A new Rotaract Club in Beenleigh has been set up for young people aged 18 to 35, from all backgrounds, to meet fortnightly to socialise and serve the community.
Kugi Mann, a 21-year-old Eagleby resident and criminology student at Griffith University, founded the club, hoping to engage other young people in the community.
“We are a social club, we focus on both service and social connection, so I think that’s what makes the Rotaract Club different from just a community service club,” Ms Mann said.
Ms Mann is also a member of the Logan Youth Action Group (LYAG), where young people aged 15 to 25 meet fortnightly and engage in community service.
But due to the young age of LYAG members, meeting up to socialise can be difficult.
“The Logan Youth Action Group is trying to be more social, but it is difficult because the group is younger, so there are issues with travel and busy school schedules,” Ms Mann said.
“I wanted to create something with people I could connect with a bit more, from the ages of 18 to 35, so it’s more young professionals.”
Once the Rotaract club is settled and has a base of regular members, Ms Mann said she hoped the members would meet every two weeks, which is standard for other Rotaract clubs.
“We’re thinking about what our first major project will be, so far we’ve done smaller things like we volunteered for the 50th anniversary of Papua New Guinean independence and at Bunnings barbecues.”
Eight members have joined the Rotaract Club so far, only one of whom is from the action group.
“By next year, we want to be chartered, so that would mean we need 15 members to attend every meeting,” Ms Mann said.
“Because the hard thing about these clubs is we do have members, but consistent attendance and contribution is harder to achieve.”
A chartered club has greater freedom than a non-chartered group, Ms Mann said. Chartered groups can have their own club bank account and appoint club roles like president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary.
“We’re just trying to foster something where it’s fun and people want to come every few weeks, just the talk as well, and not just always like to make it feel like a burden that we’re just always doing community service, it’s something that’s fun and uplifting.”
