Barbara McAnulty, a rising junior at Hickory High school, spoke to the club today about her experience at RYLA 2013 in Brevard, NC, for a week in June representing Hickory High Interact club and Hickory Rotary Club. At RYLA, Barbara participated in a community service car wash and completed the high ropes course as well as tested her strengths and abilities at archery, square dancing, and hiking.
According to Rotary International, “Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is Rotary’s leadership training program for young people. RYLA participants can be ages 14-30, but most clubs and districts choose to focus on a narrower age range, such as 14-18 or 19-30.
RYLA emphasizes leadership, citizenship, and personal growth, and aims to:
- Demonstrate Rotary’s respect and concern for youth
- Provide an effective training experience for selected youth and potential leaders
- Encourage leadership of youth by youth
- Recognize publicly young people who are rendering service to their communities
Locally, RYLA programs are typically organized and carried out by Rotarians at the district level. Each RYLA program is unique and may vary from others in both the age of attendees as well as the overall program content. To get involved with RYLA in your district, contact us. Make sure to provide information on your location so that we can quickly direct you to the Rotarians responsible for overseeing RYLA activities in your area.
If you have any questions about local RYLA programs, please contact us at ryla@rotary.org for more information.”
Use these links to view the RYLA Brochure and the RYLA Handbook and view the 2013 Brevard RYLA camp video below.
