Interact Advisors’ Update - December 2017
Hello, Interact Advisors:
We have some very important breaking news that I want to get to you before your Interact clubs break for the holidays that relates to our Interact Crutches 4 Africa Project. As you are all aware, we are the process of selecting up to five of our top high school age Interact members to send to Kenya this summer to assist with the distribute of the crutches and other mobility devices our clubs are collecting — and we have $20,000 to raise for that project to cover their air fare, insurance, the shipping cost for the 40-ft container, and some other Kenya trip expenses.
Application Deadline Extended: In order to give additional time for candidates to submit their applications and letters of recommendation for the Interact Ambassadors to Kenya positions, the trip committee has decided to extend the application deadline until January 18, 2018. If you have active members of your club who are interested in applying for this unique international service opportunity, the application form and program information can be downloaded from our Interact district website: www.rotaryazinteract.org.
Outstanding Interact C4A Video Now Available: This amazing video that features our Interact District Governor, Loralli Johnson, is a MUST SEE for every Interact and Rotary Club. Here is the link to that video.
https://youtu.be/d2AaSv6lYnI
Please do whatever is necessary to enable your Interact Club to view this video as soon as possible.
Walkathon Planned for February 10: Our first annual Rotary Youth Services Walkathon is being planned for Saturday, February 10, to help raise funds toward that $20,000 needed for our Interact Crutches 4 Africa Project. Both Interact and Rotary Clubs are encouraged to enter teams in this event. The entry fee for Interact Clubs is $30, and $50 for Rotary Clubs. Individual Interactors can also register for $5 (or $15 for Rotarians), but a participant must be a member of a club team in order to compete for the awards. Awards will be presented at the Interact distinct Conference for the club that has raised the most money for the project, the club with the most walkers on their team, the club with the best team t-shirts — and possibly some additional categories. The plans for the Walkathon are still a work-in-progress, and the location at Encanto Park in Phoenix is still to be confirmed. Check-in would be at 8:30 a.m., with the walk beginning at 9:00. We expect it to be a lot of fun, and another great opportunity for Interactors and Rotarians to come together to support a great cause. We hope you will begin planning for your club to join us that day. We will send more information, as it becomes available.
Interact Club Funding Help Needed: If it had not been for the Mohave High Interact Club contributing $3,000 to our Interact C4A Project last year from the tax credit funds they had raised, we would have been unable to purchase the airline tickets to send our four AZ Interact Ambassadors to Kenya. We need your club’s help to raise the funds required to make this happen this year — however you choose to go about raising those funds. Any and every amount your club can raise and contribute will help.
Rotarians & Friends of Interact Dinner on Feb. 24: Following our Interact District Conference that day at Perry High School in Gilbert, when we will be wrapping the crutches and other devices to send to Kenya, that evening a fundraising dinner will be held for Rotarians and Friends of Interact at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Tempe to help us raise the $20,000 needed for our project. The cost of he dinner is being underwritten by a Rotarian, so that all donations received that evening will be going toward our Interact Crutches 4 Africa Project. Featured that evening will be our amazing 2017 Interact Ambassadors Team, sharing their stories of their incredible experiences in Kenya, along with the newly selected members of our 2018 Interact Ambassadors Team. It is going to be an exciting and memorable evening for all who choose to attend. More information about this event will also be coming your way as it becomes available.
Interact District Conference: The new online registration system designed for our Interact District Conference will be up and running by January 15 on our Interact district website: www.rotaryazinteract.org. The registration fee will remain at $25 per person. However, clubs (and individuals) registered by February 1st will qualify to register at the discounted Early Bird Registration Fee of only $20. While you will register your club online, payments (made payable to Interact District 5495) will still be mailed to our Interact Registrar, Kathy Rossetti, 21405 W. Brittle Bush Lane, Buckeye, AZ 85396. Please be aware that our conference materials we order, along with the guaranteed number of meals we must pay for, are based on your registration numbers. Therefore, clubs are expected to pay for all of those they register, rather than for a lesser number who may have actually attended. Our Interact District Conference is being hosted this year on Saturday, February 24, by the Interact Club of Perry High School in Gilbert. District Conference is THE Interact Event of the Year! Plan to inspire and energize your club by bringing as many of your members as possible to this year’s Conference.
I wish each of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Season’s Greetings — and a Happy New Year! As always, let me know if you have any questions, or if I can help you and your club in any way.
-- Art