Tennessee is known as the “Volunteer State,” and ETSU’s Rotaract club embodies this slogan.
Rotaract of Northeast Tennessee at ETSU is the college level version of the Rotary Club model.
According to Kristen Dinsmore, President of ETSU’s Rotaract branch, the club is committed to the same goals as Rotary and they hope members will continue their Rotary service throughout their lives.
“Rotary and Rotaract both share the same goal: Service Above Self. We hope that all members join Rotary later on in life,” Dinsmore said.
The Rotaract motto, “Service Above Self,” truly embodies the spirit of the organization, which is comprised of young leaders dedicated to service.
“Rotaract is a worldwide service organization comprised of young leaders from ages 18 to 30 that join together to serve the community and the world,” Dinsmore said.
The organization boasts roughly 10,000 members around the world, and ETSU’s chapter is comprised of 20 members.
Currently these 20 members are working hard to serve the Johnson City community by volunteering to play BINGO with the elderly, making toys for the animal shelter and participating in the Buddy Run, but they have many big plans for the coming year as well.
“We have some major plans for the next year including planning a community bike ride to raise money for a local cause, installing small little libraries on campus for students to borrow and share books, and we hope to work at Joy Prom, a prom for disabled individuals,” Dinsmore said.
In the past, Rotaract has held many successful events and fundraisers which have helped members of the community and trained members to be stronger leaders.
“Earlier in the semester, we attended an event for a child-sponsorship organization by attending the Compassion Experience, and last fall Rotaract hosted a motorcycle benefit ride and poker run to support a local member of the community in her fight against cancer,” Dinsmore said.
According to Dinsmore, student involvement is vital to the success of Rotaract.
“Rotaract cannot exist without students. The more members that Rotaract has, the greater the impact we can potentially have at a community and global level,” Dinsmore said.
Rotaract doesn’t just benefit the local community, though. Volunteering with this organization has numerous benefits for students including numerous networking opportunities.
“Rotaract provides students opportunities for networking with fellow Rotaractors, Rotarians and members of the community that can lead to potential scholastic and career-related advances. President Noland himself is even a Rotarian,” Dinsmore said.
Dinsmore believes that the group also provides opportunities for academic and personal growth.
“Our group offers a wide variety of volunteer opportunities that enhance the natural skills of all college majors, and at the end of the day volunteering builds character and offers a unique perspective on life,” said Dinsmore
