Youth
Youth Services
Interact is Rotary International’s service club for young people ages 12 to 18. Interact clubs are sponsored by individual Rotary clubs, which provide support and guidance, but they are self-governing and self-supporting.
Club membership varies greatly. Clubs can be single gender or mixed, large or small. They can draw from the student body of a single school or from two or more schools in the same community.
Each year, Interact clubs complete at least two community service projects, one of which furthers international understanding and goodwill. Through these efforts, Interactors develop a network of friendships with local and overseas clubs and learn the importance of
- Developing leadership skills and personal integrity
- Demonstrating helpfulness and respect for others
- Understanding the value of individual responsibility and hard work
- Advancing international understanding and goodwill
As one of the most significant and fastest-growing programs of Rotary service, with more than 10,700 clubs in 109 countries and geographical areas, Interact has become a worldwide phenomenon. Almost 200,000 young people are involved in Interact.
Hilton Head Rotary club is proud to have sponsored two Interact clubs, one at Hilton Head High School under the direction of Mrs. Jennifer Wietekamper, the other at Hilton Head Prep, under the guidance of Dan Sheehan.
As part of the support Hilton Head Rotary Club gives to these two clubs, exceptional individual students are to be recognized at Rotary Club meetings during the winter and spring.
Rotaract is a Rotary-sponsored service club for young men and women ages 18 to 30. Rotaract clubs are either community or university based, and they’re sponsored by a local Rotary club. This makes them true "partners in service" and key members of the family of Rotary.
As one of Rotary’s most significant and fastest-growing service programs, with more than 7,000 clubs in about 163 countries and geographical areas, Rotaract has become a worldwide phenomenon.
All Rotaract efforts begin at the local, grassroots level, with members addressing their communities’ physical and social needs while promoting international understanding and peace through a framework of friendship and service.
Rotaractors may also
- Assist in organizing Interact clubs or mentor Interactors
- Participate in Rotary Youth Leadership Awards
- Become Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholars or group Study Exchange team members
- Seek membership in their local Rotary club
Hilton Head Rotary Club is in discussion with The Technical College of the Low Country with a view to setting up a new Rotaract Club.
Rotary Youth Exchange
Rotary Youth Exchange students spend up to a year living with a few host families and attending school in a different country.
They learn a new way of living, a great deal about themselves, and maybe even a new language. They are an ambassador, teaching people they meet about their country, culture, and ideas. They can help bring the world closer – and make some good friends in the process.
More than 8,000 young people each year have experiences like these through Rotary Youth Exchange. Hilton Head Rotary Club takes pride in vetting and counseling students that apply to go overseas for this life-changing experience.
Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarships create the world’s largest privately funded scholarship program. Students in Rotary's peace programs learn conflict resolution skills.
For many years Hilton Head Rotary Club has worked hard to sponsor and mentor Ambassadorial scholars, as well as to provide one year first year college scholarships for a large number of talented High School students.
