The students of America have been brought into the spotlight recently. With the incident that recently took place in Florida, it seems the citizens of the United States are ready for a change. The focus has become the safety and future of our youth.
The reason it has been forced to the forefront of our attention is due to the shocking nature of this horrible attack that took place in February. This attack has motivated many to fight for a change for the protection of our youth. There’s a lot that needs to change to help our teens and younger kids these days. Society has changed, and in many ways, not for the better. To bring the conversation to a local level, there are things that you can do to make a difference in the safety and ultimately success of our youth right here in Fuquay-Varina.
I don’t want to start with statistics, but driving is still the number one killer of teens in the country. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that Distracted Driving claimed 3,477 lives in 2015. Teens were a huge part of that number. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in 2015, 2,747 teens were killed in motor vehicle accidents. Although not all were “cell phone” related, phones remain the number one reason for those deadly accidents. Talk to your kids, friends and youth about Distracted Driving. That’s the first way you can help.
Another front that you can help on, is to help the students improve their education experience. As students become more engaged and included, the more successful they are. The Rotary Club of Fuquay-Varina figured out years ago that the best way to help the future of Fuquay-Varina, is to help the youth of Fuquay-Varina. Up until this year, the Club has made it a point to give third-graders in Fuquay-Varina each their own dictionary. It seems like a rather random task until you know the facts. You see, a student not reading at his or her grade level by the end of the third grade is four times less likely to graduate high school on time, and that number jumps to six times less likely for students from low-income families. Take that and add to it a 2009 study by researchers at Northeastern University that found that high school dropouts were 63 times more likely to be incarcerated than college grads, and you can start to see why the mission of the Rotary Club was not in vain. So, why did the program end last year? In November of 2017, rather than offer dictionaries, they gave 100 Kindle Fire tablets to the students of Lincoln Heights Elementary School. The tablets were pre-loaded with several freely available educational applications as well as many books.
The Rotary Club also has a scholarship program for Fuquay-Varina High School (FVHS). The Steve Estes Memorial Scholarship program has recently been expanded to a $10,000 scholarship award, thanks to a donation by Rotary members Bob and Pat Barker. The scholarship is now open to all FVHS graduating seniors who are actively involved in community service at school and in the community, and can demonstrate a need for financial assistance to help pay college expenses. The scholarship award will be disbursed to the student’s college over 8 semesters ($1,250 each semester for 4 years). The top candidates that apply will be presented to the Rotary Board in May to determine the final winner. Bob and Pat Barker have been invited to present the scholarship award at FVHS Senior Night in May 2018.
Several Rotary members have supported the FV Business Alliance’s newest program-the FV Youth Leadership Initiative. This program looks to develop leadership and character in students at FVHS and Southern Wake Academy (SWA) through workshops and community service. This group meets once a month, and local businesses were asked to support the group’s efforts by providing meeting space and sponsoring lunch for the students and staff. Four Oaks Bank helped by donating funds to pay for transportation costs for the group.
Several Rotary members volunteered to support the Reality of Money event at FVHS this past fall. The program is sponsored by the State Employees Credit Union and seeks to educate high school students in personal financial literacy thought a hour-long simulation. Among the topics the students are exposed to are banking services and budget planning for housing, food, transportation and entertainment. This program is being introduced to FVMS students this year for the first time.
The Rotary Club also has a program called Rotary Readers. The program invited members of Rotary to read to students. The program is in its second year at Lincoln Heights Elementary School, reading to ten first graders – fifth graders. There are six Rotarians reading on a weekly basis during the students’ lunch period. The goal is to help each student read to their grade level or exceed it. During the most recent testing period, eight of the ten students met or exceeded their grade level. As one would imagine, the “Rotary Readers” were excited and still wanting to do more. The students and the Readers are both benefitting from the program. The students look forward to the readings, and only wish they could spend more time with the Rotarians.
If you have felt compelled to help students in recent weeks, I want to make sure that you know that you CAN make a difference. You don’t have to be a lawmaker to change the lives of the students. One can only wonder if some of these troubled teens would have benefitted from a local organization getting involved in their lives.
The Rotary Club of Fuquay-Varina is always accepting new members. They meet every Thursday at 12:30pm at Rock Harbor Grill, and you don’t need an invitation. You want to do something to help America’s youth? Get involved.
