Our club's International Service Committee involves several areas of service and comprised of numerous team members. Below is an outline of programs/projects we support. If you have an interest in any of the areas, please contact the current committee chair, Blain Bibb, to learn how you can be involved.  You may contact Blain at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or at 209-607-3762.

World Community Service

Through World Community Service (WCS), Rotary clubs in two or more countries assist each other with service projects. WCS projects must be humanitarian in nature. Each year our club selects specific projects to support. Below are current programs and ones we are considering for the future.

Current projects include:

• Vegan, Philippines High School Scholarship Program
• Malawai Hospital Supplies/Equipment
• Mexicali Water Project with Rotary Escalon Club
• Wheel Chairs
• Phillipines Water Project – (review and consideration stage)
• Military Care Package Project – (review and consideration stage)

Rotary Youth Exchange

Rotary Youth Exchange offers four types of exchange programs:

• Long-term exchange. These exchanges usually last one year, during which the student lives with more than one family in the host country and is required to attend school there. 
• Short-term exchange. These exchanges vary from several days to several weeks; they often take place when school is not in session and usually do not include an academic program. Short-term exchanges generally involve a home stay experience with a family in the host country, but they can also be organized as international youth camps or tours that bring together students from many countries.
• Youth Exchange Program. This program is an unforgettable experience for students ages 15 to 19. Students have an amazing learning opportunity.  The primary purpose of the program is to promote international understanding.  You are encouraged to click here for more information about the program.
• New Generations exchange. These specialized short-term exchanges last three to six weeks and are open to young people ages 18-25. This program may include a vocational element. 1. Currently on track for participants from Switzerland. – Kuy Ky
• Group Study Exchange.  The Group Study Exchange (GSE) program of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for young business and professional men and women between the ages of 25 and 40 in the initial years of their professional life. The program provides travel grants for teams of participants to exchange 4 to 6 week visits between paired areas in different countries. Team members study the host country’s institutions and ways of life, observe their own vocations as practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas. Team members can come from corporations, small businesses, community organizations, medical and educational facilities, government offices, and nonprofit agencies.
  1. 2010 Project – New Delhi, India – Dave Tygett,  Lloyd Debock

Scholarships

• Ambassadorial  Scholarship - The Ambassadorial Scholarships program furthers The Rotary Foundation’s mission of improving health, supporting education, and alleviating poverty through three types of scholarships: Academic-Year for one academic year of study; Multi-Year for two consecutive years of study in a degree program; and Cultural for three or six months of intensive language study.

• Peace Scholarship - To help prepare this next generation of diplomats and future leaders, Rotary has teamed up with eight universities around the world to establish new centers focused on peace and conflict and will annually award scholarships to promising leaders. The Rotary World Peace scholarship supports students seeking a two-year master’s-level degree at one of the Rotary Centers for International Studies and includes tuition, fees, room, board, and other expenses. The following schools have been selected to host the studies in peace and conflict resolution are:  

  • Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA (both universities jointly host one Rotary Center)
  • International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan
  • Sciences Po (L’Institut d’Études Politiques), Paris, France
  • Universidad del Savador, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
  • University of California-Berkeley, California, USA  (Final class 2009)
  • University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

Polio Eradication

In 1985, Rotary launched the PolioPlus program to protect children worldwide from the cruel and fatal consequences of polio. In 1988, the World Health Assembly challenged the world to eradicate polio. Since that time, Rotary's efforts and those of partner agencies, including the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and governments around the world, have achieved a 99 percent reduction in the number of polio cases worldwide. Rotarians stand at the brink of a great victory and look forward to celebrating the global eradication of polio in 2005, the organization's centennial year

Project HOPE

In Kenya teaches and houses children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic. Partnered with Agape School and TEMAK (Teenage Mothers and Girls Association of Kenya), Project Hope benefits orphaned and abandoned street boys in Kisumu, Kenya. In Kenya, thousands of boys are orphaned and abandoned every year, either through the loss of their parents from AIDS or other health reasons, but mostly due to extreme poverty where families cannot support a boy child.

Mexicali Playground Project

Recycles unwanted heavy playground equipment by taking it to Mexico and installing playgrounds for children that have none. On the April 2004 trip, 36 very hardworking adults and Interact students completed three playgrounds at schools that had planted 100 trees and donated sports equipment, stuffed animals, wheelbarrows, and books to the three schools and an orphanage.  – Susan Drake