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District Goals Established for 2021-2022

RYLA Goes VYRAL!! (UPDATE)

UPDATE!!!! The story below appeared on our website back in March, 2021. Since then, the August 6 session has been canceled and will be combined with the November 6 session. Please continue to help get the word out about this fun leadership webinar for our regional high school students. We plan to bring RYLA back LIVE in May of 2022!

When you think of some traditions of spring, I'm sure our annual RYLA event comes straight to mind. Each May, District 6420 normally hosts a Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) weekend camp at Camp Lorado Taft in Oregon, IL, where over 100 regional high school student leaders band together to learn a little bit about themselves, leadership and have some fun. While COVID-19 resulted in a RYLA's cancellation in 2020, District 6420 is approaching this important event from a different angle in 2021. This year we'll be hosting a virtual leadership series titled "VYRAL".

VYRAL will include three separate virtual events highlight keynote speakers and leadership-oriented activities for our high school leaders. Students can attend one, two or all three events, which will occur on May 7, August 6 and November 6, 2021. Registration is still handled through local Rotary clubs, so we'll be relying on club presidents and members to help get the word out about VYRAL and get students signed up for the event. Our committee chair, Dave Diamond, provided a letter to club presidents about the event and their role (see it under "File Downloads" on the left hand side navigation bar.) Let's make this year's "special edition" of RYLA a success!

World Series of Giving - Spring Training is Here!

In case you haven't heard, spring training just began! The District 6420 'World Series of Giving' campaign for Rotary year 2021-2022 is under way. Clubs will be competing against each other in terms of per capita giving to see which clubs advance to the post season next June. The top club in each of the five divisions will advance. The months of July and August are 'spring training' - a time to get your Foundation leadership team together, create goals and come up with a team strategy. Then in September, the regular season is under way! Monthly standings will be posted here on the website and on the District's Facebook site. Is your team ready! If not, it's time to dust of the cleats, take a few practice swings and get in there!

Playground Renovation in Belvidere

On October 14^th, 2020 the Belvidere Rotary Club and the Belvidere Park District held a dedication of the newly renovated playground at Bloom Playground in Belvidere Park. The new playground has a new soft rubber base especially beneficial to the participants of the Districts Northlands Association for Special Recreation (NASR).

The NASR program is a cooperative partnership between the Belvidere, Freeport, and Rockford Park Districts. Through the Belvidere Special Recreation Department of the Belvidere Park District, services are provided for high quality recreation programs and services to individuals, ages 3 through adulthood, with various mental and physical disabilities who reside within Belvidere and Boone County, Illinois. Included in the Bloom Playground is a Rotary International marble plaque in the ground by a tree and a bench by the zip line, also donated by the Belvidere Club.

The Belvidere Club contributed $19,530 toward the purchase of the new playground equipment, which included $2,300 from their District Grant.