VOCATION / EDUCATION
The goal of the Vocation-Education Committee is to help create effective learning experiences at school and in the community through scholarships and special projects. Projects will be chosen with the priority of increasing graduation rates, ensuring employment and providing a vision of what can be achieved. The Vocation-Education Committee has provided funding and support for many remarkable organizations and activities in the local area and around the globe. Here are a few recent examples of projects we have been supported:
- The committee assisted Delta High School with a Junior Achievement program taught to 45 students. This program provided the students with hands on learning experience about living life after schooling is complete- having a job and budgeting income. The course culminated with a hands-on experience at the JA World facility in Yakima where each student was given a life scenario and was required to make decisions about budgeting and spending the income to meet the family’s needs. Mentor volunteers from our club joined them in Yakima for this great experience and provided the students with additional personal insight and examples.
- Each year, our club sponsors young adults to the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) camp, where they spend a week with about 40 other student leaders from Rotary district 5080.
- We continue to have a relationship with Park Middle School and provided funding to help their Where Everyone Belongs program and sent 16 eighth grade mentors to a leadership camp.
- We provided funds for the Crystal Apple Awards, which recognizes outstanding teachers in the ESD 123.
- Each year we award several $2,000 scholarships to graduating seniors from Tri-Tech, Southridge, Phoenix, and Jubilee. We also consider follow-up scholarships to those recipients by providing additional funding for following years.
- We will be providing two scholarships to Tri Tech students who will need to purchase tools for their apprenticeship job after graduating.
- We provided funding for three Tri Tech students to fly to Washington DC to present their app that won during the Congressional App Challenge in our congressional district.
- We assisted the local SCORE with funding to purchase a laptop computer used by their mentors as they advise people interested in starting a business.
We are thankful for the opportunity to serve the educational needs of people in our community and beyond.
