District 5495
Arizona Rotary Youth Leadership Awards
The title, RYLA, is an acronym for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. It is a high school leadership training camp/experience. The Award is two-fold. First, it is a scholarship in the amount of $450 to cover your cost to attend. Students who attend RYLA are known as Delegates. A person can only be a delegate one time. However, there are other leadership opportunities that a person may apply for at RYLA after you have been a delegate.
This scholarship is granted through the the generosity of our Rotary District 5495 Rotary Clubs. (The district covers the entire Valley/Phoenix area as well as Northern Arizona). A local Rotary club will provide interviews and recommend students to attend RYLA. You are asked to attend one of their meetings after RYLA and give a short presentation on your experience and thank them for supporting RYLA. Second, the award is the experience, skills, knowledte and friendships that the students who attend RYLA gain.
RYLA is for high school students, who reside in Arizona. Students who benefit most from RYLA are the delgates who have demonstrated a desire to develop their leadership and personal skills further.
They may be members of their high school Interact Club (encouraged, but not required) or other clubs or sports teams. They may be encouraged by a faculty member or club advisor, or coach to apply. They will be delgates who possess a high degree of positive leadership potential. They are young adults who are motivated to experience new challenges and take responsibility to create positive actions.
Delgates to RYLA are recommended by their Interact Club, school, or other organizations and chosedn by the local sponsoring Rotary Club. RYLA delegates must be in good health and have proper insurance coverage. Delegates must be willing to participate in family nmeetings when available prior to RYLA and they must agree to attend the ENTIRE Fri-Mon program.
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) seeks to develop future community and Rotary leaders through personal empowerment, and self confidence, by expanding their skills in communcation, active listeing/empathy, teamwork/collaboration, ethical decision making, understanding different personality types, as well as cross cultural awareness. Teams are built around our Rotary Youth Exchange Students, and some activities involve learning about other countries. Participants also develop new, lifelong friendships
Many delegates will say this is a life-changing experience for them. It is not unusual for parents to notice a bit, positive change in their youngster when they return home!!
Teams are EACH team of 10-12 delegates led by a Junior Counselor (J.C.) who attended RYLA as a delegate, generally in the previous year. Being a J.C. is the next step in a person's leadership development. Each J.C. and the team are also supported by 1-2 adult mentors, who are genterally Rotarians. The J.C. team, comprised of 10-12 J.C.s are led by two J.C. Coordinators (The Luke Lewis Award J.C.s from the two previous years) and are supported by the Chairperson.
You will be expected to please:
Nothing for you! However, local Rotary Clubs sponsor a scholarship for each delegate for $450. The cost for the full weekend's program, including transportation as appropriate, housing and catering, is sponsored by the local Rotary Clubs through this scholarship. There is no need to bring money with you for the weekend, unless you are coming by bus then just a few dollars for snacks are recommended. There is nowhere to spend money at camp.
Complete directions are included on the Delegates page. If you are going to apply, please consider making this an important priority commitment for you to attend. Check with family, sports and school to be sure you are available. You won't regret attending and expanding your knowledge and skills as a potential leader.
Applicants to RYLA must be accepted by your local Rotary club. Once you apply, they will receive your applications and then contact you regarding an interview and a Q&A session with parents if it can be arranged just prior to camp.
Use this link to locate the Rotary club nearest you. You can reach out to them or wait for them to contact you once we have given them your application for review.
http://portal.clubrunner.ca/50016/ClubDirectory to find your nearest Rotary Club -via the Rotary District 5495 website. You might reach out to them to let them know you are applying to attend RYLA.
RYLA is held over the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Holiday weekend in January. The camp is located at the Pinerock Camp and Retreat Center in Prescott, AZ. The camp begins on that Friday and goes to Monday about Noon.
If you live in the Valley or in Northern Arizona, we will arrange for buses to transport you to camp. There are two routes in the Valley (E and W) and one from Northern AZ. Delgates living close by are asked to make their own transportation arrangements. Delegates are not allowed to bring their own transporation unless granted special permission by the Chairman or Registrar, and will be asked to leave their car keys locked up with the Registrar until camp ends. Prior to camp, delegates and parents will receive an email and text with the information about transportaion and how to sign up for the nearest route. Please do not be late to your pcik-up point. It is recommended that you be at your designated pick-up point 20 minutes befrore the pick-up time as bus progess can vary.
Our RYLA event is held at Camp Pinerock in Prescott Arizona. A link to the website www.camppinerock.org will allow you to checkout their dorm arrangements.
The rooms are in various buildings with shared bath facilities and sleeping rooms. There are room councilors in each area checking on delegates at night and a roving security team. Room doors can be locked at night for fxecurity. They are are to be unlocked during the day. Delgates are expected to remain in their rooms after lights our except for bathroom needs.
Girls and boys are housed in separate facilities.
There are generally three - four bunk beds per room (some are larger) with a communal toilet, shower and washroom for each floor or in some cases, facilites shared between rooms.
You will need a water bottle, sleeping bag and warm clothes. See section below regarding what to bring.
RYLA is an indoor and outdoor classroom and activity weekend, and consequently designer clothes and jewelry should be left at home. Plan on being able to use layers and adjust as needed. Note: you will be provided a special, warm, RYLA sweatshirt to wear thru the weekend and to keep as a moment.
You will need to prepare for both indoor and outdoor activities (including possible snow or rain conditions), and the suggested RYLA guidelines will be helpful when deciding what to pack for the weekend. These guidelines will be sent to you once you have applied and been accepted.
The Food Service at Camp Pinerock does supplement its regular menu with some addtional items at each meal. See details listed below. However, they are not able to provide full accomodation for special dietary needs.
People attending RYLA that have special dietary needs are encouraged to bring their own food to supplement the regular menu. Please be sure these items are labeled with delegate's name. During mealtimes only, refrigerators for storage are accessible to you in the food hall. Also available for your use are microwave ovens and conveyor toasters.
As we approach the date for the camp, one of our committee members will contact you to verify your need and to share with you the regular menu for the camp and explain options available. Those who are bringing supplemental items will be asked to contact the Liaison upon arrival to be given an orientaion to the refrigerators and prep equipment in available areas.
In addition to regular menu entrees, the following will be available at each respective meal:
A beverage bar is available at all mealtimes which includes coffee and a selection ot teas, cocoa mix, and cold beverages including water.
Breakfast: All breakfasts at camp are served with a selection of fruit, cereal, yogurt, oatmeal, fruit juice and milk.
Lunch: All lunches at camp are served with a variety of fresh fruits as well as celery, carrots with quinoa, humus, and a slaw mix with vinaigrette dressing.
Dinner: All dinners at camp are served with a full salad bar with lettuce and a vaiety of vegetables and other toppings including grated cheese, hard boild egg and chick peas along with a selection of salad dressings.
Please reach out to our Charman or Registrar. Out contact information is listed under 'contact us'
