Rotary Club of Santa Ana focuses heavily on youth support and development.
This takes the form of:
- our Interact Club (pictured above);
- college scholarships for the Academies at Century High School and students at Santa Ana College;
- working to support in-home book distribution (which has a strong correlation with childhood literacy);
- educational field trips to SeaBase;
- RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Academy) scholarships;
- school supplies;
- Santa and goody bags for elementary school students; (when Covid precluded school assemblies we instead provided a book for each student in two elementary schools; books specified by teachers, by grade. We know that books in the home bear a strong correlation to early childhood literacy; we are big supporters of scholastic success, and we enjoy sharing our love of reading and books).
- sponsorship for participants in Little League and other sporting programs;
- a dental clinic;
- financial support for Think Together, KidWorks, Jump Start, Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Ana, Boy Scouts Orange County Council;
- and more.
At Thanksgiving we help distribute food baskets to at-risk youth and their families. At Christmas we provide “wish list” items for children at Olive Crest.
It should be noted that, at the other end of the age spectrum, we also support Council on Aging – OC and especially their Smile Makers program which operates just like the Olive Crest “wish” program – just the “wishes” are different (less Hot Wheels and Legos, more sweaters and blankets).
When you contribute to our club’s Foundation, these are the kind of programs you are helping. Thank you for your contributions! We welcome you joining us in hands-on service, as well.
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We support the Interact Club at Century High School in Santa Ana, California
