Seeking to serve

Sarina Holz, Mary-Frances Lynch and Rachel Bruins are organizing an information session on campus, Wednesday, Nov. 17 in Room 1108 of the Mona Campbell Building. (Bruce Bottomley Photo)

Whether in Stony Plains, Alberta or Cleveland, Cape Breton or Cornwall, Ontario, involvement in the Rotary Club influences the course of young lives.

For Rachel Bruins, now a third-year Dal student in International Development Studies and French, it was the chance to go on youth exchange to Paris when she was 17 years old. For Mary-Frances Lynch, a research associate at the College of Sustainability, it was an exchange trip to Germany. And, for Sarina Holz, a fourth-year psychology major, it was setting up a club at her high school and going on a trip to Ottawa for a leadership conference.

Once they arrived at Dalhousie, the three women searched out a Rotaract chapter, a Rotary-sponsored service club for students, only to discover there wasn’t one. And so, each of them independently set about to see what they could do to rectify that.

“I really like what Rotary stands for and it was a big part of my life,” says Ms. Bruins, 21, from Stony Plains. “I’ve really missed it.”

“It’s a great way to get involved on a local and international level and be an agent of change,” adds Ms. Lynch, who graduated last year from Dalhousie with a Master’s of Environmental Studies.

Hoping there are other students like them who’ve been influenced by the Rotary Club, who are interested in community service and who want to get involved, the women are holding an information session for a Rotaract chapter at Dalhousie. The meeting takes place Wednesday, November 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Room 1108, Mona Campbell Building.

Once off the ground, the Rotaract Club would meet every two weeks starting in January. The club would oversee two major service projects a year, one community-based and one with an international focus. Guest speakers would be invited to meetings to provide leadership and professional development.

Rotary, with the motto “Service Above Self,” boasts a century of service in Canada. Rotaract, meaning “Rotary in Action,” is geared towards young professionals and students ages 18 to 30.

For more information, please e-mail Halifax.Rotaract@gmail.com