Led by the Northern Gold Coast Rotaract Club, the inaugural Interact Community Impact Cup was designed to invest in our future leaders and retain youth throughout the Rotary pipeline.
The Northern Gold Coast Rotaract Club launched the Interact Community Impact Cup (ICIC) project in 2023, running from September 9 to April 27, 2024. The project aimed to give Interactors skills and resources to develop their own community-based projects and to connect them to fellow Rotaractors and Rotarians.
ICIC is both a competition and a celebration of new ideas, initiatives, teamwork and participation. In the fierce competition to win the shiny ICIC cup, Interactors work together to make change, connect with community members and Rotarians, and make a difference in their community and the world.
The cup was split into three checkpoints – the first two comprised of workshops to provide Interactors with the skills needed to complete their prospective projects. The first was designed to help inspire the Interactors and provide them with skills to develop a plan for their projects. The second workshop allowed the Interactors to present their proposed project ideas and receive feedback from the judging panel, made up of local Rotarians and community members. Workshops were also held to help with the execution phase of their projects.
At the final checkpoint, the students were required to present their completed project to the judging panel.
PICTURED: During the first workshop day of the Interact Community Impact Cup participants formulated ideas for their projects. The students completed brainstorming, project planning and budgeting workshops. There were also presentations highlighting previous projects to inspire the students.
Initially, the project involved three Interact clubs from AB Paterson College, Coomera Anglican College and Saint Stephens College. AB Paterson College and Coomera Anglican College were the two schools to complete their projects and present them at the final checkpoint. The teams completed two unique projects.
AB Paterson College undertook a community park clean up at Coombabah Parklands, designed for participation from the entire school. The team used the event as a walk and talk to raise awareness for local environmental concerns. The team completed the required risk assessments and gained council approval prior to completion.
Coomera Anglican College’s ‘Getting Grandfriends Live’ project was aimed at Rotary’s ‘Peace and Conflict Resolution’ area of focus, with the hope of building inter-generational relationships and education. The team designed and printed brochures to help educate the elder generation about cyber security and how to stay safe on social media. This included tips on how to spot a scammer and what common phrases/terms mean. The team also aimed to complete cooking classes run by the elder generation to further strengthen this relationship and exchange of information, but unfortunately ran out of time.
In the end, the winner of the inaugural ICIC was AB Paterson College. After a six-month long commitment, students Jessica, Tori, Sophie, Nevindu, Miles, Cate, and Sahas led a transformative project to clean up Coombabah Parklands and raise awareness for environmental concerns. Their commitment to positive change is humbling and their initiative will leave a lasting impact on all within their community.
The Northern Gold Coast Rotaract Club is aiming to continue this successful project as an annual event to grow through the participation of more Interact clubs. The project encouraged Interactors to complete their own projects with the guidance of Rotarians. It also helped strengthen the relationship between Interact, Rotaract and Rotary, encouraging students to continue through the Rotary pipeline after finishing school and Interact.
MAIN PICTURE: At the final presentation the students presented what they completed of their projects. AB Paterson College was awarded the winner of the inaugural ICIC.