Rotary Information presented to the Rotary Club of Strathfield
on
Wednesday 30 October 2002
by
Past President Roger Vince
Topic: Rotaract
There are more than 7,300 Rotaract Clubs in 153 Countries with a rough count of about 170,000 Rotaractors belonging to these Clubs throughout the world.
By far the largest number of clubs is in India with 1909 Clubs followed by Brazil 687, Japan 418, Philippines 416 and the USA 324 an average of about 23 members per Club.
Australia has only 69 Clubs which represents only 1% of these figures.
Our District 9690 has 5 Clubs with a membership of say 80 (perhaps on the high side). The Rotaract Clubs in our District are Burwood, Gunargarang (Emu Plains/Penrith), Holroyd, Padstow, and Springwood.
What is Rotaract?
Rotaract is a program of RI and each Club has been chartered by a local Rotary Club who guide the Club when asked without interfering with their integrity. The first Club was chartered in North Carolina in 1968.
Like its Parent it is a service organisation but for men and women aged 18 - 30 and like Rotary encourages high ethical standards from its members.
The name Rotaract is a combination of the word Rotary and Action.
Like Rotary, Rotaract works under a Standard Constitution and By Laws drawn up by RI.
Rotaract provides an opportunity for young people to be involved in community service and fundraising projects. Social activities are organised on a regular basis by each Club with Clubs interacting at a district level. In 2002/2003 they are supporting the Vanuatu Hospital Project and Polio Plus.
Rotaract provides young people with the opportunity to interact with people their own age whilst helping the community.
The Presidents and Office Bearers from our Clubs meet as a District with their equivalent of a DG who this year is Nyree Waterson the DRR for 9690, and a member of Springwood. These meetings are also attended by the Distinct Rotaract Chairman and often PDG Barry McConville who is the Chairman of the RI Rotaract Committee with fellow members from around the world.
These District meetings are held monthly usually in Penrith at a Pizza restaurant. They are very enjoyable and it is a pleasure to listen to these fine young people plan social and fund raising events in an atmosphere where young people have so many demands on their time with study and career building.
Last night I was privileged to attend a special meeting at Blacktown where the Rotary Club of Blacktown had organised an interest meeting to form a Rotaract Club of Blacktown. Hopefully Rotaract in District 9690 is making a solid comeback after dropping to very low numbers in recent times.
Next year prior to the RI Convention in Brisbane there is a 2 day Pre Convention of Rotaractors from around the world. Lets hope this event will stimulate more young people to join this great organisation. There is an opportunity for all Clubs in our District to promote Rotaract.
Roger Vince is the 2002/3 Chairperson of District 9690 Rotaract Committee