Here it is the first of May, ten months into this Rotary year. Well it is not really May 1st as the newsletter is getting out late this month. Seems the newsletter editor needed some R&R.
May is Youth Services Month. As we all know, District 5495 has vibrant Youth Service Programs. Our Interact program is among the best in the country with over 90 Interact clubs serving somewhere around 2500 youth. Interact’s major project is Crutches for Africa and an Ambassadorial team will be heading to Kenya in July. The District also has a very active RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) program with two RYLA camps – one at Camp Pinerock in Prescott and one at Camp Ponderosa in Heber. The camps this year served about 200 students. Our Rotaract program is on the rebound and you can expect to see growth in Rotaract clubs and programs in the years going forward. And let’s not forget our wonderful Rotary Youth Exchange program. Youth Exchange is a very complicated program with a lot of moving parts and the District is fortunate to have such a fine leadership team in place. This year our District is hosting 13 inbound exchange students. The District will be sending 10 students abroad in late July or early August. The outbound students’ adventures will last about a year.