Does your club support education, one of Rotary’s six areas of focus? There are many possibilities for projects surrounding supporting education that it can be difficult to choose. The first step in a local project would be to speak with a local school to determine how your club can make an impact. Looking for international opportunities? The Rotary Foundation enables Rotarians to ensure that all people have sustainable access to basic education and literacy through a variety of means. Read the full article to get ideas and learn next steps for becoming involved in an initiative to support education!
A logical theme for back-to-school month here in District 7820. Hopefully, if you are not already involved, your club is thinking about how you will support education, one of our core areas of focus. There are so many possibilities! Locally, you might consider Interact or Rotaract clubs, breakfast programs, after school programs, reading clubs, school supplies, mentoring, scholarships... how can you choose? The first step is to talk to a local school – request an appointment with the Principal and ask how you can have an impact. It might be something simple, like a piece of playground equipment or a stationary bike for a classroom. It might be something longer term, such as supporting a breakfast program or providing healthy snacks for an event, or it might be supporting a student to attend a special event.
Hands-on school involvement is a great way to engage members. You may have members who have time to visit a school every week to read with a student and this may be the activity that brings Rotary alive for that member. Another member may become excited about bi-weekly visits to support an Interact Club. Another might love to support a Purple Pinkie Polio Awareness project. The first step is just to ask! Build a relationship and go for it. And don’t forget that you can always partner with other clubs on an initiative.
There are also many international opportunities associated with this area of focus. Rotary supports activities and training to improve education for all children and literacy for children and adults through international service supported by the Rotary Foundation. The Foundation enables Rotarians to ensure that all people have sustainable access to basic education and literacy by:
- Involving the community to support programs that strengthen the capacity of communities to provide basic education and literacy to all
- Increasing adult literacy in communities
- Working to reduce gender disparity in education
- Supporting studies for career-minded professionals related to basic education and literacy.
If you are thinking about some international opportunities, the following activities are within the scope of the basic education and literacy area of focus:
- Access to quality basic primary and secondary education
- Educating adults in literacy
- Providing training in teaching literacy, curriculum development, and school administration
- Strengthening educational experience through improved materials and facilities
- Community management of education systems
- Vocational training teams supporting the above activities
- School desk purchases, when accompanied by a detailed and verifiable plan to improve basic education and literacy
- Scholarships for graduate-level study in programs related to basic education and literacy.
If you need help with establishing an education or literacy program, let us know – we have people on the District team who are resources here to help with just that! You might also have members who may be interested in the Rotary Action Group for Literacy – they have lots of resources too – check out https://www.litrag.org/