Junior Leadership Beaufort
Jr. Leadership Beaufort, modeled after the Chamber of Commerce
Leadership Program and sponsored by the Sea Island Rotary Club,
offers Beaufort Middle School 8th graders the opportunity to learn
about their community first-hand and on-site. Over the course of the
school year, students participate in six full or half-day field
trips to investigate various aspects of the Beaufort community -
medical, military, economy, government, environment and education.
These experiences make students more aware of local issues and make
newspaper-reading and evening news-watching more pertinent. All of
which are the beginnings of nurturing good citizenship and
developing a "sense of place."
Youth
Task Force
Our main effort in the community is centered on youth. We have
entered into a business/school partnership with Beaufort Elementary
to develop programs that will affect the youth of our community. We
sponsor and teach Junior Achievement in all grades to give the
students an understanding of our economy and the free enterprise
system. Through mentoring we participate weekly, one-on-one, with
students helping them with their reading skills.
In Thanksgiving week, we prepare and serve a dinner to the fifth
grade students and their families. At Christmas, the school provides
names of students who might not receive gifts, and our club fills
the gap. We hold several of our weekly meeting at the school to
become more closely involved with the students. In 1997 the Sea
Island Rotary Club received an award from the South Carolina Board
of Education for our efforts with Beaufort Elementary School
Beaufort County Water Festival
Each Year our club participates by supporting events of the
festival. Members organize and operate the River Rally, a boating
event that produces revenue for the festival. We operate a frozen
drinks concession fourteen hours a day during the ten day event.
These events not only provide service to the community through the
festival, but our share of the revenue supports our club projects.
As a community service project we also help as food service
volunteers at the Low country Supper
Fund Raising In addition to money received through Water
Festival, we support the Beaufort Charities Golf Tournament. The
club supplies volunteers for various check-in and other duties and
in return receives revenue from the entrants. We also host a "Fun
Raiser" in March that offers an opportunity for members and guests
to enjoy an evening of entertainment and prizes. This major event
funds most of our service.
Volunteers for Service
In addition to the major club efforts, members of the Sea Island
Rotary continue to donate many hours of service in other ways. We
provide trash pickup, as part of SCDOT Adopt a Highway program. Each
quarter we clean US Highway 21 from Highway 802 to the Airport Road.
We have a career day for high school students. We sponsor an
Interact Club at Battery Creek High School. We offer two
scholarships to USCB students each year.
Scholarships
The Sea Island Rotary is proud to award two full scholarships
each year to students to attend full time at the University of South
Carolina/Beaufort. It is part of our on-going commitment to the
youth of Beaufort.
