There are 20 active Interact clubs in District 7910. Until last Saturday, there was no easy way for them to connect, share ideas, and collaborate on projects.
One solution that has been proven in a few other Rotary districts is a teen council with leaders routinely communicating among its Interact clubs.
Michaela Benedict (President, Interact Club of Greater Gardner) brought this idea into life for District 7910. The teens at the training event agreed on an immediate district-wide project.
The first three tasks are now underway with the leadership of 5 Interact clubs (Wellesley, Newton South, Watertown, West Boylston, and Greater Gardner):
- asking that each Interact club send a still photo against a 'green screen' by the 15th of November
- begin a routine teleconference, starting the evening of Thursday, Nov. 16
- asking that each Interact club send her a 30 second video clip by the 20th of November
Rotary members sponsoring the other 15 Interact clubs should connect their Interact club members, simply by pointing them to the dedicated Facebook page (Interact Clubs of Rotary District 7910).
The event at the Needham Sheraton also included a walk-through the Interact Peer Leadership and Depression Prevention project that has been successful in the USA, Puerto Rico, and India, soon launching in Nigeria. Psychologist Nadja Reilly and the teens discussed how to stay healthy and how to help a friend in everyday life. The teens also completed Module One of the train-the-trainer workshop to know how to co-facilitate the related curriculum with their peers in schools or youth groups.
In addition to Dr. Reilly, Brian Helmuth, a professor from Northeastern University, spoke briefly about a potential project involving peer mentoring and events such as those impacting Puerto Rico and our gulf coast communities. We shared ideas for how to engage Interact clubs as part of the work. Rotarians present included District Youth Services chair Diana Nestorova, District Interact Committee Co-Chair Bob Anthony, District Interact Committee Member Ingrid Detweiler, and Wellesley Interact Advisor Susan Bevilaqua.