Youth Services

 This year, we have decided to focus on what works and not spread ourselves too thinly while providing as many opportunities as possible for local young people to 'Promote their Talents'.

We wish to maintain and strengthen our links with other Rotary Clubs under the Ashby Umbrella and keep them informed of the progress and dates of specific competitions.

Young Writer has featured strongly in the past, and we will continue with the hard work that Sylvia and Mike have done.

We will approach the Ivanhoe School to establish links for Young Chef, continue with Ashby School, and try to introduce Junior Chef/Baker. This has always been a popular competition, and we hope it will encourage some younger students to participate.

It was good news to hear that the Youth Speaks competition is reverting to the previous format and discarding the Debate format, which schools did not receive well. The committee feels that we can regenerate the enthusiasm in local schools where we have had great success.

We have decided to renew our efforts to promote Rotary Young Stars in Primary Schools. We feel this is an excellent way to introduce volunteering to young people through acts of kindness and supporting good causes. 

We plan to prepare a short presentation on Aquabox for use in Primary Schools. It would be a good introduction to Rotary.

We will support the Ashby Rotary lunchtime club with their work on Rotary Young Musician and Young Artist.

Our club has supported the Skills for Success Conference at Ashby School for over two decades, and it will continue this year on July 8th and 9th.

The experience is invaluable to Year 12 ( first year of 6th Form)

This year, 90 students will attend the two-day school conference and learn skills such as Team Building, Time Management, Negotiation, Decision-Making, and leadership. These skills will certainly add to their academic knowledge for whatever career they choose.

Another long-standing commitment has been to the Ashby School Awards. The club's donation is for the Respect Award given to several students. We want to continue with this if possible.

Since the Quiz night has proven to be fun and thriving as a fundraising event in the past, we wish to hold another one in February 2025.

Another possibility is to hold a Board Games evening with a light supper to make a small profit, but the main aim would be to have fun and laughter.

We are looking into organizing something exciting and fun. A WhatsApp group has been set up for our Youth Committee so that we can all keep each other informed of what is going on and any suggestions we may have for the future.

The other fundraising idea is to hold a big 'joint committee/club' event to benefit several good, local causes. Since all the significant fundraising happens in December, perhaps something could be done during the Spring or Summer. 

We look forward to a fun year full of positivity and happy memories of smiling faces when the children collect a certificate for a 'Job Well Done' or just having the 'Courage to take part' in a competition, building confidence and self-belief.

A certificate means a lot to a young person of any age.