program, and District leadership and RI Director Jeffry participated.  Sam Klemarczyk, the new club’s co-president, initiated an experiential-based activity which sent a profound message to everyone participating that the new club doesn’t need to wait for permission to act.  Then the Four-Way Test was recited, District Governor John LoBosco and the District leadership team welcomed the new Rotarians into the Rotary fold and -- along with their new member packets and membership pins -- the young people donned New Voices baseball caps – no nametags and definitely no bell!

Why a Rotary club instead of Rotaract?  Four reasons:

As for the concern that Rotary is too expensive for young people in the teens and 20s, the new Rotarians respectfully disagree.  International and District dues come to around $125 annually.  The new club set dues at $150 per year.  “That’s tight, when it comes to hosting a website and so on, but it’s certainly do-able,” Phil says. 

Zone leadership – most especially Director Jeffry Cadorette and Director-nominee Valarie Wafer – have been extremely supportive and are firmly committed to this new concept. RI Director Jeffry brought a video recording of President Barry Rassin, welcoming the club to the Rotary world.  And it was Jeffry who recognized that this model is infinitely scalable, and can be replicated in any District in the world.  All it really takes is an existing strong Rotary youth program – it could be Youth Exchange, Interact, or a campus-based Rotaract.  Access to a database of past members of that program going back at least several years is helpful. Additionally, a group of seasoned Rotary mentors are needed to help navigate the process, while empowering the new members to create Rotary from a blank canvas.

For more information about the New Voices Rotary Club and how you can start one in your District, reach out to District 7780 Growth Chair Marty Helman, martyrotary@gmail.com; or RYLA Executive Director Phil Giordano, philtastic7780@gmail.com. 

 

                                                                                            

                                                                      
                                                                                                                                         Back row:

Alison Ingalls, Nicole Jones, Co-President Sam Klemarczk, Luke Libby, Megan Morrison, Foundation Chair Tim Moyer, Treasurer Christian O'Connor, Emily Rumble.

                                                                                                                                        Front Row: 

RI Director Jeffrey Cadorette, Co-President-elect Jacey Chavez, Katelyn Gendron, Co-President-elect Caitlin Morrison, Membership Chair Morgan McKeown, PR Chair Abby Rioux, Club Advisor Phil Giordano from the Rotary Club of Scarborough, ME.