Students receive Rotary Junior Community Awards

A pilot program called Community Relations Education was set up in the Bairnsdale area after teachers and parents saw a need for resilience in young people.

The results were so positive that the Rotary Club of Mitchell River developed the award as a Rotary Project in 1997, targeted only to Grade 6 students.

The Rotary Club of Seymour picked up the award in 2019 with two successful participants from St Mary’s College.

The COVID-19 pandemic put a halt on the award in 2020 and 2021, but it resumed this year.

It is a huge commitment requiring lots of time management, dedication, perseverance and initiative, alongside some wonderful support from parents.

To get the award students must complete one hour per week of community service, spend one hour per week learning a new skill and two hours per week of physical activity for 10 weeks.

Other required activities include maintaining a diary, experiencing a different culture, attending a community meeting, undertaking a religious or spiritual experience, investigating an arts event and attending a community commemoration and writing a report.

The Rotary Club of Seymour is the only club in District 9790, from Deniliquin to Strathmore, to offer this opportunity to Grade 6 students.