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RYLA catapults Taylah onto huge learning curve

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Attending a Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) program earlier this year has catapulted former Cire Community School student Taylah Minca onto a huge and positive learning curve.

Whilst still a student at the school,  sponsored Tayla to attend the challenging week-long camp which provides a unique opportunity for leadership skills development while having fun and connecting with others.
Since attending RYLA, 18-year-old Tayla has commenced a beauty therapy course at Victoria University. She has captured her Rotary experience in the following article.

Earlier this year I was lucky enough to win a scholarship provided by Wandin Rotary to go to RYLA.

While I was waiting for the bus to go to RYLA, I made friends with a girl who was also going to the camp. When we arrived at RYLA it was super intimidating. We walked through a human tunnel of arms created by the leaders and they were all super energetic. I really didn’t know what to expect at this stage.

At the start, there was lots of team building activities which seemed really silly at first. I won a paper scissors-rock-competition, which was one of the best parts of the experience and made me feel really welcome. While these games seemed silly at the start, by the end of the camp, they felt normal as there was no judgement from anyone. We felt so free, and you could express yourself without embarrassment.

I found the first day a bit hard and felt homesick. The leaders were very supportive and encouraged me to keep going. Alan (the camp leader) was particularly supportive and made a massive impact with his service style of leadership. I’ve never felt so much support before.

By the second day, I realised that I needed to take on board as much as I could from the experience. It was great to be off my phone, and always be present with the people around me.

Over the week, my team all became super close and learnt so much about each other and ourselves. I hadn’t realised I was an introvert; I am a lot more self-aware now.

At one point, I had to introduce someone to the whole group after only meeting him for five minutes. It was nerve-wracking, but I did ok. He had a lot of cool, interesting things to say and really engaged the audience.

On our final night, we had a lot of fun, and I felt like I was part of something bigger than myself. I learned a lot about mindfulness, gratitude and kindness, which has already had a big impact on how I live my life. I hope to take the lessons that I learned on this camp into the next part of my life. I cried, I laughed, and I learned so much about myself.

I would like to give a huge thanks to Wandin Rotary and Cire Community School for giving me the opportunity to have this experience.

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards

Rotary throws weight behind Learn Locals

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Cire Services recently participated in a workshop organised by Rotary District 9810 to explore ways of working together to best meet the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged adult learners in our region.

Cire was among several Learn Local providers (LL) who were invited to attend the session to brainstorm ideas, share experiences including their challenges and how these could be addressed in partnership with Rotary.

In facilitating the session, John Maddock from Box Hill Central Rotary explained that basic education and literacy (BEL) is an area of focus for Rotary.

‘There is a massive need locally to make basic education and literacy accessible particularly to vulnerable and disadvantaged adult learners,’ said John who chairs District 9801’s Basic Education and Literacy Expert Group.

District 9801 extends from Hampton to the Upper Yarra with many of its member clubs working with primary and secondary schools and in the tertiary sector. There is a strong desire to also contribute to the Learn Local sector which delivers pre-accredited and accredited training across a variety of learning topics.

This has been further driven by a 2018 report entitled ‘Future Opportunities for Adult Learners in Victoria – Pathways to Participation and Jobs. The report highlighted the importance of adult education community providers engaging community organisations such as Rotary to help respond to the increasing number of people seeking education pathways but experience non-vocational barriers such as mental health issues and socio-economic disadvantage.

In sharing a snapshot of Cire Training, Business Development Manager, Nina Bekker, said 32,000 hours of training was delivered in 2018 and $300,000 in government funding received.

Nina said the majority of Cire’s LL students were women, looking to return to work. She noted there were an estimated 16,000 small to medium sized business in the Yarra Ranges Shire with most operated by women.

‘One of our greatest areas of need at present is to help improve the literacy of men aged 45 and older who had been retrenched or are unemployed,’ Nina explained.

In addressing the group, John Maddock noted that Rotary had a wealth of expertise within its ranks as well as funding opportunities to help assist LLOs.

Participating LLOs are now considering how best they can work with Rotary to achieve their goals and address identified needs, with plans for the group to reconvene later in the year.

In addition to Cire Training, other organisations represented included Orana at Knox, Kerrie Neighbourhood House, Glen Waverley, Task Force Moorabbin, Cheltenham Community Centre, and Springvale Learning and Activity Centre.

The size and reach of each of the LLOs varied considerably and so too did their challenges and the local needs.

Rotary is the oldest service club in the world, bringing together a global network of volunteer leaders who dedicate their time and talent to tackle the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members from more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work impacts lives at both local and international levels.

