RYLA For Rotary Clubs

Overview

See the About RYLA page for general program description.

Club Action Plan

1. Verify/Update Your Contact Info in ClubRunner

  • We use Clubrunner for all RYLA communications including club and student deadlines, for payment and registration info. We know that roles in Rotary clubs change. Please verify that the District 7910's ClubRunner lists your RYLA chair correctly. Add New Position: "Youth - RYLA Chair"
  • Note: Some clubs have co-RYLA chairs and that's OK too. You may list them both.

2. NEW! Attend RYLA Chair Training - required

  • Learn about the RYLA due dates and resources for you, your club and your students.
  • All clubs must send their RYLA chair or at least one representative in order for a Rotary Club to sponsor students. 

    View the district calendar  for dates and to RSVP.
     

3. Space Reservations - Deadline: February  1, 2024(new!)

  • Your club's Board of Directors should decide how many RYLAns your club will sponsor.  Students may attend public or private school or be home-schooled.   Youth Exchange students inbound or outbound may also be sponsored.
  • Maximum Number of Students you May Send: 10
  • Your club may also select, specify and register as many alternates as attendees that you pay for.
  • To see how many students your club has sponsored in recent years.
  • To see your club reservation for this year.
  • To see if your check has been received by our treasurer.
     
Reserve Space at the RYLA Conference for your attendees by completing the online formEZ Space Reservation Form 
 
Completing this form will generate an email to you with an attachment to print and include with your payment. 

 

4. Mail Payment - Deadline: March 1, 2024

  • Online payment or
  • Mail your full payment and your space reservation form postmarked no later than March 1 to:
     
    JOE RICHARD
    16 ORCHARD RD
    BEDFORD MA 01730

    617-571-2066
    treasurer@ryla7910.org

5. Promote RYLA to Current Sophomores

Use your club's RYLA process to select Sophomores:
  • Promote the RYLA opportunity (see the Support Materials for samples/templates).
  • Specify your Club Specific info
    • A date, prior to the district deadline, that will allow you to meet RYLA deadlines.
    • Specific application submission instructions
    • Your Club RYLA Chair's contact information(cell & email recommended)
  • Collect applications.
Maximum Number of Students you May Send:
You may send up to 10 students attendees. You may specify and register up to the number of students that you pay for.
See how many students your club paid for in recent years.
 

6. Interview Applicants

Evaluate and Interview applicants using the interview tools in the ClubPack Support Materialsor your own selection methods.
The ClubPack includes a list of 
  • Guidelines for selecting potential applicants
  • Interview Questions
  • Evaluation Form
For interviews, each interviewer should be provided with each of these documents, along with a copy of the candidate's completed Student Application Form. Candidates should be interviewed individually. A good strategy is to set up a block of time for your RYLA Committee to interview candidates. Interviews may occur at school, via video conference or any location of your choosing, following Rotary District 7910 Youth Protection Guidelines .  

If a School or Guidance Department Selects Students for you:
  • Ask them to follow RYLA's Partner Selection Guidelines.
  • Provide them with the Interview Questions and/or Evaluation Form helpful. 
  • Communicate the number of Attendees your club will sponsor.
  • Remind them that they need to provide you with the names of the selected Attendees and Alternates before they provide the students with the registration link.
     

7. Select RYLA Attendees and Alternates

Interview all applicants, select your “Attendees” based on the number of spaces your club reserved.

It's a good idea to also designate some “Alternates” in the event that a selected Attendee becomes unavailable. You may designate as many Alternates as you have reserved spaces.

If you have fewer applicants than number of spaces your club reserved, and you have placed all your Alternates, an Alternate will be selected from the District alternate pool. Your reserved space will not go to waste.
 
 

8. Submit Names of Attendees and Alternates to RYLA - Deadline: April 15, 2024

  • After students are selected, you must submit the names to RYLA before they register for RYLA.

    Please inform the school to provide you with the names of the selected Attendees and Alternates before they provide the students with the registration link.

    Submit Names here

     

9. Notify Selected Students - By: April 5, 2024

  • Send response letters or emails to all applicants by April 5. Sample letters are provided in the Support Materials.
     
