In Gear | Rotary in Southern New Zealand Issue 2 | Page 7

Sixteen of Waimate’s 24 Rotakids (from left):
Bella Keen, Scott Warwood, William Charles,
King Melecio, Abi Lapthorn, Kasia Rempala,
Stella Bilcliffe, Alysha Melecio, Lily Beazley,
Rebecca Saunders-Tack, Logan Clarkson,
Reagan Beazley, Josh Patterson, Erin HarlandChristie, Davora Holmes, and Dan Patterson.

What do you
reckon Rotakids’ biggest
challenge is – and how
does the club plan to
overcome it?
In

Gear:

Abi: Everything is going really

well at the moment, and we
haven’t come across or had to
face any challenges yet.
In Gear: What’s the funniest thing to

have happened so far?

Abi: When we were doing the baking for Red Nose

Day, and we were trying to teach the littlest ones
how to roll truffles. There were some really odd
shaped balls, but they tried really hard.
In Gear: What’s something major you’ve learnt

about yourself since becoming president of
Rotakids?

Abi: That it feels really good, and I enjoy, helping

the community. That I like leading, and especially
helping younger kids learn. I work with our youngest
members a lot.
In Gear: What response have you had from your

community and the people and groups your
club’s helped so far?
Abi: We got a nice letter from St John, and the Blind

Foundation. St John thought it was very cool that
younger kids raised money for them. People think
it is really great that kids are getting involved, and
they were pretty thankful for the donations.

In Gear: What

do you
think the young people
of today have to offer in
terms of giving back to the
community?
Abi: They can do what they
can to help anyone, and get
involved with groups like ours
or just help out. Kids are energetic,
and when we get excited we pass stuff
on to our friends and families. We are pretty
good at doing stuff online. We can do lots of things
that adults can.
In Gear: Do many young people your age want

to volunteer and give back by helping those in
need like you and the other Rotakids do?

Abi: Yep, lots of kids do like to help. They help with

stuff at home and at school, and often they just
want to be asked to help out. A lot of kids would
help if they were invited to participate.
In Gear: What sort of support have you had from

the Rotary Club of Waimate?

Abi: Rotary helped us to get started, and has

supported us with some funding, with donations for
the car boot sale, brought baking, and is joining us
in some work at the Community Gardens and with
our stall site at the Strawberry Fare (a community
celebration held in Waimate before Christmas).
We want to work with them on other things in
the future. I get to practise my public speaking by
presenting at Rotary.

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