Morrison Rotary Club Sends Seventeen Students to Rotary Leadership Camp
This year the Morrison Rotary Club, in partnership with the Erie Rotary Club, is sending 13 Morrison High School and 4 Prophetstown High School students to the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Camp (RYLA). The camp will take place this past weekend May 3-5 at the Lorado Taft campus of NIU at Lowden State Park.
The purpose of RYLA is for students to improve their leadership skills as they work together in teams. They meet students from all over northwestern Illinois as well as exchange students from all parts of the world. Lasting friendships are built during this time. The camp is staffed by Rotarians from around the District who volunteer their time to provide a safe, positive atmosphere for the students. Approximately 120 students attend the camp each year.
The camp has an amazing impact on students’ lives. Several past Morrison High School campers have gone on to become student Counselors/helpers at the RYLA camp; one student went on to find the nearest RYLA camp in the Rotary district where they were going to college and helped them run their camp for two years.
This is the second year in a row the Morrison Rotary Club has sponsored students from both Morrison and Prophetstown. Because of the large number of applicants, and because the club did not want to turn anyone down, the Erie Rotary Club stepped up and assisted with the funds to send them. Another club, Kishwaukee Sunrise Rotary, also helped to contribute to the cause.
The Morrison Rotary Club organizes the Harvest Hammer 5K Race and Duathlon each Fall. It is their only fundraiser. Proceeds from the Harvest Hammer are used each year to provide scholarships to Morrison High School Seniors, send students to RYLA and fund community and international projects.
