Rotary District 6600 Strive Program

Both the District 6600 STRIVE Scholarship Competition for the East Region (held in Oberlin) and the West Region (held in Findlay) will be held on Saturday, May 10, 2008. All scholarship forms need to be submitted by April 30, 2008.

All forms for the 2008-09 school year are available - click here.

What is STRIVE?

STRIVE is a program where a Rotary Club works with a high school for the purpose of motivating students to improve their school performance during their senior year. The major aspect of the program is that it is Student Driven and only facilitated by Rotarians. This program is FUN, INTERACTIVE, and can involve each and every Rotarian!

When did the STRIVE program begin?

STRIVE began in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, by Rotarian Don Monney. Don decided during the 1993-94 school year to do something to assist in the educational development of the high school youth in his community. This was an opportunity for Don and the Rotary Club to "give back" to the youth his experiences that included successes and failures as a student and as a businessman.

How did STRIVE get started in District 6600?

Past District Governor John Brodbeck introduced STRIVE to Terry Mohler and the Maumee Club. Terry Mohler went on to serve as the first District 6600 STRIVE Chair. Today there are over 30 STRIVE programs in existence in District 6600.

What does STRIVE stand for?

STRIVE stands for, ‘Students Taking Renewed Interest in the Value of Education’. STRIVE was active in District 6600 for several year prior to this statement being used as a descriptor to the program. PDG Zane Zourisseau (Amherst Rotary Club) happened across a Sept. 2000 newspaper article using this STRIVE descriptor in Sault Ste. Marie (Michigan).

Which Students are targeted to participate in this program?

The students are typically the lower one-third of the senior class based on grades - these students are identified by the high school. Flexibility is given to the school when choosing the students to invite…for example: a student might have grades that are not in the lower third of the class, however, the focus of this program would benefit the student.

Since STRIVE is voluntary program, the student and the parent(s) are asked to sign a commitment form. Once the enrolled in the STRIVE program, the students are encouraged to improve their:

• Attendance
• Attitude
• GPA
• Participation

NOTE: only students who sign the commitment form are eligible to participate beyond the 2nd STRIVE meeting.

Getting Started (Club Action - School Commitment - Student Orientation):

1. Action to be taken by the club's Board of Directors:
   • Review the components of the program - obtain a favorable vote of approval to proceed with the program.
   • Identify 1-2 Rotarians to be responsible for facilitating this program with the local school district.
   • Establish a scholarship to be awarded to the student who approves the most (again, based on Attendance, Attitude, GPA, and Participation). This scholarship will help generate some excitement amongst the students.
   • Set a date to review this program with school officials.
2. Presenting STRIVE to the local school officials. Feedback from clubs who already have a program in place share the following theme: "The hardest part about STRIVE is developing the relationship with the local school officials... but once you have that in place... the program becomes very worthwhile and often a lot of fun. When presenting this program, please highlight the following:
   • Some history about Rotary and it's commitment to youth.
   • This program does not require any funding on the part of the school.
   • Talk about the uniqueness of this program in that it rewards improvement - very few programs nationally provide scholarships based on excellence through improvement.
   • The school will need to:
     • Designate a member of faculty/staff to attend the meetings.
     • Provide a meeting room for the monthly meetings
     • Identify the students that will be invited to participate.
     • Offer positive reinforcement for the participating students
     • Schedule a meeting in which the Rotary Club might present this program to the faculty. Faculty 'buy-in' is important because without it the teacher might view this program as 'another excuse a student isn't attending class'.
3. Student Orientation... .a two-step process:
   • First, letters are sent to both the student and parent outlining the purpose of STRIVE and uniqueness of this special invitation to participate.
   • Second, an orientation/motivation meeting is conducted. It is extremely important that a very dynamic speaker outlines the program. The anticipated outcome is that you'll have students accept the Rotary STRIVE challenge and sign the commitment form for the year. Again, only students who sign the commitment form by the 2nd STRIVE meeting should be allowed to participate. Don’t worry if you invited 30 students and only end up with 10 who wanted to participate beyond the 2nd meeting (you’ll find your time spent with the 10 students much more rewarding than if you tried to implement a program to 30 of which 20 didn’t care!)

When and How often do the STRIVE students meet?

