Rotary is an organization that connects students around the globe, uniting them with one goal: giving back to the community. According to the Rotary Site, rotary is a global network of 1.2 million people that unite and take action, creating a lasting change on the globe. The Rotary Club annually provides over 40 million volunteer hours to its community and raises almost 300 million dollars. Its motto is, “Service above self,” which means that Rotary volunteers should provide selfless service to better their community.
Brij Bhatt (‘25) is the Green Hope Rotary Club president. His main job is organizing events and meetings while leading the club members, but he also connects with other organizations like the Morrisville Rotaract Club. This month, the Rotary Club hosted a food drive for people affected by Hurricane Helene. This provided the members opportunities to volunteer and gave the community a chance to give back to those who suffered. Bhatt’s goal with the clubs is to continue expanding it so he and his members can better help the community. Bhatt said, “I noticed the need for more community volunteer action. I wanted to make a difference and give students the opportunity to volunteer through the school.”
Ryla stands for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. Ryla is organized by Rotary and teaches these students leadership skills to improve their clubs. Bhatt and one other member attended Ryla, a leadership camp, last year. This was big for the club because it was the first time members had been sent to Ryla in years. Ryla has been an active organization since 1971 and has been helping people with leadership skills for many years. Now, there are over 350 Ryla programs worldwide.
The Rotary Club at Green Hope provides students in all grades with volunteer opportunities in their community. The club offers many opportunities throughout the year using a signup shee, which allows the students to choose their volunteer location. These opportunities vary from buddy walks to volunteering at thrift stores to participating in food drives. To stay in the club, students must attend monthly meetings and participate in at least ten hours of volunteer work per semester. Additionally, members attend club events such as making teacher baskets for each subject to give to the teachers.
Bhatt described one of his volunteering opportunities and said, “We volunteered at the Morissville elementary school festival where we made bracelets, played games like basketball and watched and entertained the kids for a few hours.” His club also participated in the Triangle Buddy walk where the Green Hope students partnered with people with special needs, walking around town and spending the afternoon together.
The Rotary Club at Green Hope provides volunteer opportunities to the students, increasing their impact on the community. The rotary community has made it their mission to contribute volunteers to different orgnaization in hopes to help the world in any way the can.
