Posted on Mar 10, 2020
Highlighting our club as part of World Rotaract Week

This week we celebrate World Rotaract Week - 7 days dedicated to the achievements and the spirit of Rotaract Clubs Worldwide. In honor of “Tell Your Your Story Tuesday” we are highlighting our work.
 
Where it all started
On December 1st 1991, the Rotaract Club of Aruba was chartered by the Rotary Club of Aruba as a new service club to provide an opportunity for young men and women to enhance their leadership skills, address the needs of the community and to promote improved relations between all people through friendship and service. Over its 28 years of existence, our club has been a platform where people come together to learn, grow, and create synergies to benefit our communities. 
 
Giving back to our community
This board year (which officially started on July 1st 2019) we continued to organize our annual projects, while looking for opportunities to innovate. Community Service is an important part of our club, and so we teamed up throughout the year to give back:
 
Back to School - Our most long standing project, Back to School, has been organized for as long as the club exists, and has seen many versions of the essence of the project come to life - to ensure that children can start their new school with all the materials they need, while celebrating their right to a fun summer day. 
 
The Graduation Project - We also continued to evolve our Graduation Project, a program organized with the aim to increase graduation percentages amongst high school seniors. This year we assessed which schools could benefit from this year-long program, while looking for quick wins by organizing one time events at different high schools. 
 
Pasa Pret cu Rotaract - Following the success of previous years, this time we chose to organize the Pasa Pret cu Rotaract once again in the form of a free fair for all children in Aruba where they could play different games while spending quality time with their family. This project was organized in line with the goals of the International Declaration of the Rights of the Child by the United Nations. 
 
Un P’ami, Un P’e - “Un P’ami Un P’e” is one of Rotaract Club of Aruba’s annual projects that was founded 12 years ago, with the intention to help a non-profit organization by collecting items with the help of our community’s donations. Un P’ami, Un P’e translates to “One for me, One for them”, meaning that one will buy something for themselves and buy an extra item to donate. This year Un P’ami Un P’e will be organized in March and April so stay tuned!
 
You Inc. Seminar - You Inc. is our club’s annual professional development seminar, taking place in late May 2020 for its 6th consecutive year with the theme “Unbox Your Mind”. The seminar is organized with the aim to gather people from diverse backgrounds and inviting international and local speakers to share their insights. You Inc. is considered a community service project as our goal is always to keep the entrance fees accessible to all in the community. 
 
The Health Project - The Health Project was born out of the interest of members to focus more on general health of our community and our members. For this project we collaborated with different organizations, and made the Health topic come to live through different ways, such as club presentations, a hands on afternoon at the Hospital, helping out at a walk and run, and raising awareness on social media.
 
Becoming Equal Project - The goal of the Becoming Equal project is to educate the Aruban community on the LGBTQ+ community and different identities within the community, while breaking a complicated concept into bite-sized, digestible pieces. Through a video series, social media posts, and soon a podcast, we hope that this starts a dialogue within the local community to be more open and accepting of LGBTQ+ people. 
 
The December Project - In light of the Holiday season, our aim for this project was to focus on different groups within our community whom we could help in different ways. This year, the project was divided into multiple days, each day containing a different activity focused on a different group, such as arts & crafts with children at Casa Cuna, a fashion show for the elderly, children and youth, and handing out candy canes with a holiday wish to people on the road. 
 
While these are our main annual projects, there are many other smaller hands-on initiatives we help out with during the year, such as beach cleanups, walk and runs, and volunteering days. 
 
How we fund our projects
To (partially) fund our community service projects, we also organize one big yearly fundraising event during Rotary Club’s “Fiesta Rotaria” event. At our “Aruban Delights” stand, we sell all kinds of local sweets and treats that have been donated so we can generate as much proceeds as possible. Throughout the year, we also approach many partners in the community that are willing to help through financial and in-kind donations, to supplement our club’s funds. 
 
Professional development 
On another level, our club also aims to provide professional development opportunities for our members. During our General Meetings (held on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month) we organize Crash Courses that are meant to be quick presentations on any topic, from financial health to basics of graphic design. Next to this, we aim to organize one “Powerhouse” session every quarter, by inviting professionals in the community to share their career learnings and have productive conversations on how we can make the best decisions for our professional endeavours. 
 
“Through Friendship and Service”
Doing everything that we do requires a lot of passion and commitment, but what gives us energy time and again is that we are a family volunteers and dedicated members with a common purpose. In Rotaract we call this “Fellowship” and to foster this within the club we organize fellowship events throughout the board year, to socialize and build lasting bonds. 
 
A global network
Our work is mainly carried out for the Aruban community, however our club is part of a global network of districts. Being part of District 7030 connects us with fellow Rotaract Clubs in the Caribbean, helping us to create synergies, finding common challenges but also solutions, united in the theme “Excellence Through Quality”. This network also provides us with opportunities to expand our knowledge, through conferences and trainings. In the end, Rotary Connects the World.

Inspired or intrigued to know more about our work? Reach out to us to learn more or to share ideas by sending us an email at info@rotaractaruba.com.
 

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