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About Interact
 What is Interact?
Interact is a Rotary-sponsored service club for young people. Made up
of members ages 14-18 or secondary-school age, Interact gives young
people an opportunity to participate in fun, meaningful service
projects. Along the way, Interactors develop their leadership skills
and initiative while meeting new friends.
Through their service activities, Interactors learn the importance
of
- Developing leadership skills and personal integrity
- Demonstrating helpfulness and respect for others
- Understanding the value of individual responsibility and
hard work
- Advancing international understanding and goodwill
Interactors have access to the many resources of Rotary
International and The Rotary Foundation of RI. Rotary International
provides the administrative support that helps Interact clubs thrive.
When RI President Harold T. Thomas traveled the world during his
year in office in 1959-60, he discovered a deep and widespread feeling
among Rotarians that Rotary's potential for developing youth service
had not been fully realized. In 1960, Thomas appointed a committee of
five Rotarians to explore the issue, and two years later, 23 students
at Melbourne High School in Melbourne, Florida, USA, came together to
form the first Interact club.
The word Interact stands for "international action," and today
nearly 200,000 young people in more than 110 countries belong to some
8,700 clubs, making Interact a truly international phenomenon. All
over the world, young people are spreading fellowship and
international understanding through a wide array of Interact service
activities.
How does Interact fit into the Rotary family?Rotary International is a worldwide service organization for leading
business and professional men and women, with more than 1.3 million
members in over 33,000 Rotary clubs. Interact clubs are
self-supporting and self-governing but receive guidance from a
sponsoring Rotary club. This sponsorship is a result of Rotary's
belief that young people, or New Generations, should take an active
interest in community life and have the opportunity to develop
leadership skills. Interact provides a vehicle through which New
Generations can find that involvement.
Organizing an Interact club is one of the most rewarding activities
a Rotary club can undertake
in its community. The Interact program gives Rotarians the opportunity
to mentor promising young men and women interested in serving their
own communities as well as the global community. Rotarians also act as
resources for Interactors who are on the path toward becoming
professionals and community leaders. In turn, an Interact club can
bring new energy to a Rotary club, inspire fresh ideas for service,
increase support of projects, and help develop future Rotarians.
What does an Interact club do?The goal of international service through Interact is to encourage and
foster the advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and
peace through a world fellowship of youth united in the ideal of
service. Interact clubs organize a variety of projects and activities,
depending primarily on the interests of the club members. However,
within the Interact program, all clubs undertake activities to enhance
leadership skills, serve their community, and expand international
understanding. Together, these activities ensure a balanced club
program and provide important experience and opportunities for the
personal development of each Interactor.
All clubs undertake activities to enhance leadership skills, serve
their community, and expand international understanding.
Service Above Self is Rotary's foremost guiding principle. An
Interact club's service projects are designed to improve the quality
of life at home and abroad. These projects often address today's most
critical issues, such as violence, drug abuse, AIDS, hunger, the
environment, and illiteracy. Each Interact club is required to
complete at least two major service projects annually, one to serve
the community and another to promote international understanding. Each
should involve all or most of the members of the club.
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