Recently, I found myself in a discussion with a stranger at the grocery store. We had both noticed that we were standing and staring at a grocery item and its price label. It seemed we were both mentally calculating the unit cost of the item, so as to find the best buy. He explained to me that he started doing it for his newlywed wife decades ago, when they had little money, and it is a habit he cannot stop. I explained that I did the same for my wife back then, but it really started with my father. He would explain his economic philosophy to me, while poking me on the sternum, “Richard, you can only spend a dollar once!” He would often “footnote” his philosophy with Benjamin Franklin’s, “Take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.” I find it interesting how this has stayed with me, along with many of the old saws that were meant to raise wise children. “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.” Alexander Pope
Rotary International has chosen YOUTH SERVICES as its theme for May. Most often, this brings to mind Youth Exchange, RYLA, the 4-Way Test Speech Contest, Interact and Rotaract. And rightly so. These are great opportunities to expose our young people to Rotary and the ideals of Rotary. But sadly, each carries a “structural” burden. Youth Exchange has a financial responsibility to the incoming and outgoing host families as well as the time commitment to the student. Not all international education credits are accepted and transfer; sometimes the student is “held back”. RYLA requires a cooperation between Club and school district to choose the students and the Club usually covers the cost for the student to attend. Rotaract and Interact Clubs often find difficulties in maintaining academic advisors and the “aging” of the students requires a continual influx of new faces. These and other “difficulty” factors are part of the explanations for this year’s one outbound Youth Exchange student, less than half the District Clubs participating in RYLA, about a quarter of the Clubs with 4-WAY Test Speech winners, and a meager handful of Interact/ Rotaract Clubs in the District!
However, reaching children is such an important task, we cannot be limited to only these tried and true avenues. While visiting the Clubs in this District, I asked that they plan a project “…about and for children.” Each Club is easily able to find ways to show young people that the ideals of Rotary are there to benefit all, the young as well as the old. Clubs in our District have provided dictionaries for children, library books for school libraries, as well as many projects for special needs children. On the fun side, Clubs have sponsored breakfast with Santa and a few months later, the Easter Bunny, as well as Christmas gifts and Easter egg hunts for kids! Rotarians can be proud of their efforts for children and the impact these events have on young people should never be undersold. Rotarians are People of Action; they can bend twigs!
I hope that many of you were able to follow my experiences in Guatemala with THE HEARING MISSION a few weeks ago. It was an experience I will never forget; an emotional roller coaster that created lasting memories. I can honestly tell those who donated, Clubs and individuals, that your kindness and generosity changed lives; YOU BENT TWIGS! Children, and adult lives were changed. But without seeing the people, without seeing their daily lives, without the recognition of what their future was and what their future now is, you cannot truly recognize the scope of your actions. Having seen the people and the area, I can; and I thank you all for your SERVICE ABOVE SELF.