In District 9801, clubs commit more than $1.5 million every year to local projects.  The combined contribution is valued at an estimated at $10 million when the number of volunteer hours is included.

Cire is one of the first organisational members of Wandin Rotary.

Pictured: John Maddock, Box Hill Central and chair of District 9801’s Basic Education and Literacy Expert Group; Cire’s Nina Bekker;  District Governor-elect Shia Smart, Mont Albert and Surrey Hills and Sue O’Brien, Senior Project Officer, Regional Engagement – North Eastern Victoria Department of Education and Training/Rotarian.

 

 

 

Cire joins Rotary

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Cire Services Inc. has added further depth to its community partnerships by becoming one of the first organisational members of Wandin Rotary Club.

Cire has welcomed the initiative because it helps build on our existing relationship with Rotary and work even more closely with a service organisation very much driven by similar values and goals.

‘We are honoured to have been invited to join Rotary which is such an enormously respected organisation worldwide,’ Cire CEO, Gus Seremetis.

‘We already enjoy a great relationship, having partnered in various projects and we greatly look forward to more collaborations in the future to help improve the lives and opportunities for others in our region and beyond.’

In welcoming Cire, Wandin RC President, Heinz Budweg, said he looked forward to partnering more with Cire in the future to deliver many positive outcomes for people of all ages. He also commended Coldstream Primary School which joins Cire as the first organisational members with Wandin RC.

Wandin RC’s has provided invaluable support to Cire across its diverse services with initiatives including scholarships for students at the Community School, defibrillators for Cire Community House and our Mt Evelyn campus, and books for Yarra Junction Child Care Centre. Through Rotary connections, the Days for Girls program has been introduced at Cire Community School to help make education more accessible for girls in Third World Countries, and students have assisted with landscaping projects at Yering and Coldstream primary schools. Plans are also underway for Rotary to provide mock employment interviews for our students.

In jumping aboard Rotary, Cire has launched a postal stamp collection drive to support ROMAC – Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children. Please see the end of this article for details.

Rotary International has 1.2 million members and more than 35,000 clubs across the globe who contribute 16 million volunteer hours each year.
The organisation is driven by a philosophy that: ‘Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves… Each day, our members pour their passion, integrity, and intelligence into completing projects that have a lasting impact. We persevere until we deliver real, lasting solutions.’

For more than 110 years, Rotary has bridged cultures and connected continents to champion peace, fight illiteracy and poverty, promote clean water and sanitation, and fight disease.

Eliminating polio has been one of its greatest campaigns with 2.5 billion children immunised against the debilitating illness, particularly in Third World countries.

Another of its projects is ROMAC which funds life-saving and dignity-restoring surgery for young children from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Timor Leste, Vanuatu and Vietnam.

Everyone can help ROMAC by collecting used stamps. All you need to do is cut the stamp off the envelope (please do not peel off), leaving roughly a 2cm border. Once you have collected a few, drop them into Cire’s Yarra Junction office in an envelope marked ‘ROMAC – Sandra Bucovaz’.

A recent comedy night hosted by Wandin RC raised $13,000 for ROMAC!

If you would like further information on Rotary visit www.wandinrotary.org

Pictured: Cire’s Manager of Partnerships and Funding, Sandra Bucovaz, and Coldstream Primary School’s Chaplain, Chris Waizel, with Wandin RC president Heinz Budweg (centre).

A leader in the making

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What does it mean to have the skills to be a leader? Not everyone gets an opportunity to better themselves and prepare for what may lie ahead, but with the support and generosity of the Wandin Rotary, Hannah, a student from Cire Community School, was given this chance when she attended The Rotary Youth Seminar of 2017. This camp was designed to build leadership and communication skills in young people.

These are the words of Hannah.

I want to begin by mentioning that I consider my experience at RYLA leadership program to have been an invaluable catalyst and because of this, I feel an overwhelming amount of gratitude for my sponsorship from the Rotary Club of Wandin, and Cire Community School for giving me the opportunity.

The Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) is an experience, which feels almost impossible to describe because it is like no other. It is a residential seminar, expanding over the course of 6 days. Participants ranged from 18-30, and the program offered a diverse networking experience, which caters to the specific needs of young adults within this age group.

For me, RYLA felt like one of the most pivotal points in my life thus far. I believe that the program had a life-changing effect on every participant. It offered us access to powerful life skills delivered by an incredible leadership team who worked effectively, creating an intellectual and emotionally stimulating program.

