Rotarians assist in setting up New Generations club

Members of the La Jolla New Generations Rotary Club will head to Kingston, Jamaica, on March 2 to attend the charter ceremony of the first New Generations club in that country.

The La Jolla club - the first of its kind to target a younger demographic of professionals - was chartered in 2007, according to a news release.

After Tanaya Henry, a Jamaican in her mid-20s, visited the La Jolla group last winter, she took the idea for the club home, saying she was impressed with the energy and enthusiasm.

Since then, the local Rotarians have been helping the Jamaicans set up a similar club “that includes fun, fellowship and community service for a younger generation, capitalizing on new tools like social networking sites to expand,” said Brittany Caton, spokeswoman for the La Jolla club.

To meet their mission of community service, the local Rotarians - whose average age is 33 - established the South Bay Dictionary Project and have provided 250 new dictionaries to elementary school children in 2008. They also drive for Meals on Wheels, volunteered at the San Diego Armed Services YMCA’s Valentine’s Day Party for Families of Deployed and donated $1,800 of needed supplies to wounded warriors at Balboa Naval Medical Center.

For information on the club, go to

www.newgenrotary.org

or attend a Wednesday meeting.