PHILIPSBURG – This month is Rotary’s economic and community development month. The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunrise held a dialogue session with its members on what they think should be done to boost the club’s contribution towards the island. Some great ideas came out.
Some suggestions emanating from the conversations made members realize that the best ways to give back to the community is through the children and young adults. An innovative idea was to start a version of Shark Tank on the island. This means having competitions, and letting those who have new innovative and creative ideas and good at creating things that are not in the market to be helped and guided to make their dreams a reality.
This will be done and coordinated with the help of other businesses and members of the Rotary Club with experience in those fields. “After all many Rotarians in the community bring a wealth of knowledge and experiences. Why don’t we apply these skills and knowledge for the benefits of the young people and start up entrepreneurs?” the members questioned.
Another way to help the community is to ensure that the physical, sports and cultural aspects are also taken into consideration. There are many young adults who are very talented and want to get into professional sports, cultural arts and entertainment performances. Often times, they have no guidance.
“Sometimes it can be as easy as directing the right people to notice their capability. We as a club can assess what is needed to be done and be the mediators. The schools can help by promoting sports and cultural activities as much as possible. Getting kids active helps them to focus and keeps them healthy,” Rotary said in a statement.
The club already has a program called Readers are Leaders, which promotes child literacy and makes it exciting for children to enjoy reading with their families.
“We have so many prominent local role models who can inspire the next generation. The community needs to find ways to have these amazing people meet and push the younger generation to do it best and make them realize that nothing is impossible if they put their minds to it. We are a small island and we need to do whatever is possible to grow. Rotary is all about serving humanity and as a club Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunrise will do whatever is necessary within its limited resources for the benefit of the island and make it a better place for the whole community,” the release concluded.
