Guest Speaker: Rodayna Abuelwafa and Michael Power
The Rotary Club of Toronto Virtual Meeting
Friday, July 17, 2020 starting at 12:00 noon
Topic:  RYLA The Rotary Club of Toronto Impact
Host:  Past Club President Neil Phillips
 
        Rodayna Abuelwafa                                Michael Power                          
       
 
Rodayna's Bio
 
Rodayna Abuelwafa, is a passionate young professional who is aiming to push the human race forward and create a great impact in her community.  She is a past Community Services Director with the Rotaract Club of Toronto and the past Project Manager for District 7070.  Rodayna has a political science and a humanitarian work background; she also likes traveling, painting, reading and dance Salsa.  Recently she started her own e-commerce store “Artesia Store”, feel free to check it out: https://artesiastore.com.
 
Michael's Bio
 
Michael is a commerce student at McMaster University, specializing in accounting.  Currently, he is doing a 16-month internship at Ford Motor Company as the Payroll Accounting Intern.  Michael is the past treasurer for Rotaract GTA Connect.  He has also attended a number of Rotary events including last year’s Rotary International Convention in Hamburg. 
 
Both Rodayna and Michael were delegates at RYLA in 2019.
 
What is RYLA?
 
The Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (“RYLA”) is a program for young people that was officially adopted by Rotary International in 1971.  Conducted on a district level, RYLA offers Rotarians a special opportunity to take part in developing qualities of leadership and good citizenship among the young people of their communities.
District 7070, which comprises Rotary clubs from Belleville to Toronto, has conducted RYLA programs continuously for many years.  RYLA is a life-changing experience for young people aged 19 - 25. Each club may sponsor qualified individuals to attend a one-week leadership training program, all expenses paid.  
The District 7070 RYLA program, “Leadership Begins With Me”, provides an opportunity for the participants to get to know themselves better and to cultivate the respect and trust of others.  They are able to identify their own leadership skills and determine ways to make more effective use of their resources.  Their enthusiasm and technique is brought back to the community from which the participants were sponsored, and thus impacts on the young people being influenced by these youthful leaders.
 
RYLA introduces a large number of young people and their families to the Rotary ideals of service each year.  It helps bridge the communication gap between the generations and helps improve relationships among youth groups, families and the community.  RYLA also has been instrumental in the formation of Rotaract clubs and complements all other Rotary youth activities.