NOTE TO ROTARY CLUBS:
Be sure to read carefully the
"About RYLA Camp and Foundation Credits"
letter for information about this year's new program, your
Club's Foundation Credits and the camp reservation system.
Reservations and registration can be monitored for the session on the
Student Registration page. RYLA release forms, congratulatory letters, maps, etc... are available on the
RYLA Downloads page.
If after reading this page you have further questions, be sure to check the
FAQ page. If you don't find an answer call or email.
CONTACT:
Jill Eldred
CHCE Vice President
VNA and Extended
Health Care Services
1007 Eldridge Drive
Kalamazoo, Michigan 49006
Phone:
269-343-1396
Cell: 269-762-2314
Fax:
269-3828006
Email:
jeldred@borgess.com
Send application/release forms to the above address.
DATES AND TIMES: SEPTEMBER 12-14,
2008
Registration - Friday, 4:30 - 5:30 PM
Pick up students - Sunday, 6:30 PM
ABOUT RYLA:
Each year young people from throughout southwest Michigan take part in the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) program sponsored by Rotary District 6360, a community service organization. Awardees are chosen for their leadership potential to attend an all-expenses-paid camp to discuss leadership skills and to learn those skills through practice. Rotary clubs select participants and facilitate the event's curriculum.
The focus of the RYLA program is leadership, citizenship, and personal development with elements designed to:
- build on the existing leadership potential of the student, providing them with the opportunity to sharpen their leadership skills and put them into practice.
- encourage participants to further develop their own talents and abilities.
- remind the students that they have a responsibility to their communities and to the world.
What do campers do at RYLA?
RYLA is a Friday evening to Sunday evening program of intense leadership training. Students learn about what it takes to be an effective leader and create an effective team-based organization. The program features:
1. outstanding Rotarian speakers from all over the region
2. hands-on critical thinking and problem solving experiences
3. personal leadership skill development.
Activities include daily interaction between students in various team roles, challenging physical and mental activities, and fellowship with peers, trained counselors and Rotarians. Campers make friendships that last a lifetime!
If I get accepted, does RYLA cost anything? 
RYLA is sponsored by the 60 Rotary clubs of SW Michigan and
Rotary International. It is staffed and operated by volunteer
District 6360 Rotarians and professionally trained leadership
counselors.
Individual Rotary clubs pay the entire fee for each RYLA camper. The District does expect each RYLA participant to actively participate in the entire program.
Who can attend RYLA?
Rotary District 6360 is looking for outstanding young leaders and potential leaders who are about to enter their junior or senior year in high school when they attend. Students should have a good academic record and be involved in school activities such as athletics, student council and community service.
If you are a student or a parent interested in RYLA, please contact your local Rotary club, school guidance counselor, or write
Jill Eldred at
jeldred@borgess.com
for more information.
RYLA history
In 1959, the state government of Queensland, Australia, invited local Rotarians to help plan a festival celebrating Queensland's upcoming centenary. Learning that Queen Elizabeth II was sending her cousin Princess Alexandra, who was in her early 20s, to the celebration, Rotarians planned activities specifically for the princess' age group.
The gundoo, an aboriginal word meaning "festival" or "fun together," was a rousing success. More than 300 men and women between the ages of 17 and 23 attended. Encouraged by the event's popularity with the young attendees, Rotarians saw potential to create a similar annual youth program. With little hesitation, Governor Art Brand of then-District 260 approved the project, and on 2 May 1960, RYLA was born.
Australian districts 258 and 260 shared in establishing a committee that developed the official framework of RYLA which then expanded to all Rotary districts in Australia. In 1971, RYLA was approved as an international program by the RI board at the annual Convention in Sydney, Australia. |
