GRSP Class of 2019-20 says Hello Georgia!

District 6900's GRSP students and trustees

GRSP CONCLAVE

Each year, all the GRSP students in the state are hosted by one of the districts, so that they can bond and learn about what is expected of them during the year. This year District 6920 and the two clubs in Statesboro hosted the Conclave at Georgia Southern University in the Nessmith-Lane Conference Center, which was fabulous. We even had lunch at the student cafeteria. Many things have changed since we were in college. All students in the program are required to attend, as this is the first weekend that they will hear about the other student weekends, a little about Rotary and how to obey the laws of Georgia and the United States.

This year our District is hosting 17 students and 28 of our clubs will be getting the benefit of their year in the US. The students were excited to be here and particularly to meet their fellow scholarship recipients from the 15 countries that we are hosting (including our first ever student from Ethiopia). We are sending these students to 21 schools here in Georgia. Once again, two-thirds of our students are female.

Each year we have host family training, but this year we had training at our summer meeting and at Conclave. We are hopeful that we will have a link shortly to a video that was prepared at Conclave. We do have a new timeline for host families, which each trustee should be sending to their host families. If you haven’t received yours and you are hosting, please speak with your trustee.

Again, the Cabaret was wonderful. We saw skits, a little bit of singing and a lot of dancing. The thing that impressed us most was the fact that the students representing several countries are performing together, which is exactly what the program is all about. The students are now figuring that out before the year even begins. The students are encouraged to wear their traditional dress to the Cabaret, so we saw wonderful dress from several countries. If your student brought their traditional dress, encourage them to wear it for their presentation.

All of us were disappointed to be leaving our new found friends, whether they be GRSP students or other Rotarians. If you are interested in joining us next year, consider this your personal invitation to come. Registration for the weekend usually beings in the Spring, so be sure to look for your personal invitation on the GRSP website at www.grsp.org.

GRSP LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE

We are excited to announce the launch of the new GRSP website. The new site is vibrant, relevant, and engaging. It’s full of lots of powerful pictures that tell a great story. The site offers rich information and resources for prospective students, clubs, host families, alumni and Rotarians around the world. We encourage all Rotarians to visit this new site at www.grsp.org. GRSP is a powerful program unique to Georgia that has been bringing nations together since 1946. If you or your Club would like to become more involved in this dynamic program, send a message via the new contact form on the website. GRSP allows all to have a direct impact on peace, goodwill and understanding for our next generation. That’s Rotary at it’s best!

STRATEGIC PLANNING AN ONGOING COMMITMENT

The GRSP Strategic Planning Committee is now a standing committee of GRSP, which means that we will always be looking for new and better ways to run the program. As you already know, we need more diversity in the program and we now have a Marketing and Diversity Committee, which is also a standing committee.

ENDOWMENT

The GRSP Office is busy calculating the checks that will be sent out to those clubs that donated at least $50 per capita last Rotary year. Your trustee should be delivering those by the middle of October. The check will be written out to the Club and the Club may use this money to help subsidize the student or even for another service project. This is the Georgia Rotary Student Program’s effort to give back all of the income from the GRSP Endowment each year. While your trustee is visiting your club, ask about matching funds that may get you to your next level of giving!