What are our projects?
Rockbridge Area Free Clinic
The Lexington Rotary Club is a proud supporter of the Rockbridge Area Free Clinic since 1992:
- Serving as dedicated volunteers
- Providing leadership and guidance
- Coordinating and organizing the Clinic relocation effort
- Making significant financial contributions (more than $48,000)
- Sponsoring a dental operatory
Interact
We sponsor and strongly support this coed service organization at Rockbridge County High School. Our student represenatives in Interact are an enthusiastic and committed group. They have dedicated themselves to projects this year that affected both the international community as well as our county. The Interact students sold calendars specifically created to aid students in Africa who lost their school to ethnic terrorism. They once again turned out in force to help our local hospice with their 10k walk/run this past October. They held a rockathon to raise money, sold beverages at the Rotary July 4th Hot Air Ballon Rally and helped at the Rockbridge Community festival last August. Our Interact Club members embody the four principles of Rotary and we will salute their efforts on International Youth Day
Haley Garvis has been selected by her Interact Club to attend the Rotary Leadership Conference in Blackburg, VA on December 5 and 6, 2008. We provide the tuition for the conference, which provides seminars on leadership and many opportunities for Interact members to network with other students. Haley will talk about her experiences at the conference at a future Rotary meeting. The Interact sponsor at Rockbridge County High School, Emily Higgins, will accompany Haley and the student sponsored by Sunrise Rotary as well.
Ambassadorial Scholarships
The Ambassadorial Scholarships are a Rotary International (RI) program. The Scholars are chosen in each District from those sponsored by local Rotary Clubs. The District pays the scholarship and the living expenses for each Scholar it selects. The successful candidates are sent abroad for an academic year at an institution to which they have secured admission. However Rotary International chooses the country to which they go (the application contains a list of programs that the candidates would like to attend).
Our local committee first interviews each applicant to determine if they are good candidates. Candidates whose homes are in places with Rotary Clubs that participate in the program are asked to apply through their home clubs. This is an RI requirement. We have also asked applicants who are young, or inexperienced to consider applying later on. This is because we know from the previous candidates that the competition is VERY TOUGH and they would not have a chance and might even be embarrassed.
After we have agreed that someone is a good candidate we set a deadline for them to complete the application. We then try to have everyone on the committee read the application and make suggestions.
Then we try to interview those who have completed the application again with the aim of making them a better candidate, emphasizing the things we know the District Committee will be looking for, such as knowledge of Rotary and its programs, and their goals for the future. We have also at times made suggestions about how they present themselves (hair cut, neat business attire, etc.). We have met with some candidates three or more times.
The District Committee sets a deadline for when they must have the completed applications. They also set aside a day for mandatory interviews. After that the District Committee chooses the candidates that will receive scholarships from our District. These candidates are required to attend a RI training session. Some of the candidates are given additional language training before going for their scholarship year.
The club encourages candidates and Scholars to attend Rotary programs and to become familiar with all aspects of Rotary.
Each candidate has an individual sponsor from the sponsoring club.
This year (2008-2009), Suzanne Keen is the sponsor for Ambassadorial Scholar Ryan Peck. Please see his page to visit his blog.
For next year (2009-2010), we are sponsoring Andrew Smeltzer in partnership with the Lexington Sunrise Club, as an Ambassadorial Scholar.
AHALA and CODENI
Judge Diane Strickland, retired chief judge of the Twenty-third Judicial Circuit in Roanoke, spoke to our Club on 19 November 2007 regarding the work in Guadalajara of her middle child, Danielle. The Judge and her attorney husband have established a childrens rights foundation, AHALA! (American Hands Aiding Latin American Youth), to support the work of CODENI.
Danielle and her friend, Tomas Trinidad, run an after school program for about 75 kids, kindergarteners to middle schoolers, who would otherwise spend another evening on the street. Together they direct a Mexican nonprofit group called CODENI, an acronym that translates to Children's Rights Collective. The group's mission: "...to defend and extend the rights of girls and boys, through education, investigation, and defense."
More information may be obtained at AHALA or at CODENI.
Update of 29 September 2008:
The number of children is now about 130.
As a result of the efforts of AHALA spreading the word, there are seven local Rotary Clubs covering a geographic area from Blacksburg to Lexington who have come forward to contribute a combined $17,000 (includes private contributions) to support this project. Our club contributed $1000 to this total of $17,000. The district (7570) is contributing $12,250. The Guadalajara Club, $200, and the Rotary Foundation, $20,850, for a total of $50,300. This grant will be used primarily to rent an activity center. The program has outgrown the public library, its present location - only 30 children are allowed to enter at a time. Hence the others are entertained in the plaza in front of the library (where there are hundreds of unrelated adults and temptations) until it is their turn to enter. Other funds will be used to furnish the activity center and to hire a teacher for basic literacy and special education needs.
A businessmen's organization from Calgary, Canada, is providing business expertise and a potential market source for handicrafts. There is a grant application pending to purchase sewing machines for some of the mothers so that they might switch from selling potato chips to making handicrafts.
AG Joe Obenshain announced the RF grant at our Area 6 meeting in Buena Vista earlier. Thanks to Joe and other District members and clubs for their support of this very worthy project.
Other youth Activities
Our club has strongly emphasized this area for many years. Financial assistance has been furnished in equipping playgrounds, sponsoring youth sports teams, building the public outdoor swimming pool, and developing the Chessie Nature Trail, all designed to provide wholesome, recreational opportunities for our youth.