You have been elected as the Youth Chair in your club and you want to know what to do. This is what this page is for. If you haven’t already, check out what RYLA is HERE
Often Rotarians find it difficult to find participants for RYLA, particularly in more regional areas. As the age requirements are 18-25, many of these young people are out in the workforce, undertaking university or completing an apprenticeship or traineeship.
The key to getting young people to attend RYLA is giving them lots of notice and supporting them to get time off with their employers if need be. The club should also make sure that the young person can get down to Kangaroobie and back whether they drive themselves, get a lift with a Rotarian, or carpool with others heading down towards the coast.
Steps you will need to take to successfully send a young leader to RYLA.
- Secure funding: make sure you club has budgeted to send one or more young people to RYLA this Rotary year. Currently the fee is $550, which is covered in full by the club.
- Download Information Pack: N/A
- Learn: Talk to fellow club members about RYLA and read the information on this site.
- Engage: Time to get out in the community and on social media and start engaging with the young leaders in your community. Tell them about this amazing opportunity and encourage them to check out the website.
- Collate a list for interview: The applications close for RYLA in December of each year. It’s important to realise that many young people do not know what they will be doing in the following year. This is why it is important to interview twice as many as you plan to send to RYLA so you can have backups in case.
- Interview: The nomination form has a list of questions you should ask during the interview. During the interview process, you can explain the responsibilities and commitments of the RYLA scholarship provided by your club. It’s generally best to have more than one Rotarian on the panel for the interview process.
- Advise all Applications of Results: Once the panel has chosen their RYLA scholarship recipients, call all the young leaders you interviewed and
- Contact participants: Contact participants in late January, early February to find out if they are still able to commit to the seminar. If they have moved somewhere else in the district, please contact the committee as another club in that area might want to sponsor them.
- Two weeks before seminar: Catch up with participant and make sure travel is organised with them.
- Post Seminar: The participant is generally expected to present to their club about their experience at RYLA. It’s important that you make sure the participant knows when they are going to present and what they are to expect at your club meeting (meal, length of time speaking etc). Encourage the participant to recommend people they know to your club to make your recruiting easier next year. The Participant might even be prepared to help you promote the camp next year if you ask them nicely.
What if I need help?
- Talk to others in your club about recruitment strategies
- Contact the District 9780 RYLA Committee