Long Neck Sunrise Rotary sends Indian River juniors to youth leadership conference
Long Neck Sunrise Rotary Club sent three juniors from Indian River High School to Rotary District 7630's Fifth Annual Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Conference in Ocean City, Md., Feb. 17-19. Helen Davis, Sean Wilson and Kennedy Butch were among 125 teens, primarily high school juniors, who were brought together from throughout the Rotary district to share in a weekend of leadership training activities including speakers, discussion groups and some fun team-building activities. The students attended the club's May 9 meeting and spoke about their experiences.
After activities to get acquainted Friday night, the delegates and group leaders packed meals for Stop Hunger Now. Again this year, 10,000 food bags were packed, which will serve 60,000 individuals in areas where there is need.
Delegates were assigned to groups whose leaders were members of Rotaract Clubs, college-age clubs sponsored by Rotary at Delaware State, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Washington College. Each group created a community service project they took back to their school and community. The groups had several work sessions throughout the weekend to work on their projects, which included a PowerPoint to be presented on Sunday afternoon to the other groups, staff, parents and Rotarian guests.
The delegates heard several speakers talk about a variety of subjects with a universal theme, The Leader in You. Each speaker stressed that one person can make a difference and that each delegate was that person. Eric Smith of The Delaware Charity Company and Chase Marvil of The Inspiring Project talked about the charities they started and the impact they have made. They also spoke about the use of social media to accomplish their goals and to inspire people. Dr. Samantha Scott spoke about fighting teen depression and suicide, and how each delegate could help someone battling these situations.
The delegates took part in discussion groups on topics pertinent to their generation, such as drugs, conflict resolution, the environment, social media and how communities are changing. In another session, each group was given an ethical dilemma and had to create a skit about how they would handle the situation. They were encouraged to use the Rotary Four-Way Test to come up with a solution.
Rotarian Kenny Wood, owner of a local well-drilling company, spoke about what one person can do. He told the delegates about his travels to Africa three to four times per year to drill wells in communities that would not have water if it weren't for his efforts. Several years ago, he not only donated some of his equipment, but traveled to Africa to teach the people how to use the equipment, all at his own expense.
The Long Neck Sunrise Rotary Club meets at 7:30 a.m., every Tuesday for breakfast at the Ocean Grill II on Long Neck Road. Visitors and prospective members are always welcome. For more information, go to www.longnecksunriserotaryclub.com. Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world's most pressing humanitarian challenges.
