For many of us, Saturday periodically begins with an hour or two of extra sleep and a prolonged visit to the fantasies of our dreams. However, for fellow Rotary Interact Club President Melissa and Rotarians Adam, Emily Guerrieri, Jessie Gram, Helen Mattes, the day started with the clear-cut, resonating ring of the alarm clock at 5:30 in the morning.
Why? It was the start of the fun-filled day at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City –a day that completely redrew many of our previous notions of the Rotary Interact Club at Cherry Hill West. By definition, the purpose of any Rotary cCub is to serve, whether it be here in our own community or on a more global scale. In all, this visit would delineate that the club was without limits to generate programs autonomously—however large or small. No grand scheme would be necessary, or the creation of momentous new ideas that would renovate Rotary International across the world. The Cherry Hill Rotarians soon came to realized that the success of the Rotary Interact Club at Cherry Hill West and elsewhere came from the initiative from within—an initiative to transform our community and benefit the lives of others for the better.
From firsthand experience, the five hour stay at the United Nations Headquarters was brilliant from the start. After a much too rowdy two hour ride to New York, Cherry Hill West Rotarians –along with Rotarians from the Cherry Hill Rotary Club and other local high schools, entered the 1st Avenue Gates of the United Nations Headquarters. Following the whole jumbled mess of the “iron fist” security at the United Nations, the Cherry Hill Rotarians found their way to the main meeting hall within the United Nations main building. Each Rotarian was then seated in chairs in front of name plates of particular countries, the exact seats of the world leaders at the UN.
From here, time ran the foot race. You know they say “time flies when you’re having fun” and all Rotarians present could all verify how it did those five hours we stayed at the headquarters. As one presentation followed another, the Rotarians found themselves diving into the vast info presented by each speaker. The topics ranged from local Rotary Clubs to international organizations like Shelter Box®. Each presenter had a new project to readily bring to the table for discussion that Rotarians did not hesitate to grasp.
There were many exceptional groups that presented at the meeting hall. However, groups that caught our attention the most included the clubs that were student generated. The Rotarians found these clubs very appealing, especially due to the fact that they could visualize something that the Rotary club at Cherry Hill West could envision and put into action as soon as this fall or spring.
One of these Clubs was the Rotary Interact Club of Ipswich. To the Cherry Hill West Rotarians, this group represented a model for the Rotary Club to follow –not in the sense that the club was 100% picture perfect, but in the way that they handled particular projects in an exceptional manner. Their committee of advisors represented a group that was friendlier to one another than the Ipswich community in the future.
Another one of the Rotary Interact Clubs that particularly interested the Cherry Hill West Rotarians was the Rotary Interact Club of Serbia. Through Skype, the two high-school-aged sisters spoke to the audience, highlighting the dangers of their creation of a Rotary Club in their native Serbia. They showed the audience that through their determination, they defied the “right” of their culture which prohibited help as in a club like the Rotary Interact. Against these odds, the girls created the club that would eventually help finance the life saving surgery of a young, ill girl in their community. Although the Rotarians at Cherry Hill West are rarely put into these situations, the bravery of the girls requires true applause.
The final group that also appealed to the Cherry Hill West Rotarians was the Interact Club of Rhinebeck. Their Nicaragua Project particularly appealed to Rotarian Jessie Gram, who stated at the November meeting that she found it “cool” and wished that our Rotary Club at Cherry Hill West could do the same. Indeed, it was “cool”. The members of the Rotary Club at Rhinebeck financed a trip that eventually led to the building of a new school in the local town of Nicaragua.
Overall, this trip allowed the Rotarians to further envision what potential the Rotary Club at Cherry Hill West had. It was a very educational day, and nearly all members of the Rotary Club at West that attended the meeting took away a fairly important lesson for the future of Rotary Club at Cherry Hill West:
With the right idea and the will power, no project remains rustic for long.