Orem-Lindon Rotarians and UVU Rotaractor loading the oranges for delivery

On February 22nd 2023, UVU Rotaractors Tristin Smith and myself joined Orem-Lindon Rotarians to collect orders for oranges from California. Rotaract is a student club that works with Rotary International to provide students service opportunities in their community. As a student club Rotaract provides opportunities for students like me to be involved in different activities through a Student Engaged Learning (SEL) model. SEL places focus on providing students hands-on experience in their field of study, and makes my education feel more practical since I can see how I may apply it after graduating. UVU Rotaract is a member of the Utah International Mountain Forum (UIMF), a coalition of student clubs at UVU which advocates for sustainable mountain development in the State of Utah and globally.

Rotarians and Rotaractors receive the orange delivery from California

Every year, Orem-Lindon Rotary Club and UVU Rotaract sell oranges to raise money for some of our regular projects. For Rotaract, this helps fund our ability to send a student delegation to present at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Orem-Lindon Rotary uses these funds to support its Coats for Kids project each year.

Last year I participated in the Coats for Kids project. While I was reflecting on my involvement in this effort I wrote “Given my plans for continued involvement with UVU Rotaract, one of the things I want to see most is the behind the scenes effort in projects like coats for kids.” Receiving the delivery gave me some of the insight that I was looking for. These oranges are a large part of what buys those coats I had the privilege to deliver.

The thing I enjoyed most about participating in this activity was the sense of community. As soon as the truck arrived people just started grabbing boxes and taking them to cars. While everyone was making sure that they got the correct number of boxes, it didn’t feel like anyone’s top priority. All of them had to be loaded eventually, so nobody was bothered if they were first or last. In total we managed to sell 247 boxes, and couldn’t have taken much more than an hour to unload all of them.

Rotarians and Rotaractors loading the oranges for delivery

This year, Rotarians and Rotaractors were able to sell 247 boxes of oranges. Among the Orem-Lindon Rotarians Dean Robinson sold 72 boxes, followed by President Spencer Mack who sold 46 boxes, then Rotarian Lynn Hillstead sold 33 boxes, and UVU Rotaractors sold 23 boxes.

These funds will directly assist the community by contributing to programs such as Coats for Kids, among other service projects.

I appreciate SEL giving me this opportunity to look behind the scenes on the kind of work I want to do with my degree. I appreciate that UVU helps foster these opportunities for students through clubs. And most importantly, I’m looking forward to seeing the fruits of our labor when we deliver coats for kids this winter.

           McKay Brooks, UVU Rotaract Vice President

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District Rotary Newsletter About Fundraising

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STUDENT REFLECTIVE ESSAYS

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23-02-18-Stephan-Atkinson-Orem-Lindon Rotary Oranges Fundraiser

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