We had our first ever Pumpkin Carving Social on October 25th at the Port Moody Recreation Centre. We voted for the “best” pumpkin at the end of carving, whomever carved the “best” pumpkin got awarded with a donation in their name to the SHARE food banks for our version of Halloween for Hunger this year!
Austin Taylor, President from the Whidbey Island Rotaract Club won our Pumpkin Carving Social!
We had an amazing turnout with rotaractors from all over the district coming out to have some halloween fun with us!
We’ve been keeping busy these past few years with so many exciting fundraisers and events! Here is a quick recap on what we’ve been up to recently:
RYIA’s Facilitator team
A few of our rotaractors got the be apart of the first ever RYIA (Rotary Youth In Action Summit) held at Loon Lake Lodge and retreat centre in March 2017 put on by the Port Moody Rotary Club. It was a leadership summit for youth ages 14-17 where they got to listen to speakers and participate in activities to strengthen their leadership skills and potential.
Rotaractor Mike at the first interact meeting!
RYIA was a such a great success, so much so that the first interact club was created in the Tri-Cities consisting of youth that attended RYIA!
Jaymee, Kendra, Rad and Mike road tripping for RYLAKelly, Darpan, Jaymee, Kendra and Mike out front of RYLA
In May of 2017 four of our Rotaractors (Jaymee, Kendra, Darpan and Mike) got to attend RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) in Mount Baker, Washington. Very similar to RYIA but for an age group of 18-30 where they got to further develop their leadership skills!
In July we had our first ever Installation night shared between the rotaract clubs in district 5050, it was a wonderful evening where district Governor Lindagene came and inducted the new executive for each of the clubs! Definitely a night to remember!
Facilitator training for RMYIS
In November Jaymee and Mike got the chance to facilitate at RMYIS (Ridge Meadows Youth Impact Summit) at Loon Lake Lodge and Retreat Centre. They had a wonderful time connecting and working with some really passionate young people!
In December we collected food donations and non-perisables in Port Coquitlam and delivered them to the CP Holiday Train for The Share Society it was a great success in one neighbourhood we were able to fill a mid-sized SUV with the amount of donations collected!
Ian, John, Jaymee, Kendra, Michelle, Jessica and Mike getting ready to hand out candy canesSelfie with Santa!
We kept busy as elves in December as we also volunteered at Port Coquitlam’s Winter in the City event at Leigh Square where we got the chance to be Santa’s helpers and promote rotaract all at the same time!
YAIL 2018
Jaymee and Carter got the chance to facilitate at YAIL (Youth Adventures in Leadership) in February another youth leadership retreat for youth from both sides of the border within district 5050!
Raf, Ian, Jaymee & Kendra ready to sell some hot dogs!
In the Spring we got the chance to promote rotaract and sell some hot dogs at the SPCA’s Paws for a Cause walk at Town Centre Park in Coquitlam, it was a great success we raised lots of money for animals in need in the Tri-Cities!
RYLA 2018 was one for the books, Jessica, Jaymee and Carter got to facilitate at RYLA and had a wonderful time growing immensely as individuals and as a team of facilitators while being able to lead an exceptional group of young adults through one of the most life-changing weekends of their lives.
The 2017/2018 rotaract year was wonderful, we were able to make a difference in our community by getting involved as much as possible, we had socials throughout the year to continue connecting as a group, and some of our rotaractors even got to facilitate at multiple youth leadership retreats allowing them to make a lasting impact on the youth around us! we welcomed the new rotaract year with open arms!
District 5050 Rotaract Installation BBQ in the Park 2018Jaymee & Jessica representing Tri-cities Rotaract
Jaymee accepting an award on behalf of fellow rotaractor Sarah for her continued dedication the the club!
We are so grateful for the continued success of our club and can’t wait to see where this next rotaract year takes us, we have big plans ahead of us to celebrate our 5th year since chartering so keep updated with us as we continue to make lasting impacts on our community locally and globally!
Check out the first-ever edition of the Rotaract District 5050 newsletter, written by our Past President and District Rotaract Representative, Kimberley Chong!
Want a quick way to find out what our club has been up to recently? Introducing our #RotaractRecap video series, where our members will share our latest and upcoming events and projects in a short, monthly video.