Community Service

Rotary International's 2003-04 theme, “Lend a Hand” is an appropriate way to continuing summarizing the role the Auburn Rotary Club has in supporting many local programs, events and organizations.

Boy Scouts of America

Troop 7 , under the direction of Scoutmaster and Rotarian Ted McMurtrie, is sponsored by the Auburn Rotary Club. Boy Scouting , like Rotary, upholds the high principles of honesty, fairness and service. Through this support, Rotarians provide troop leadership and oversight, while helping to shape and mold our community's future leaders.

In late 2004, Auburn Rotary established a Explorer career club. This club enables high school-aged youth to learn about different professions represented within the club, with a special emphasis on business and teaching. With Rotary's vocational focus, giving students the opportunity to take an in-depth look at these specific career opportunities is a natural fit. Explorer Scouts interact with club members who share more about their chosen vocational and professional careers. Club members interested in sharing their professional experiences can contact Rotarian Adam Van Stedum.

Both the Boy Scout troop and Explorer career club are affiliated with the Chattahoochee Council's Saugahatchee District .

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Fall Festival, Auburn City Schools

Each year, Rotarians staff two booths at Auburn City Schools' Fall Festival. Funds from the festival's many booths and vendors goes to support many local K-12 educational programs.

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Rotaract Club, Auburn University

The Auburn University Chapter of Rotaract was established in 1998 as a service and professional development venue for undergraduate and graduate students. The club's officers plan several professional, service and social activities for its members each month. Auburn University Rotaract has helped coordinate food-collection and clothing-collection drives, among its many worthwhile projects.

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Interact Club, Auburn High School

Auburn High School Interact is a Rotary-sponsored service club for high-school-aged young people. The program gives young people an opportunity to participate in fun, meaningful service projects while developing leadership skills and meeting new friends. Through these activities, Interact Club members learn the importance of developing leadership skills and personal integrity; demonstrating helpfulness and respect for others; and advancing international understanding and goodwill.

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Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA)

RYLA was officially adopted by Rotary International in 1971, and is one of the most significantly and fastest-growing programs of Rotary service. This program often helps cultivate future participation by young people in Rotary's Interact, Rotaract, Youth Exchange or Ambassadorial Scholars programs.

RYLA aims to:

	Demonstrate Rotary's respect and concern for youth;
	Provide an effective training experience for selected youth and potential leaders;
	Encourage leadership of youth by youth; and
	Recognize publicly young people who are rendering service to their communities.

Auburn Rotary Club has been involved with District 6880 RYLA efforts since 1997. Since that time, RYLA has been held on the campus of Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala. In our district, the program is focused on students in the 11th and 12th grades, but some sophomores have been permitted to attend past events. In recent years, we have had students from other districts, particularly Birmingham and Huntsvillle.

A highlight of our RYLA, which makes ours unique, is PROJECT X. This is a USAF group leadership training facility at Maxwell AFB that has been used for at least 40 years to train and evaluate young officers in group leadership dynamics. It involves 10 or 11 physically and mentally challenging tasks that are scenario based. The nature of the tasks is such that no individual can accomplish the task, it requires team effort in both the planning and execution of the solution. To add some stress to the situation, there is a time limit for each task, and restrictions (such as no-touch areas) that if violated, result in a penalty. The students all agree that PROJECT X is the most memorable aspect of our RYLA experience.