Helen Pollock'11 (president) and Shamil Hargovan'10 (co-founder) of the Rotaract Club of The Claremont Colleges will be leading workshops at a Seven-District Rotary International Interact Symposium in Idyllwild, Calif., during fall break.
The three-day symposium (Oct. 17-19) includes youth and high school students from Southern California and Nevada and is hosted by Rotary International District 5300, home to Claremont Rotary. The conference is dedicated to helping leaders and advisors of Interact high school community service organizations operate more effectively and establish a better presence on their campuses.
Pollock, Rotaract president since spring 2008, will lead a workshop on fundraising and event coordinating. The Rotaract Club of The Claremont Colleges has tripled in membership since the beginning of fall semester, and the club's activities have expanded to include foreign travel (likely to take place during winter break,) community service opportunities for students at all 5Cs, and networking opportunities with community leaders at local Rotary Clubs. Recent events include last week's successful Swim for the Amazon, which raised money for ApecaPeru, an organization supporting conservation and sustainable living in villages along the Amazon River.
Hargovan was involved with Interact for five years, in Tanzania, Australia, and San Jose. He was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship in 2006 to recognize his leadership and international service in Rotary District 5170. As the district international coordinator, Hargovan led a group of 61 Bay Area high schools in raising a record-breaking $55,000 for PumpAid, an organization located in Zimbabwe that installs water pumps in developing areas. Hargovan's symposium workshop will focus on membership retention and participation.
The Rotaract Club of The Claremont Colleges is affiliated with Rotary International, one of the oldest and most eminent community and international service organizations in the world, with Rotary Clubs in more than 200 countries and 1.2 million members. Rotaract, the college affiliate of Rotary International, has 7,000 clubs in 163 countries.
The Rotaract Club of The Claremont Colleges is open to all 5C students, and meets at 9 p.m. on Mondays at the Emett Student Center.