Mandate and Governance

 

The Youth Service committee shall have authority to exercise its role and duties within the limits set out by the by-laws of the Rotary Club of Bowmanville and these terms of reference.  The general mandate of the Youth Service committee shall be to provide programs and resources related to the educational and leadership development of youth and young adults.  Youth Service became Rotary’s fifth Avenue of Service in 2010.

 

The Rotary Club of Bowmanville supports two Student Bursary programs (Clarington high schools and Matawa First Nations).  It shall be within the mandate of the Youth Service committee to maintain these programs until such time that the membership formally requests a change.

 

Decisions on funding requests before the committee and within its mandate shall be made through discussion and consensus of the committee members. For amounts greater than $500, consensus of a quorum is required.  Should a vote on a request be required, the committee chair shall conduct the vote and shall normally only vote to break a tie.  A record of committee decisions shall be maintained.  For amounts equal to or less than $500, a funding decision may be made by the Director and one other committee member.

 

Role and Duties

 

The Youth Service committee is responsible for:

  • developing committee goals to achieve youth service project goals for the coming year.
  • providing leadership opportunities for youth such as Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), Rotaract, and Interact.
  • planning and implementing the annual Student Bursary program for Clarington high schools.
  • liaising with elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools to evaluate where Rotary may assist with programs or resources.
  • liaising with the Matawa First Nations to plan and implement the Student Bursary program.
  • reviewing and evaluating on-going youth and young adult funding initiatives and determining if they should continue and, if so, determining the amount of funding to be allotted.
  • evaluating requests for funding of youth and young adult related programs or events and making decisions related to the acceptance or rejection of those requests.
  • determining the amount of funding to be allotted to requests that have been approved.
  • tracking requests for funding and maintaining a record of decisions made and amounts of funding allotted.
  • coordinating with the International Service committee to plan and implement a Rotary Youth Exchange should the Club express support for participating.
  • working toward achieving the goals set out in the Rotary International Presidential Citation.

The Youth Service committee may strike sub-committees as required; for example, a sub-committee to plan and implement the Clarington Student Bursary program or the Matawa First Nations Bursary program.  Sub-committees shall be provided with a specific mandate and shall report to the committee as a whole.