Can you imagine what it is like to be a young ambitious person in today’s economy? To have recently completed a course of study at a prestigious university and know that you have a sizeable pile of student loans to pay off, but no job prospects in sight? You have sent out resumes to cover almost every possible opportunity you can imagine and there are no responses. I can only imagine how discouraging it would be to face the challenges of young people today.
What would seem to be the most discouraging is being part of a large group of young people who share your situation. They need to get involved in their community, meet people and build a network of people who have jobs and businesses. Their network is not working because everyone they know is in the same position and they need someone to point the way; they need mentors.
Now think about all of those people who used to belong to your Rotary club; the ones who have retired and left Rotary, the ones who are still in business, but need some new blood who understand all of the new technology that others are using to steal their clients. They come to Rotary every week because it is a tie to more normal times.
Maybe there is an opportunity hidden in these two groups. What if your Rotary Club sponsored a community based Rotaract club? A club with all of those young people with a need to develop self-confidence and some real world skills; more than anything else they need to develop a network with mentors who have real life skills. What if that group met separately from your Rotary club with invitations to the members of your Rotary club to share their knowledge and experience? What if those young people had an open invitation to attend your weekly meetings? As long as we are playing what if why not think about what could happen to the future number of members of your Rotary Club.
In my youth there was a group called the Jaycees. They were sort of a training organization for other community service clubs. They seem to have largely disappeared, but the need for some sort of a training organization for other community service clubs still exist. Maybe the Rotaract club we are thinking about could make those connections and fill those needs.