Typically one-hour or one classroom period meetings are held monthly at an early hour in the day. A typical agenda is as follows:

• Attendance is taken.
• STRIVE goals are reaffirmed: being on time for classes, working a little bit harder at classroom assignments every day, demonstrating a positive attitude, participating in school and community activities.
• Announcements about future monthly programs.
• Speaker Presentation
• Q&A time
• Back to Class

How are topics chosen for the monthly presentations?

This is one of most important aspects of the STRIVE Program. The topics for each monthly presentation are chosen by the participating STRIVE students. Therefore, STRIVE truly becomes a Student-Driven program. Upon obtaining the topics from the students, the STRIVE Rotary Facilitators will secure speakers from the community to address the topics. Typically, the speakers are not faculty or staff members from the school.

• Who attends the monthly STRIVE meetings? Answer: STRIVE Students; Rotary STRIVE facilitators; Guest Speaker; High School Staff Liaison.
• Some examples of programs suggested by students include:
  • Interviewing and Resume Writing
  • Where is Computer Programming going?
  • Interest and Goal Setting
  • Owning a small business
  • Employment expectations
  • Jobs in the manufacturing sector
  • Getting into College when your grades aren't so good

Tips for the lucky few designated as the Rotary STRIVE Coordinator:

You just volunteered (or were strong-armed) to be your club's STRIVE coordinator - what do you do. The best advice is to plan the year like you would many business activities.

• Establish your year-long calendar ahead of time. Have an agenda for each meeting.
• Don't do all the work yourself. Use other Rotarians (See list below)
• Have fun with the students! Take donuts and orange juice to meetings.
• Call on other STRIVE coordinators for advice and suggestions.
• Evaluate the program at the end of the year.

There are three primary responsibilities each STRIVE Coordinator has to the District 6600 STRIVE Program:

1. October 31st- Send in your club participation form. This form announces your club's support of a STRIVE program.
2. October 31st- Send in your student list form. Each club is provided a "Certificate of Accomplishment" for each student signed by the District Governor (great for presenting at your annual High School Awards Ceremony)
3. April 30th- Send in the Scholarship form. This form announces the student from your club who has won your local STRIVE scholarship and will be competing for the District 6600 STRIVE Scholarship(s). The District competition will occur on May 10, 2008.

STRIVE Scholarships

Each club awards locally a scholarship to the student who demonstrated the most improvement during his/her senior year. The review criteria are based on improvement in the four focal points of the STRIVE Program: Attendance, Attitude, GPA, and Participation.

One student from each local STRIVE program (typically the winner of the local scholarship) is then eligible to compete for two scholarships from District 6600. These scholarships ($4000 and $1000 respectively) are awarded based on an interview process to occur on May 10, 2008.

In total, over $45,000 in Scholarships are awarded at the District and Local levels annually.

How do you involve all Rotarians in this program?

Here are some suggestions:

1. Invite the STRIVE students to attend a Rotary Meeting. Remember to mix and mingle! Don't allow all the students to sit together and make sure everyone is interacting.
2. Plan a community service project with the students.
3. Have 1-2 Rotarians attend the Monthly STRIVE meetings.
4. Begin a letter writing campaign. As the club learns the interests and aspirations of each student, have members of the club write letters of encouragement to each student. This can be done throughout the school year.
5. Pick a meeting where all the money raised by the Sergeant of Arms goes to the STRIVE program.
6. Include notes about your STRIVE program in the club's newsletter.
7. Plan a fun outing with the students. Perhaps you all go the High School Football game together... this can be especially fun if a few of your STRIVE students are on the team. Signs and load cheers for the team can be much fun!
8. Have as many Rotarians as possible attend the annual High School Awards Assembly. How about a Rotary standing-ovation for all STRIVE students.

Where is STRIVE in District 6600?

Club	Origin	High School
Maumee	1995-96	Maumee
Amherst	1996-97	Amherst
Elyria (noon)	1996-97	L.C. JVS
New London	1996-97	New London
Oberlin	1996-97	Keystone
Ashland & Loudonville	1997-98	West Holmes Career Center
Loudonville	1997-98	Loudonville
Oberlin	1997-98	Oberlin
Oberlin	1997-98	Wellington
Oberlin	1997-98	Black River
Ottawa-Glandorf	1997-98	Ottawa-Glandorff
Vermilion	1997-98	Firelands
Vermilion	1997-98	Vermilion
Bowling Green	1998-99	Bowling Green
Fremont	1998-99	Fremont Ross
Toledo	1998-99	Toledo Libbey
Greenwich	1999-2000	South Central
Mansfield	2001-02	Mansfield
Willard	2001-02	Willard
Perrysburg	2001-02	Penta Vocational School
Van Wert	2002-03	Vantage Career Center
Cardington	2002-03	Cardington
Lorain	2002-03	Admiral King
Findlay	2002-03	Millstream Vocational School
Waterville	2003-04	Anthony Wayne
Bellevue	2003-04	Bellevue
Lorain	2003-04	Southview
Avon/Avon Lake	2003-04	Avon
Avon/Avon Lake	2003-04	Avon
Ontario	2004-05	Ontario
Swanton	2005-06	Swanton
Brookside	2005-06	Avon/Avon Lake
Southview	2005-06	Sylvania
Northview	2005-06	Sylvania