Through this program, I took on a refreshed perspective, an improved outlook and approach toward multiple different aspects of my life and the way in which I navigate it. I consider the experience to have been a recalibration. Various other participants that I have spoken with share the same view.

With the perfect circumstances, environment, stimuli and duration for positive self-regulation, I feel that RYLA meets the true needs of young people, necessary in this day and age. RYLA enabled me to truly understand by example and experience what it is to be a leader and the absolute importance of leadership and teamwork. These two things are required and performed every day in all of our interactions and communications whether that be relationships, study, work, being a member of society, or just a good human being.

RYLA provided evidence of success and fulfilment through truly inspiring guest speakers, which opened an environment where I felt inspired by peers, idea sharing, activities, tests of the comfort zone, reflection and results.

All of these things coupled with an incredible leadership team encouraged every participant to be true to themselves. They allowed us to enjoy a truly authentic and rewarding experience. RYLA is host to an honest, motivating and passionate atmosphere that was contagious. It was an inexplicably inspiring experience to observe myself and those around me growing and learning in such a profound way.

RYLA gave me the chance to learn about myself, and to learn about others, to assess my strengths and weaknesses, and to assess the strengths and weaknesses of others. It also gave me an understanding of how we can use this knowledge and power in diversity for compatible success in all of our teams and communities.

I feel grounded in myself and in my community; I know this sense will continue to grow as I further engage. By searching deeper into my passions, strengths, weaknesses and my awareness, I feel more confident in where I am best able to contribute, engage and strive in the great wide world. I have an improved method for goal setting and more areas to set goals, which will lead to more and more goals.

Personally, one of the most valued effects that my experience instilled, was an improved sense of self-regulation; which serves as an umbrella term for the majority of all I learned at RYLA.

During our introduction to the seminar, Program Director, Alan, said that we may find an aspect of the seminar ‘indescribable’. I remember a few days before the seminar finished,  realising that I considered that ‘indescribable’ aspect to be the profound sense of connectedness, like-mindedness among diversity, lust for knowledge and growth. The power of collective passion, enthusiasm, motivation, optimism and deep community among strangers felt like an almost tangible force.

Since returning from RYLA, I feel that my quality of life has improved. The response to the program from my fellow 2017 Rylarians has been that of the same opinion. I believe that this is thanks to, what I consider, the psychological artillery that comes with the RYLA package.

Lastly, I consider RYLA to be a catalyst for every participant. Thank you, Rotary Club of Wandin. Words couldn’t really suffice for depicting my gratitude, so I will demonstrate my thanks in the way in which I conduct my life, living positively within my community, living out the lessons that I have learned as a Rylarian.

If you would like to find out more information about Cire Community School or would like a tour contact 1300 835 235

 

Letter of appreciation for making a difference

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If you have been following our blog you will already know about the hard work our VCAL students did to ensure the Milking Cow and Goat Project (run by the Rotary Club of Healesville) was a success. By raising over $1000 they were able to pay for 5 acres of maize seed to be planted and grown, ensuring that the Kenyan children have a regular supply of food. If you missed the previous articles be sure to click the link below to bring yourself up to date with all the good work the kids have been doing.

This week our CEO, Gus Seremetis received a thank you letter from Wilma Best (Project Manager – Rotary Club of Healesville) and we thought it would be nice to share with the community their appreciation.

I am writing to thank the Foundation VCAL students for their outstanding achievement, having raised $1018.00 to support orphans and needy village children at a primary school in Kariakomo Parish, Chogoria, Meru, Kenya. The orphans and poor village children have little or nothing and this Rotary humanitarian project is striving to feed and nurture the children using sustainable farming methods.

I came and presented slides and provided information to the students, in the presence of their teachers and I really felt the empathy for these Kenyan children from these VCAL students. My visit was as a result of meeting Tony at a meeting of my club in Healesville. Now the funds raised by the students are already helping the children.

There is a 30 acre plot watered from a river and as Manager I am attempting to raise enough funds to plant the remaining 15 acres in seed and bananas to reduce hunger and help the children achieve at school. The VCAL funds were enough to buy Maize seed to plant five (5) acres. Maize is a staple food and when available it is eaten all year round.

I sincerely hope you will pass on this message of thanks to the student group as I really admire what they achieved with the encouragement of their teachers.

Yours sincerely
Wilma Best

Other articles of interest
YVCS Students making a difference – posted 17-09-2015
YVCS Students making a difference – posted 08/07/2015

To find out more about UYCH youth education services click here or call 1300 835 235