Rotaract District 7070
November and December 2016
Happy New Year!
Congratulations to the New Rotaract Club of Ryerson!
Lauren Kohli
Joining the Rotaract family has truly opened my eyes and allowed me to embrace "service above self" in my actions. Rotaract has changed my perspective as to the extent of an impact we can make in the world. It has taught me that there is no act of kindness too big or too small to make a difference in our community. I am honored to be apart of such a remarkable organization. I joined Rotaract because the mission statement aligns with my core values. I look forward to be apart of many great initiatives surrounded by passionate individuals.
Lien Chia
Lien is a fourth year Business Management student specializing in Human Resources and is the Co-President and Founder of the Rotaract Club at Ryerson University. She is active in school life and enjoys helping others. When she's not hitting the books or volunteering, she enjoy cooking, conversations over tea, and graphic designing.
"Rotary International's values resonates with me, and I am excited to join a community of hardworking, passionate and giving individuals, who seek to transform their communities and create positive change."
Hannah Abraham
I feel honoured and privileged to be entering the Rotaract family. I am glad that we can make Ryerson a part of this family along with the other schools. We would like Ryerson students as well as the community to be more aware of the different volunteering opportunities and how much of an impact volunteering can make locally, nationally, and internationally. I joined Rotaract because its mission itself aligns with my values and beliefs of "service above self." Giving back to the community is an important commitment that everyone should want to do, not because they have to, but because they desire to. As the Executive Vice President of the Rotaract Club of Ryerson University (RCRU), I am most looking forward to establishing a founding team that will empower change at Ryerson which will leave a legacy for many others to follow and to be involved. I am excited to raise funds for a variety of charities with a group of people who love giving back to the community at large.
University of Toronto
Rotaract Art Gala at U of T
Rotaract eClub
C.O.R.E Mentorship Program
Find out more about the program and the application forms on our website at: http://www.rotaracteclub7070.org/mentorship
Rotaract Club of Toronto
Fred Victor Women's Hostel Birthday Party
New Members Inducted!
Volunteering with Rotary
New Website!
York University Rotaract
Kids Against Hunger Volunteering
Rotaract Roundtrips: Sarah R. Hui on Taiwan Roundtrip 2016
I <3 Rotaract Roundtrips.
This love for Rotaract Roundtrips started in 2014 when I went on my first trip to Poland. Not only did I meet amazing and friendly Polish Rotaractors, I had an amazing time with the five other Rotaractors from France, Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary and Ukraine. The year after in 2015, I was lucky enough to be selected to go on the Aegean Rotaract Roundtrip to explore Turkey with Rotaractors from Turkey, Canada, Sri Lanka, Italy, India, Malaysia and Argentina. Now in 2016, I decided to apply to the first ever France Rotaract Roundtrip where I got to meet wonderful Rotaractors from Taiwan, Brazil, Colombia and Egypt. All these positive memories was the key motivating factor in my application for the Taiwan Rotaract Roundtrip.
The Taiwan Rotaract Roundtrip was an adventure that highlighted the strong organizational skills, the generous hospitality and friendliness of the Taiwanese Rotaractors. Everything was so well planned down to the matching t-shirts for the Trippers and the Taiwanese Rotaractors, a customized 2016 Taiwan Rotaract Trip banner, photo shoots, plus all the meals and activities. During the trip, we felt like celebrities that were welcomed with open arms – one of the best stories was when I learned how our welcome dinner was supposed to be nice and small group of about 20-30 people. However, more and more of the Taiwanese Rotaractors wanted to greet us and make us feel special that it ended up being an event that had over 120 people – the maximum capacity of the ballroom. Finally, in terms of friendliness, I find that in these trips you connect quickly with people as you know that the time that you have together is limited and you want to make the most of it. On our final night together none of us wanted to sleep as we didn’t want to waste a minute of it sleeping so we pulled an all-nighter [well… I technically slept for 2 hours so I had enough energy for my 2 hour flight to Hong Kong with a 4 hour layover until my 15 hour flight back to Toronto].
This trip had a lot of similarities as all my other trips – jam-packed schedules that equated to little sleep, new friendships amongst the trippers and the host country Rotaractors and, experiencing unique/new things related to the culture. However, what made this trip unique and memorable was the intentional thoughtfulness of which everything was done:
Being picked up at the airport with a Hello Kitty sign because my host knew that I liked Hello Kitty
Seeing that we were tired from all the activities and taking us all of us for massages – which by the way, wasn’t on the itinerary
Doing laundry for all of us so that we could wear our Taiwan Rotaract Roundtrip t-shirts as we went from each city
Asking for our addresses so that Christmas presents could be sent to us
Although this ten day Rotaract Roundtrip that I had with Rotaractors from Germany, Belgium, Philippines, Romania and Macedonia is over, I’ll let you in on a little secret – you too can go to Taiwan and meet even more Rotaractors from all around the world.
Taiwan is hosting Interota (http://www.interota2017.org/) from September 2-6 in 2017. Interota is a triennial worldwide Rotaract meeting organized by Rotaractors and hosted on a rotating basis in different cities. Interota is the only international Rotaract conference recognized by the Board of Rotary International.
This conference offers diversified programs, including keynote speech, workshops, discussions, cultural activities, service projects, and tours. Rotaractors from all over the world will join together to exchange ideas, share experiences, learn different cultures, and celebrate the milestone of 50 years of Rotaract.
By Sarah R. Hui
Past President
Rotaract Club of Toronto