Students from Collège d’Alma wanting to get involved as volunteers in the community and even internationally have put words into action by becoming members of the new Rotaract club, founded at the CEGEP last September.
The new non-profit organization is sponsored and advised by the Rotary Club of Alma.
Its members were recruited by Édouard Rochefort, a natural sciences student who had been commissioned by the Rotary club to bring together interested college students. This was able to be done very quickly, explains the man who is now president of the Rotaract club at Collège d’Alma.
“My cousin knew that I was already very involved in the college,” he says, “and that I had friends who were also involved in committees or sociocultural activities. But I was surprised. You had to have a minimum of 15 members to found the club and there are 18 today. Guys and girls from six different programs, with lots of energy and motivation. Ideas flow at each of our meetings. »
Club members meet every Wednesday morning. By exchanging ideas and organizing activities or fundraisers, they have the opportunity to develop their professional skills and leadership.
A first project in Madagascar
The first project that is close to their hearts and which they chose to undertake aims to help other young people from Antehiroka in Madagascar, a very poor country located on an island off the coast of Africa. The club wants to help guarantee a healthy school environment for disadvantaged children in this village.
“We want to do more than just build toilets,” emphasizes Édouard Rochefort. We want to fight against absenteeism linked to menstruation among young women. They are stigmatized and there are a lot of dropouts because of that. There are not enough adequate health services and young people do not feel good at school. We want to offer them the minimum. »
To achieve this, club members contacted several local businesses who agreed to make monetary donations to finance this cause. In December, the money raised will be used to draw prizes with a total value of more than $2,000.
“We are selling tickets and will draw 17 prizes, one per day, worth $100 or more. This is our first fundraising activity. With the other Rotaract clubs, we set a common goal of raising $25,000 US. This amount will be used entirely to improve the school environment for students in Madagascar. »
To purchase tickets and encourage them, interested parties can contact the club through its social media (Facebook and Instagram) or through its email address, [email protected].
In addition to this mission on the international scene, the club also plans to get involved in supporting community organizations at the local level.
Édouard Rochefort affirms that he has already been contacted to financially support the Renfort Recovery Center. The latter supports people who are experiencing or have experienced a mental health problem as well as their loved ones.
