Rotaract Club gives back to the community

By Katie Kraemer
SC Contributing Writer     

“I have always been interested in helping a cause greater than my own, and so I was immediately drawn to Rotary,” said Jamie Reese, President of Rotaract.

Together with a group of other interested students and faculty advisor, Dr. Emily Sauers, the Rotaract club of ESU was formed.

“I wanted to help bring Rotaract to ESU so that students committed to service would have a club that collectively works for the greater good,” said Dr. Sauers.

According to their mission statement, “The purpose of Rotaract is to provide an opportunity for young men and women to enhance the knowledge and skills that will assist them in personal development, to address the physical and social needs of their community, and to promote better relations between all people worldwide through a framework of friendship and service.”

Rotaract members participate in service events and projects for the betterment of the community as a whole.

The Rotaract Club of ESU was accepted as an official, SAA recognized club in March of 2013.

During March of this year, the club received its official charter from Rotary International.

It is now one of 8,000 Rotaract clubs worldwide dedicated to “service above self.”

At the beginning of every month, the members of Rotaract travel to Orchard Street in East Stroudsburg to clean up litter as participants of the Adopt-A-Block program.

Additionally, Rotaract members have begun to volunteer at AWSOM, the Animal Welfare Society of Monroe County.

Among other things, they are trained to walk the dogs and care for some of the animals at the shelter.

In April of 2013, after only a month of being an official club, Rotaract organized a Magic: The Gathering Tournament.

Through an entrance fee of five dollars per person, Rotaract raised nearly 200 dollars toward Relay for Life.

Rotaract members dressed up and went trick-or-treating for UNICEF on Halloween of 2013, and asked for donations rather than candy. They raised 100 dollars for the cause. Rotaract plans to participate again next Halloween.

Since then, the club has participated in recurring projects. They recently helped Rotary with their Annual Spaghetti dinner.

Some club members will help with Walk MS at Pocono Raceway this Saturday. The event is geared toward raising funds for The National MS Society.

The final Rotaract meeting of the semester will be in Stroud 117 at 3:00 PM today.

As a young club, Rotaract members are trying to establish more projects to benefit campus, the community and beyond. Any student between the ages of 18 and 30 can join the club.

“We are always looking for new members and ideas, and are willing to work with other groups who also share a legitimate interest in community service,” said Reese.

Email Katie at
kkraemer2@live.esu.edu