Interact District Council Retreat 2021 at Camp Wamatochick, Prescott
Written by Art Harrington, Rotary District 5495 Interact Chair
In our District 5495, we have 80 Interact clubs, which encompasses the central & norther part of Arizona, plus Laughlin, NV, and Needles, CA. Interact clubs are for middle school and high school youth, ages 12-18. Interact is about Service Above Self, Rotary's 4-Way Test and leadership development. The Interact District Councilis our district leadership level. At our Interact District Council Retreat, Members build strong bonds and are trained to lead our district and support the leadership for the clubs.
Council member also work together to assemble WAPIs (water purification indicator devices to aid families in Kenya). Advisor Laura Vanderberg teaches and supervises the team.
Interact Ambassadors to Mexico Update
Written by Art Harrington, Interact Chair
Interact Chair Art Harrington shared that the Interact Ambassadors to Mexico spent the first part of their trip becoming acquainted with our longtime Rotary partners, and learning more about Rotary in Mexico, along with gaining a better understanding of the culture and history of Mexico.
Member worked with the local Rotaract club on a reforestation project, planting 160 trees.
The work our team will be doing with this remarkable team of disabled wheelchair mechanics has been one of the key goals of this trip. In addition to the work they do in this wheelchair repair building in Cuernavaca, this mobile team of wheelchair mechanics has been repairing 3,000 wheelchairs a year in villages and towns across two states in central Mexico.
By working with a Rotary Foundation Global Grant, our Prescott Sunup Rotary Club is serving as the International Partner in a Global Grant project to purchase a second vehicle and train a second team of these wheelchair-bound mechanics — doubling the size and scope of this Rotary-sponsored project.
Besides the valuable service it provides to those who live in wheelchairs, the program provides employment for these disabled team members. Here is a link to a video The Rotary Foundation made about this remarkable project:
https://vimeo.com/149036170 Interact Ambassadors to Kenya Update
Written by Art Harrington, Interact Chair
While we work with and partner with the Rotary Crutches 4 Africa nonprofit organization, based in Denver, our Interact District has our own unique Interact Crutches 4 Africa project, with its related Interact Ambassadors program: www.rotaryazinteract.org. Interact Crutches 4 Africa has become the signature project of our Interact District 5495, and it is unique in all of the world among Rotary and Interact districts.
In addition to mobility equipment, medical supplies and school supplies distribution at Talek, our team visited Rotary District 5495's most recent Global Grant water project at Talen, which benefits a community of 7,000 people and their livestock.
Dolly Parton Imagination Library
A.J. Sheridan shared a report that Sunup Rotary's donation to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is having a positive impact on children throughout Arizona and has continued to grow steadily.
From July 2020 to June 2021
Total books mailed: 493 to 705
Children registered: 471-680
Books go out once a month to registered children. Parents are encouraged to read to their children. The books help to form their first library. Learn more about their work here:
https://imaginationlibrary.com/
What better way to invest in the future of literacy for children!
Meeting Notes
Jane Anne Shimizu led the Pledge of Allegiance. Donna Jacobs led the prayer. Greg Raskinwas the Sergeant-at-Arms. Registration was done by Dr. Whitney James. Scott Weldy was the greeter.
