Rotary Interact – A Club for Youth

Interact is Rotary International’s service club for young people ages 14 to 18. Interact clubs are sponsored by individual Rotary clubs, which provide support and guidance, but they are self-governing and self-supporting.

Club membership varies greatly. Clubs can be single gender or mixed, large or small. They can draw from the student body of a single school or from two or more schools in the same community.

Each year, Interact clubs complete at least two community service projects, one of which furthers international understanding and goodwill. Through these efforts, Interactors develop a network of friendships with local and overseas clubs and learn the importance of

Developing leadership skills and personal integrity
Demonstrating helpfulness and respect for others
Understanding the value of individual responsibility and hard work
Advancing international understanding and goodwill

As one of the most significant and fastest-growing programs of Rotary service, with more than 10,700 clubs in 109 countries and geographical areas, Interact has become a worldwide phenomenon. Almost 200,000 young people are involved in Interact.

The Rotary Club of Winchester is the proud sponsor of two area high school Interact Clubs. Both of our area clubs exemplify the Rotary motto, “Service Above Self” by participating in dozens of community service projects each year, including our Rotary Arts and Crafts Festival, United Way Day of Caring, Martin Luther King Day, our Rotary 5K Race, the Rotary Rummage Sale and our own Support our Troops Project to name but a few. Our club is fortunate to have a generation of young people to follow in our service footsteps.

Under the direction of school leader Julia Kogut, the Handley High School Interaact Club is one of the largest Interact Clubs in the district with just over 80 active members. This club was revived last year and has flourished under Ms. Kogut’s leadership.

Although a smaller club, the James Wood High School Interact Club is equally busy. Gail Huntley serves as the students’ school sponsor and like Handley has had a revival in the past two years.