Category Archives: Empowering youth

My Rotary youth exchange: Venezuela to the United States

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Anniela Carracedo
Anniela Carracedo took part in a 2019-20 Rotary Youth Exchange from Venezuela to Mississippi, USA.

By Anniela Carracedo, member of the Rotary Club of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, USA, and a Rotary Youth Exchange Alumna

When I decided to become a Rotary Youth Exchange student, I had no idea how much it would change my life and the lives of everyone around me.

In 2017, I was invited to the Interact Club of Valencia, Venezuela, following my parents, who joined the Rotary Club of Valencia. I joined the club because I wanted to make a difference in my local community. I had seen Venezuela go from being one of the healthiest countries in Latin America to experiencing one of the worst humanitarian and economic crises in the modern world.

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Rotaract and Rotary serving together

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Ignacio Gonzales Mendez in front of One Rotary Center
Ignacio Gonzales Mendez in front of One Rotary Center during a meeting of the Elevate Rotaract Task Force in 2020

By Ignacio Gonzalez Mendez, a member of the Rotaract Club of Oriente de Talca, Chile

I must confess, I didn’t set out to find Rotary. Rotary found me. I became involved in Rotary through a series of fortunate events which has changed the way I look at everything.

When I was 13, I volunteered for the Red Cross and that experience led me years later to create a project to establish a first-aid station in my high school. At my graduation ceremony, I was surprised with an award from the local Rotary club for my volunteer work with the Red Cross. The award was in honor of one of my teachers, who passed away unexpectedly. Receiving the award and knowing that my teacher had appreciated my efforts gave me more inspiration to keep volunteering.

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Using our unique talents in Rotaract

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Martinez Belo with friend
Maria Valentina Martinez Belo (left) poses with one of the models for the Project Rosa fashion show that benefits cancer patients.

By Maria Valentina Martinez Belo, Rotaract Club of Ing. Boris Walter, Venezuela

We all have different talents. It’s what makes each of us special and unique. I have always felt a strong desire to organize big events and use my creativity to help others and make them feel special. Through Rotaract, I have been able to do that, changing my life and those of the people I have been able to serve.

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Building professional skills across borders

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By Mona Mousa, past president of Rotaract Stockholm and its international representative

Mona Mousa
Mona Mousa

I don’t have a professional background in social media management, but I have managed several social media accounts such as Rotaract Stockholm and Rotaract Oceania. In advance of the Global Citizen Live event in Paris in September, the rest of my team decided I should handle the Rotary Instagram page, as they have followed me for a long time.

It was an exciting and a scary opportunity because there are thousands of followers, but I went in with an open mind.

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My Rotary Youth Exchange to Spain

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Mia Henderson and host sister on Spain Day
Rotary Youth Exchange student Mia Henderson and a host sister in Madrid, Spain, on National Day of Spain.

Mia Henderson, 2019-20 Youth Exchange Student from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Madrid, Spain

When I was 16, Rotary offered me a chance to experience life beyond anything I had known before. After attending a meeting about Rotary Youth Exchange, I decided to apply to study in Spain.

It took months of hard work to prepare. But before I knew it, it was time to pack up my things and leave. I arrived for my 2019-20 exchange in an unfamiliar country, meeting people I didn’t know, who spoke a language I didn’t speak well. But even though this was my most difficult path yet, I was at peace.

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4 ways to celebrate Youth Service Month virtually

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Youth Service Month is a special time in Rotary. Throughout the month of May, members of Rotary clubs, Rotaract, Interact, and those involved in Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) and Rotary Youth Exchange celebrate the opportunities Rotary provides to connect, grow through service, develop leadership skills, mentor or be mentored, and have fun.

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3 things you should know about advancing youth service-learning

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By Caitlin Cangialosi, Rotary International Programs and Engagement Specialist

Every year, over 350,000 youth participate in Rotary’s youth programs. Yet, until recently, Rotary didn’t have resources that directly engaged them in service, a fact that surprised me when I first began working for Rotary International’s Programs for Young Leaders team in the spring of 2019.

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Presidential conference offers relationship building, collaboration

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By Alex Ritchie and Taylor Huie, executive co-directors of the Ascension Rotaract MDIO, and Ally Fisher, chair of the RotarActs of Kindness campaign

As life-long members of the Rotary family, our passion for Rotary and Rotaract stems from the deep friendships we have formed and the meaningful service we have taken part in. These last few years have been a whirlwind, from first meeting at the 2018 Rotary International Convention in Hamburg to launching a new Rotaract Multidistrict Information Organization (regional groups of Rotary districts that form for the purpose of disseminating information and facilitating communication among Rotaract clubs in the participating districts). Through this, our friendship with each other and the connections we have made with others have truly been life-changing.

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Celebrate Rotaract by giving

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By Clement Chinaza Owuamalam, Rotaract Club of Apo, Nigeria

World Rotaract Week is an annual celebration of the success and significance of Rotaract in communities around the world. This year, from 8-14 March, Rotaractors, worldwide are celebrating the wonderful experiences that inspire them to put service above self.

Members of the 2018-19 Rotary International Rotaract Committee at the One Rotary Center, USA.

I vividly remember that sunny Saturday afternoon in 2014 when our president at the Rotaract Club of Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria, led us to a Rotary Foundation seminar organized by leaders in our zone. I was overwhelmed to discover how donations to The Rotary Foundation, no matter how small, are transformed into life-changing projects in areas where they are greatly needed.

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Nigeria conference celebrates youth, collaboration

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By Christian Stephen, Elelenwo Rotaract Club, Nigeria

Recently, a friend asked me what Rotaract was all about, and what benefit it provided. It gave me a moment to reflect. Having been a Rotaractor for more than six years, I can boldly say that there has never been a better time than now to embrace the responsibility that Rotaract offers, and to use it to create innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Continue reading →