    Your letter or e-mail serves three purposes: 
  • It lets them know whether or not they were selected.
  • It provides instructions for Registration and other important info for students and parents.
  • It identifies who their Sponsoring Rotary Club is — many students are unaware, and they will need to know this for Online Registration.
  •  
    For all "selected" candidates (Attendees and Alternates), include
  • The Registration Guide 
  • Your contact info
  • Your club deadlines
     

10. Student Online Registration- Deadline: April 15, 2024

Register for RYLA

Students will complete their portion of their online registration and their parents must electronically authorize their students' participation by April 15 for their registration to be complete.

Please note: Alternates must also complete Online Registration by the due date. We will need their information if a vacancy arises.
 

11. Monitor Your Students' Registration Status Deadline: April 15, 2024

  • Hot Tip! To Monitor your students' Registration Status at any time, 

    Monitor student registration status here
     

    April 15 is the absolute deadline for students to complete their online Registration.
     
    No registrations will be accepted after April 15. If your student's Online Registration  is not completed by this date, you would unfortunately have to inform your candidate that they will not be able to attend RYLA. No refunds will be given to the club.
     

12. Press Release and Club Invites

Send out a press release! It's a super opportunity to tell the community about your club's great work. Encourage students to submit photos of themselves to include with the press release. A sample Congratulatory Press Release  is provided in the Support Materials.
 
Consider inviting your future RYLAns to a:
  • Rotary meeting prior to the conference so that they are introduced to your members and to Rotary. Have a Rotarian to personally connect with them, beforehand explaining some of the signature programs that your club supports in your community.
  • Service Opportunity
  • Interact
  • Fundraiser

13. Check-in with Students - mid June

Hot Tip! You can monitor your students' registration status at any time.
 
 
Check-in with students two weeks before the conference to confirm their participation and all details.
  • Are they still committed to the entire weekend?
    They must be present for the entire program. 

    In the event of a cancellation, please contact our Registrar immediately so that another student may attend:

    Christine Pinney
    781-271-0398 (9 am -9 pm only please)
     
  • Do the students have any questions?
  • Do they know what to expect before RYLA?
  • Have they completed their pre-RYLA surveys?
  • Have they been receiving the pre-RYLA emails?
  • Have they followed RYLA7910 on Instagram?
 

14. Help with RYLA - now through June

Our student leaders need your help. If you would like to assist with RYLA and join the fun, contact us. You can observe first-hand the difference make in young people’s lives! For more details, see Get Involved

 

15. Club Meeting Invites & Feedback - After RYLA

  • Invite your RYLAns to your club meeting, fundraising and service opportunities. Following the conference, you should invite your RYLAns to speak at your club about their RYLA experience.  If you did not send out a Congratulatory Press Release yet, this is a good time to do so.
  • Provide Feedback to the RYLA Committee
    The Club RYLA Chairperson should invite feedback (from the students and the club) about the conference and the selection process that led up to it. Any feedback should be communicated to the RYLA Committee for improvement in future years. Email feedback to 7910ryla@gmail.com or mail it to the District 7910 RYLA Committee Chair.
For a printed copy of the Action Plan, see the ClubPack manual.
 
 

Questions/Ideas? 

RYLA "ClubPack"
Support Materials
 RYLA7910 Facebook       
 
 
RYLA Schedule
Conference Dates and Locations
June 21, 22, 23, 2024 
 
3 days, 2 overnights
Early Friday morning until Sunday early evening

Fitchburg State University
138 North Street,
Fitchburg, MA 01420
Pickup/Closing Ceremony
Weston Auditorium
353 North Street
Fitchburg
Time TBD ~3:30 pm, 6/2023
Family is invited and encouraged
 
Parking is available across from Weston however, we encourage people who are able to park in North 1 and walk to Weston(5-10 min walk)
Student luggage will be picked up from Aubuchon (near arrivals) 

Note: Students must be available and attend all 3 days.
Training for Club RYLA Chairs

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OX-5WORKGjToZGlVYRmN6t07tQw9A_z9/view?usp=drive_linkThe district RYLA Committee will provide training to prepare you and your club for RYLA. All Club RYLA Chairs are required to attend this training. If your club does not have a RYLA Chair, the club’s President or another representative must attend.

  • Watch the RYLA Club Chair Training
     
  • Slides from the Training presentation
I can’t wait to go home and tell my friends all about my weekend!
- RYLA Participant