The RYLA Northwest was a program was founded in 1969 by Rotarians in the Lakewood Rotary Club (District 5020), but was a District 5030 program at the start of the pandemic. You may ask, how could that be? Districts 5020, 5030, and 5040 were all part of District 502 before a realignment of districts in 1973. The program continued to be administered through District 5030, serving clubs and students in Districts 5020 and 5030 (District 5040 formed a new program). In 2021-2022, we went through the process of seeking Rotary International approval to form a nonprofit, multi-district entity to reflect our shared history and mission: to train the future servant leaders of our communities.
Over the past 1.5 years, the RYLA Northwest board has been rebuilding its staff and systems for this new orientation. The organization is led by eight Directors, four from each District. Two of our Directors are RYLA alumni and members of Rotary in their twenties. The program is facilitated by recent RYLA alumni and Rotaractors (18-25), together with Rotarians. We have aligned around a new accounting system in DACdb, to provide financial transparency to leaders in both Districts. DACdb is also used for student registration, club invoicing, website hosting, and club communications.
This Thanksgiving, the RYLA Northwest team reflected on how thankful we are for our rich history, the 40+ clubs who support the program, and the 100+ youth we serve each year. As a reminder, RYLA Northwest will be held on June 6-9, 2024, at YMCA Camp Colman. If you aren’t already involved, we encourage your club to consider sending a student. For more information, visit rylanw.org or email rylanorthwest@gmail.com.
