Interact Club.....

• Rotarians around the world participate in and administer a broad range of humanitarian and educational programs and activities designed to improve the human condition and advance the organization's ultimate goal of world understanding and peace. Programs range from scholarships and cultural exchanges to opportunities for service at the local, national and international levels.
• One of the programs is Interact—a Rotary-sponsored service club for people ages 14-18. The program gives young people an opportunity to participate in fun, meaningful service projects while developing leadership skills and meeting new friends.
• Through service activities, Interactors learn the importance of:
• · Developing leadership skills and personal integrity;
• · Demonstrating helpfulness and respect for others; and
• · Advancing international understanding and goodwill.
• Programs can be school or community based and are required to carry out at least two service projects annually — one serving the school or community and another promoting international understanding. Each Interact club is sponsored by a local Rotary club whose members offer guidance, but Interact clubs are responsible for planning, financing, organizing, and executing their own projects.
• The first Interact club was formed in Florida in 1962 and had 23 members. Today, 6,605 Interact clubs in 101 countries have an estimated 151,915 members.
• You can find more information at Rotary International’s site: www.rotary.org/programs/interact/index.html

• Interact at Weymouth High School

• Rotary Interact is a year-round community service club at Weymouth High School for several years. Interactors at Weymouth High have been involved in a variety of service projects including:
• · Serving meals at Fr. Bill’s Place in Quincy
• · Volunteering at a local Habitat for Humanity site
• · Walk for Peace
• · Fundraising to sponsor the education of 5 children in Eluru, India
• · Playing BINGO with the elderly at the Weymouth Health Center
• · Registering children the Child Identification Program (CHIPS)
• · Raking leaves for senior citizens through Weymouth Elder Services
• · Working with the Appalachia Service Project
• · And many more!
• Club members also work with Rotarians in support of various Weymouth Rotary Club events including the Eddie O’Rourke Christmas Trimming, Food Pantry Drives, and the Pancake Breakfast.
• 
  In addition, Interact plans to work with the Appalachia Service Project (ASP) for the third time this year. Members will be going to Guyan, West Virginia during April school vacation to help a low income family fix up/repair their home. This work will include repairing the roof and the scraping and painting of the home. The trip will also include visits to Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, DC.
• Past projects have included working with ASP in Jonesville, Virginia and Chavies, Kentucky. Members assisted ASP in working on an addition to an existing home, adding a new floor with joists on another home and repairing/scraping/painting the home of a disabled person.
• Rotary Interact has an international component as well. This year members will raise funds for Safe Passage and its educational mission to teach the indigenous population of Mayans in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Interactors plan to make a second trip to Guatemala and serve in its school as their international service project in April, 2008. Members made their first trip to Guatemala during our 2006 February vacation.
• CLUB INFORMATION
• Meeting Schedule:
• Interact meets every other Monday in Room 3058 at WHS during the school year.
• Interact Members:
• There currently 30 active members who attend bi-monthly meetings and sign-up for monthly service projects.
  
  Faculty Advisors:
• Joanne Curran, WHS Rm 3058
• joanne.curran@weymouthschools.org
• Tom Healy, Chapman Middle School, Rm 209 thomas.healy@weymouthschools.org
• Weymouth Rotary Club Advisors:
• Robert Petrelli - rjpetrelli@mtvernonmortgage.com

Club No. 6685     District 7950     Weymouth, MA     Chartered 1924