Supporting Education

The Rotary Cub of Sidney by the Sea is proud to support local graduating high school students from Stelley’s and Parkland Secondary Schools with scholarships to pursue post-secondary education. These scholarships are awarded each summer in preparation for the school year. Our club also puts significant emphasis on scholarship programs to assist students through thier post-secondary education.

The Rotary Club of Sidney by the Sea has a long history of participating in Rotary Youth Exchange, which provides students aged 15-19 the opportunity to become global citizens by experiencing first-hand other cultures and languages, typically for one full year. Our club has welcomed students from Germany, Hungary, Thailand, Denmark, Spain and Croatia and sent students to a plethora of other countries, as well.

Our club is proud to send high school students to participate in the Adventures in Citizenship program established by the Rotary Club of Ottawa and a number of supporting partners. The Rotary Adventures in Citizenship program welcomes high school students to Ottawa for a four-day experience to increase understanding and appreciation of Canadian citizenship.

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, or RYLA, are intensive leadership training experiences for young people organized by Rotary. Our club proudly sends high-school aged students to the weekend-long RYLA Vancouver Island program at Camp Qwanoes in Crofton, organized by Rotary District 5020 annually.

The Rotary Club of Sidney by the Sea gladly supports Atsikana Pa Ulendo (APU), a girls school in rural Malawi that provides high-quality education to approximately 360 students. This Victoria-based organization has a rich history of helping young Malawian women achieve self sufficiency, freedom and empowerment through education.

Photo courtesy of Malawi Girls on the Move.

Upwards of 40% of Canadian children do not posess adequate literacy skills according to research completed by TD Bank Financial Group. Our club members have developed a literacy reading program at Sidney Elementary School where club members listen to students read stories and help them improve their literacy skills.

Our club supports the 1000×5 Children’s Book Recycling Project, which helps bring children’s books into more homes with the goal that every child reads 1,000 books by age five. The incredible network of volunteers that support 1000×5 operate three locations across Greater Victoria, focus on reading to babies and toddlers to setup for success in the long-term, and have distributed hundreds of thousands of books in the Greater Victoria area.

Photo courtesy of 1000×5.