Interact
What is Interact?
Interact is a service and social club for
young people ages 14-18. Each club is sponsored by a Rotary
club, which guides the Interactors in developing local and
international service projects. Interact derives its name
from the words "international" and "action,"
reflecting the nature of an organization that exists in
110 countries and promotes active service at home and abroad.
With almost 200,000 members and more than 8,600 clubs worldwide,
Interact provides a powerful force of youthful enthusiasm
and energetic service.
Interact clubs are self-governing and self-supporting,
offering many opportunities for members to develop valuable
leadership and teamwork skills. Each club carries out local
service projects that benefit its community or school, such
as fundraisers for a variety of causes, blood drives, benefit
concerts, and visits to nursing homes, orphanages and homeless
shelters. Interactors also develop international service
projects that expand their understanding of the world and
promote goodwill.
Rotary Club of Bakersfield Sponsors Bakersfield
High School's Interact Club
For many years the Rotary Club of Bakersfield
has sponsored the Interact Club at BHS.
Bruce Biggar currently serves as our Club's
Interact Liaison.
The BHS Interact Club meets every Wednesday
at 2:35 PM at Bakersfield High School in Auditorium #301.
AVID Program
Rotary Club of Bakersfield Partners with AVID Program at BHS
The members of the Rotary Club of Bakersfield want to improve
the lives of youth and their potential for a successful
future. That's why club members volunteer to spend
three hours every other Friday afternoon talking to Bakersfield
High School students participating in the Advancement Via
Individual Determination (AVID) program. Rotarians talk
about their professions, their experiences and the community
with the aim of connecting classroom learning to the experiences
of community leaders. For information on how you can volunteer
for the AVID program, contact the Rotary Club of Bakersfield
office at (661)325-0696 or via email at evelyn@bakersfield-rotary.com.
Character Counts: Pursuing Victory with Honor
President Daphne Harley
has made the promotion of "Character Counts," a nationally recognized
program devoted to promoting character education- and a clear set of values
to students, a
major emphasis this year. The Bakersfield Rotary Club will
work with various athletic and youth groups this year to provide training
in "Character
Counts." Specifically, the training will focus on "Pursuing
Victory with Honor," a Character Counts program designed to instill
sportsmanship in local athletes. For more information,
call or email Evelyn Johnson at the Rotary office.
Rolling Readers
Each Wednesday during the school year, a member (or members)
of the Bakersfield Rotary Club conducts a 15-minute storytelling
session with Jo Ann Merritt’s kindergarten class at the Downtown
Elementary School located in downtown Bakersfield. Often
the readers stay longer
than the 15-minute reading session and tell the students
about their jobs and families and exciting places they
have traveled. The Rotary Rolling
readers have participated in these fun and much appreciated
sessions since 1998. |
Salvation Army Bell Ringing
Bell ringers standing next to the symbolic
red signifies that the holidays are here! Every year, the
Bakersfield Rotary Club organizes a single day of bell
ringing and approximately one hundred Club members spread
out into the community and don the red apron to raise money
for the Salvation Army.
Bridging Program
The Bridging Program is a project of the
Rotary Club of Bakersfield and Bakersfield High School,
providing a leadership-mentor program that focuses on at-risk
high school students. The mission of the program is to
reduce the dropout rate of these students and increase
their school attendance.
The program operates during the
school year with school administrators profiling, screening
and providing a pool of at-risk freshmen. These selected
students represent a cross-cultural mix of the high schools’ population
with primary emphasis on those who have potential for success.
Based upon the student's occupational interest,
an appropriate Rotarian is matched with the student as
a mentor. Through
the guidance and encouragement of the student’s mentor,
and the exposure to a real workplace environment, the program
goal is to eliminate student dropout and increase attendance
in school to 90 percent.
Participating Rotarians commit to participate
for one school year and meet at least one hour each month
with the student to discuss progress and problems. The
Rotarian also provides part-time employment (four hours
per week) to the student during the school year. The Rotarian
is encouraged to bring the student to three Rotary Club
meetings and one club outing during the school year and
attend two school functions with the student.
The student
participating in the program must attend school 90
percent of the time. The student must participate in the
part-time
work program and the Rotary functions hosted by their mentor.
Bakersfield High school is the largest and
oldest high school in Kern County. In the 1990-1991 school
year 3,556 students were enrolled of which 21 percent were
Hispanic, 12 percent black and 61 percent white.
The dropout
rate at Bakersfield High now stands at approximately
25 percent over a four-year period. One of its goals is
to
increase the success of the average student, and to do
so the dropout rate and absence rates must be reduced.
For more information on the Rotary Bridging
program contact the Rotary office at evelyn@bakersfield-rotary.com
or call (661)325-0696.
WATERMAN FOUNDATION
Annual Capital Grant Program
The purpose of the Waterman Foundation is to provide
scholarships to local students as well as fund capital
projects proposed by local non-profit organizations. The
Waterman Foundation was established by the Bakersfield
Downtown Rotary Club in 1984. Thirteen members of this Club
comprise the Board of Trustees and govern the activities
of the foundation.
The Foundation plans to grant between $30,000 and $40,000
per year for a single capital project or cumulatively
for a combination of projects. Grants will be awarded
only for capital projects, and not for such items
as operating expenses. Grants will be awarded in
April of each year.
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