We value our young. They are the future.
INTERACT CLUB AT PENINSULA HIGH SCHOOL
Our Interact Club brings together high school-age youth to develop leadership skills and learn about the world through service projects and activities. They benefit from making Connections with leaders in the community and around the world to:
Take action to make a difference in Peninsula High School and our community; Discover new cultures and promote international understanding; Become leaders in school and Gig Harbor and its surrounding communities; Have fun and make new friends from around the world
Their activities range from:
- Staging car washes to raise money for their projects
- Planting trees to beautify the school campus
- Traveling to Peru to install solar panels and computers at remote indigenous schools
- Participating with the Rotary Club of Gig Harbor “Star Awards”, honoring non-Rotarian individuals in the community who espouse the ideals of Rotary.
ROTARY YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARDS (RYLA)
RYLA is a leadership development program for young people who want to learn new skills, build confidence, and have fun. We send a select group of students each year to the RYLA weekend seminar held at Pacific Lutheran University.
RYLA participants benefit and learn to:
- Build communication and problem-solving skills
- Discover strategies for becoming a dynamic leader in their school or community
- Learn from community leaders, inspirational speakers, and peer mentors
- Unlock potential to turn motivation into action
ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE
Rotary Youth Exchange builds peace one young person at a time. Long-term exchanges last a full academic year. Students attend local schools and live with multiple host families.
Rotary clubs in more than 100 countries sponsor exchange students aged 15 – 19. Exchange students unlock their true potential to:
- Develop lifelong leadership skills
- Learn a new language and culture
- Build lasting friendships with young people from around the world
- Become a global citizen
Each year, the Rotary Club of Gig Harbor sends qualifying students abroad and receives a student from another nation. We have sent students to Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East and received students from the four corners of our planet.
DANCING IN CLASSROOMS
Dancing in Classrooms is a Pacific Ballroom Dance program sponsored by Gig Harbor Rotary for 5th-grade students in many of our PSD Elementary Schools. Students develop essential life skills through the art of social dance. Ballroom dance lessons turn into a fun, dynamic group activity that inspires personal and peer-to-peer growth. Over the ten weeks, children learn and perform six ballroom dances while developing self-confidence, social skills, and respect for one another. Students need not only strong academic skills but also skills in social and emotional intelligence to be successful in life.
NAVY JROTC
Our Gig Harbor Rotary Youth Service team provides funding for the Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps—Peninsula Schools (NJROTC).
Through our Youth Service team, the Rotary Club of Gig Harbor has funded the creation of their website, video equipment, storage furniture for uniforms and uniform shoes, a display case for the many awards the Cadets have been winning, and offsite storage for Cadet equipment and supplies, and informal NJROTC logo polo shirts.
The program has become an enormous success. The NJROTC—Peninsula Schools Cadet Unit, now under the leadership of Master Chief Rob Stockton, has grown significantly to over 130 members. Their unit has competed in regional NJROTC competitions taking home first place honors and numerous trophies including first-place honors at the Bremerton Armed Forces Day Parade.
Not intended as simply a recruiting tool for the college ROTC program or for armed services enlistment, the NJROCT program is a leadership training and development program aimed at helping high school students, especially those who may be struggling to find purpose and meaning, to develop important life skills that will enable them to be successful, no matter what schooling or career path they choose after high school graduation. Impressively, multiple program graduates have been accepted into our nation’s service academies, have enlisted, or received college scholarships because of their participation in the program.
