Fairfield Rotary has many exciting opportunities

The Fairfield Rotary Club wants members of the public, especially young people, to be aware of the exciting opportunities and scholarships available:

Rotary Scholarships - Every year the Fairfield Rotary Club provides four $2000 scholarships for High School seniors who plan on going to a college, university or vocational school. Applications are available at Fairfield High School and Maharishi School. Three of the four scholarship recipients are chosen by the Rotary Scholarship Committee and the fourth student is selected by the faculty and staff at FHS and it goes to someone who has dealt with some big challenges during their High School career yet persevered.

RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) - Every July, students from all over Iowa join together for a fun week of leadership training activities at Grinnell College. It's called leadership training but really its a week of personal development, where students build their self esteem and confidence in a very supportive environment. Everyone who comes back from the camp say that it was the best week of their lives! Each year the Fairfield Rotary Club sponsors four students to go to RYLA ($500/student), that includes room and board for the whole week. This year the dates are July 16 - 21 and the event is open to 2022-23 High School Sophomores and Juniors. Rotary Youth Leadership Awards – Iowa RYLA — Districts 5970 and 6000 Please contact me if you are interested in applying.

Rotary Swedish Exchange Program - This is a cultural exchange program for young adults (ages 18-30) from the Fairfield/Swedesburg/Mt.Pleasant area to visit our sister community in Sweden for one week in July. Each year the Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant Rotary Clubs, along with the Peter Kassel Society in Sweden, sponsor two people to go to Sweden -- or come from Sweden to visit here (we take turns). This year it's our turn to send two people from here to Sweden! The program participants stay with host families to get the full cultural experience, and they each receive up to $1000 towards travel expenses to and from Sweden. This year's dates are approximately July 25 - Aug. 1 (dates will be finalized soon). Some people choose to travel to Europe after the exchange since they are already so close by. Once in a lifetime opportunity! Please contact me if you are interested in applying.

Fairfield Interact Club - Interact is Rotary for teens. In Fairfield, our club is community-based, meaning students (ages 12-19) from Fairfield public, private or homeschool are welcome to join. It's a nice way to integrate youth from different schools in the community. Like Rotary, Interact is a service organization and we do various kinds of local volunteer events, fundraisers and humanitarian projects locally and around the world. We aim to do at least one project per month (great way to get community service hours required for graduation)! It's a lot of fun. We usually meet once a week. Contact me if you or you son or daughter are interested. They can join any time.

Rotary Youth Exchange - Rotary is an international organization with clubs in almost every country. They have developed a strong youth exchange program where High School students can study in another country for a year and live with host families to really delve into the cultural experience of the country. It's a great way to expand your horizons! See this link to learn more: https://www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/youth-exchanges The Rotary exchange program has been active in Fairfield for a long time but was on hold for the last few years since before Covid. Students must be 15-19 years old and they must apply the year before the exchange. Many students have done this after their senior year. We also are looking for host families who would like to provide room and board for international exchange students who would come to Fairfield. Contact me if you are interested in applying for an exchange or hosting a student here in Fairfield and I will get you connected with someone who can help.

Beth Alonso can be reached at: alonso_beth@yahoo.com