Who are the past STRIVE District 6600 Scholarship Winners?

Western Region*
Year	Name	Place	High School	Sponsoring Club
2006-07	Carl DeVault, Jr.	1st	Anthony Wayne	Waterville
2006-07	Kassy Parker	2nd	Fremont Ross	Fremont
2005-06	Alana Metheney	1st	Ottawa-Glandorf	Ottawa-Glandorf
2005-06	Marcus Matyi	2nd	Maumee	Maumee
2004-05	Mike Grassick	1st	Ontario	Ontario
2004-05	Shannon Crump	2nd	Toledo Libbey	Toledo
2003-04	James Havens	1st	Fremont Ross	Fremont
2003-04	Amber Gerhart	2nd	Anthony Wayne	Waterville
Eastern Region*
Year	Name	Place	High School	Sponsoring Club
2006-07	Shannon Finley	1st	Avon Lake	Avon/Avon Lake
2006-07	Brittney Goodwin	2nd	Firelands	Vermilion
2005-06	Michelle Burnworth	1st	Keystone	Oberlin
2005-06	Ebony Hudson	2nd	Avon	Avon-Avon Lake
2004-05	Danielle Charles	1st	Wellington	Oberlin
2004-05	Tamara Hughes	2nd	Loudonville	Loudonville
2003-04	Roxie Robinson	1st	Oberlin	Oberlin
2003-04	Maximilion Upton	2nd	Avon	Avon/Avon Lake
Year	Name	Place	High School	Sponsoring Club
2002-03	Marshall Ranzy	1st	Oberlin	Oberlin
2002-03	Ryan Calvelage	2nd	Vantage	VanWert
2002-03	Sara Spellman	2nd	Ashland	Ashland
2001-02	John Toth	1st	Amherst	Amherst
2001-02	Karey Scott	2nd	Loudonville	Loudonville
2000-01	Mandi Freeman	1st	Black River	Oberlin
2000-01	Abbie Menefee	2nd	Amherst	Amherst
1999-00	Christine Westmark	1st	Maumee	Maumee
1999-00	Jenille Curtis	2nd	Black River	Oberlin
1998-99	Carmen Beltran	1st	Toledo	Toledo
1998-99	Jessica Jenkins	2nd	Keystone	Oberlin
1997-98	Erin Ardnt	1st	Vermilion	Vermilion
*NOTE: District 6600 was split into two regions following the 2002-03 school year to offer more scholarships for this growing program.

Where is the STRIVE logo from?

The logo was introduced during the 2001-02 STRIVE School Year. The design is by Jan Knape from the Rotary Club of Bowling Green. This logo was officially presented at the District 6600 Conference on April 27, 2002.

Several STRIVE programs are utilizing this logo for T-shirts, Letterhead, signage and so forth. You may download the logo directly from the district website.

Where do I find STRIVE on the District website?

http://www.rotarydistrict6600.org/youth/strive.shtml

STRIVE 2008-09 Forms:

Click here to download the complete set of forms for 2008-09 STRIVE (PDF)
Click here for the Student Orientation Outline.

Want to know more about this program?

If you would like to:

• Know more about this program.
• Obtain an electronic version (MS Word Document) of the sample letters and forms referenced above.
• Acquire a name of a STRIVE coordinator in a community near your own.
• Obtain all the necessary forms for the 2007-08 school year.
• Have a member of the District STRIVE team:
  • Help present this program to your Rotary Board of Directors or the School Officials.
  • Conduct your first-ever Student Orientation Meeting.

Do not hesitate to contact us - Your District 6600 STRIVE team:

John Cole, PDG - ph. 440-774-4534 

John Streicher - ph. 419-841-5814