Simi Sunset Rotary - Five Avenues of Service

This is the newest Avenue of Service in Rotary. Over the many years of Rotary's existence, youth have been an important focus. So it is natural to have a stand-alone Avenue for New Generations service.

The Rotary Club of Simi Sunset has been involved and led many projects for youth. Our annual Reading by 9 program donates reading books to students in Kindergarten- Third grades at a different elementary school each year. We have fun delivering the books, reading a little to them and answering some crazy questions they sometimes have for us. We challenge them to read all the books during the school year.

Our club sponsors a high school service club at Santa Susana High School- called Interact. These student members are active and energetic. They participate in community projects with both fundraising and time. Internationally they help raise funds with other Simi Valley high school students by selling "Peace & Literacy" wristbands. The proceeds from the sales go to a girls' school in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. These kids are amazing in all that they do!

The annual dictionary donation project is one we do with the two other Simi Valley Rotary Clubs. Each year we deliver dictionaries to every 2nd-grade student in our public schools. This means 21 schools and nearly 1500 students annually receive dictionaries. Another fun, worthy project we do.

Other programs include: 4-Way Test Essay contest whereby students write an essay on ethics according to the Rotary 4-Way Test; Ethics seminar for high school students; bicycle giveaway at Christmas (another project jointly done with the other Simi Rotary clubs); backpacks and shoes provided to homeless/needy kids at the beginning of the schoolyear; participating in the middle school portfolio day conducting mock interviews. Each year we find other ways to help provide services and programs to the youth in our community.