Registration is now open for District 7930 RYLA 2019, which will be the weekend of May 10-12.  For information about how your club can support high school students in your community, visit the District RYLA page or contact RYLA Chair Christina Harris.  Deadline for Applications is April 15, 2019.

 

In 2009, my addiction to Rotary began. Sponsored by my hometown Rotary club, I attended the District 7780 RYLA and after that weekend, I was hooked. I joke now that RYLA is the gateway drug to Rotary, but looking back on it, it could not have rung more true for me. The RYLA experience opened my eyes to the potential Rotarian community. In an effort to be more involved, I would become the President of my local Interact club the following year, and then receive a Rotary scholarship for my college studies. I often went back to the club that had sponsored me for both RYLA and the scholarship to share my experiences and the opportunities they had given me, and each time felt like I was walking into a family reunion rather than a room full of strangers. After college, I moved to Boston, a city that immediately felt uninviting and overwhelming to a Mainer. My remedy for homesickness? Find the nearest Rotary club. The minute I walked into the first Downtown Boston Rotary meeting, I knew that I had found a new home. I can say with one hundred percent certainty that the reason I walked into that meeting and became so involved in our club is because of that glimpse of community I received way back in 2009 through RYLA. While I may joke about RYLA as a gateway drug, it may be more a life-sustaining one as it truly is our youth programming from RYLA, to Interact, to Rotaract, that keeps the Rotary name alive.  For any club looking to attract millennials is to invest in the younger generations from the ground up. You never know, the high school junior you sponsor today for RYLA may be our District President in 10 years.

The District Membership Team is proud to announce the next New Member Orientation Event!

 

Hosted at the Four Points Sheraton on Thursday, April 11th, the event will welcome over fifty new members and prospective members. All new members will receive mail and email invitations provided that they have been entered into Club Runner. Presidents and Membership Chairs are encouraged to provide this date to new members as early as possible and include the invitation in their welcome packets. For more information, please contact Amy Luckiewicz at rotary7930membership@yahoo.com. Members may register now at https://rotary7930.org/event/welcome-party--a-district-7930-orientation-2/

 

The Chelsea Black Community celebrates Black History Month with a month long series of events promoting black history in Chelsea.  As part of the celebration the CBC recognizes several local residents and business persons as Chelsea Trailblazers.  In recognizing this year’s Trailblazers the CBC took into consideration ethical behavior grounded on compassion, nurture and social bonds.  Ideals and convictions that pertain to human beings’ behavior toward each other and to the preferred organizations of their communities such as – historical experience, empathy and the need for integrity and harmony.  This year’s honorees include Chelsea Rotarians Saritin Rizzuto and Bruce Mauch.  The Chelsea City Council honored the 2019 CBC Trailblazers with resolutions at their March 4, 2019 meeting.

The Greater Salem NH Rotary Club is getting out into the towns we support with 4 separate events to share "everything Rotary and how we can support your community". The first event was March 26th in Pelham, NH and we had a terrific turnout! Upcoming events are April 16-Atkinson, May 21-Windham, and June 11-Hampstead.

 

Anyone is welcome to come to any of these events to learn more about Rotary and potential membership.

The Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor is Awarding Scholarships Worth $18,500!

The Enhanced Scholarship and The Fraffie Welch Scholarship are for students seeking a two or four year degree from a college or university and will be awarded on the basis of need. Application Deadline is April 1, 2019. The 2nd Chance Scholarship for those seeking to improve their employment by enrolling in a certificate course or similar program. Application Deadline is July 15, 2019.

Do you know someone who might benefit from a scholarship? Please feel free to share this information with them. We are accepting applications now! To apply and learn more about these scholarships, please visit: www.marbleheadscholarship.org.

Last Month, the Methuen Rotary got together and prepared 150 "Party Bags" that were donated to the Methuen food pantries of Neighbor’s In Need. Decorated boxes were placed throughout Methuen and we collected all kinds of party supplies with the help of the Methuen community. The bags were decorated by the kids at Methuen YMCA and each bag contained cake mix, frosting, candles, plates, napkins, balloons, tablecloth and a variety party themed items. The reason behind this was to ensure that since people were already struggling to provide a meal to their family…they should also be able to celebrate and not worry about the expense of a party.