Hello!
Well. I'm back! Today's post is brought to you by procrastination from a lab report about continuously stirred tank reactors. So, as promised, I am going to talk more about what Rotaract is.
The term "Rotaract" comes from the shortened version of "Rotary in Action". The main difference between Rotaract clubs and Rotary clubs is that Rotaracters are between 18 and 30 years old. Rotaract clubs are sponsored by an area Rotary club, and are not necessarily university based, and even our McGill Rotaract club has members from UQAM, Concordia, U de M, cegeps, and also young professionals in Montreal. So, for people like me where graduation is on the horizon, never fear! Rotaract will still be here even after the diploma is on your wall!
Rotaract clubs have similar goals than Rotary clubs. According to the "Standard Rotaract Club Constitutions", the goals of Rotaract are:
1. To develop professional and leadership skills;
2. To emphasize respect for the rights of others, and to promote ethical standards and the dignity of all useful occupations;
3. To provide opportunities for young people to address the needs and concerns of the community and our world;
4. To provide opportunities for working in cooperation with sponsoring Rotary clubs;
5. To motivate young people for eventual membership in Rotary.
Sounds cool, right?
So basically this means that Rotaract clubs promote Rotary spirit through volunteering, fundraising, social events, attending Rotary meetings, professional development through speakers and workshops, and so much more.
I have some numbers again! If you continue reading this, you should probably be warned that I really like numbers...
8,383 Rotaract clubs
171 Countries
>190,000 members
69 Rotaract clubs in Canada
(Numbers taken from the Rotaract first quarter report of 2010-2011. I don't actually know what time period that entails, but it sounds recent!)
So here is your overview of Rotaract. Quick. Easy. Not very War-and-Peace like. (Not ragging on War and Peace, it's just the longest book I could think of at 11:50pm on a Wednesday. It's terrific, you should read it).
Tomorrow's topic: What McGill Rotaract has done, is doing and will do!
Annnnnnnd here is your procrastination source since 'tis the season (this one is not as productive as yesterday's, but still pretty awesome):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COr_k621YM4
I really like this factoid idea, so here is the next one:
Colonel Sanders (of KFC fame) was a founding member of his Rotary club in Indiana. True fact.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Woohoo Rotaract
Hello internet!
I'm not even sure who reads this, but for those of you who are, please let it be known that this is my first blog post. Ever. Exciting, right? (I should probably specify that this is Marie, the VP of the club this year). I've taken on the task to blog every once in a while, to keep you, well, I'm not sure really what I'm exactly trying to do. Entertain/inform/keep you coming back comes to mind...
So for my very first blog post of ever, I figured I'd talk more about what exactly Rotaract is. I don't know about you guys, but most people (myself included many years ago) usually give me a funny look when I mention "Rotaract", and usually guess that it has something to do with wheels when I mention "Rotary" (granted, most people I talk to are engineers).
Hmm I take it back. Today I'm going to tackle Rotary, since they're really where it all starts. Tomorrow, Rotaract!
So Rotary. It is huge. It is a 1.2 million member strong global organisation. The motto is "Service above self". And basically, Rotary takes this to mean many things. Rotarians take part in projects at the local, national and global levels, both volunteering and fundraising.
Rotary International also has many programs that it maintains, including Polio plus, the organisation for which we raised funds at our wine and cheese last week. They also promote international relations and placing people from different backgrounds with similar interests together. This happens through conferences (from national to international levels), as well as (this is applicable to students) exchanges and scholarships.
In short, this is what the official website has to say:
"Members of Rotary clubs, known as Rotarians, provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world."
So here are some numbers:
>1.2 million members
>33,000 clubs
>200 countries
Started in 1905
And PROCRASTINATION SOURCE:
http://www.rotary.org/en/AboutUs/Pages/ridefault.aspx
A video about Rotary that seems to be made by the same people that make those high school science tapes...but it's pretty interesting!
Random fact of the day: The North Pole is not considered a continent like the South Pole because the ice of the North Pole floats on the ocean, while the ice of the South Pole sits on actual ground – the continent of Antarctica.
And back to heat exchangers and pumps I go! TTFN!
PS I like comments.
I'm not even sure who reads this, but for those of you who are, please let it be known that this is my first blog post. Ever. Exciting, right? (I should probably specify that this is Marie, the VP of the club this year). I've taken on the task to blog every once in a while, to keep you, well, I'm not sure really what I'm exactly trying to do. Entertain/inform/keep you coming back comes to mind...
So for my very first blog post of ever, I figured I'd talk more about what exactly Rotaract is. I don't know about you guys, but most people (myself included many years ago) usually give me a funny look when I mention "Rotaract", and usually guess that it has something to do with wheels when I mention "Rotary" (granted, most people I talk to are engineers).
Hmm I take it back. Today I'm going to tackle Rotary, since they're really where it all starts. Tomorrow, Rotaract!
So Rotary. It is huge. It is a 1.2 million member strong global organisation. The motto is "Service above self". And basically, Rotary takes this to mean many things. Rotarians take part in projects at the local, national and global levels, both volunteering and fundraising.
Rotary International also has many programs that it maintains, including Polio plus, the organisation for which we raised funds at our wine and cheese last week. They also promote international relations and placing people from different backgrounds with similar interests together. This happens through conferences (from national to international levels), as well as (this is applicable to students) exchanges and scholarships.
In short, this is what the official website has to say:
"Members of Rotary clubs, known as Rotarians, provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world."
So here are some numbers:
>1.2 million members
>33,000 clubs
>200 countries
Started in 1905
And PROCRASTINATION SOURCE:
http://www.rotary.org/en/AboutUs/Pages/ridefault.aspx
A video about Rotary that seems to be made by the same people that make those high school science tapes...but it's pretty interesting!
Random fact of the day: The North Pole is not considered a continent like the South Pole because the ice of the North Pole floats on the ocean, while the ice of the South Pole sits on actual ground – the continent of Antarctica.
And back to heat exchangers and pumps I go! TTFN!
PS I like comments.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Hey y'all, McGill Rotaract is hosting a wine and cheese event at our next meeting! With all the stress of midterms and papers, come relax with us, drink, and be merry. We'll also be speaking shortly about McGill Rotaract, Rotary International (McGill Rotaract's parent organization), and Rotary's PolioPlus program which seeks to eradicate polio across the world. There is a suggested donation of a few dollars that will go toward the PolioPlus program, but any donations are accepted.
So take a load off, have a few drinks and some tasty cheeses, and hear about a good cause. See you all on Thursday at room 302 of the SSMU Building. Also, check us out on facebook to learn about any possible changes to the event; just look up "McGill Rotaract" when you are logged in.
So take a load off, have a few drinks and some tasty cheeses, and hear about a good cause. See you all on Thursday at room 302 of the SSMU Building. Also, check us out on facebook to learn about any possible changes to the event; just look up "McGill Rotaract" when you are logged in.
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