‘Come as you are’: Why flexibility is attracting younger generations to Rotary

A young New Zealand Rotarian is proving that Rotary’s strength lies in diversity, flexibility, mentorship and community connection.

At just 28, Alex is the newest and youngest member of the Rotary Club of Papanui, NZ, with the average age demographic hovering around the 70 years mark.

But rather than this being a deterrent, Alex says it was one of the reasons that attracted her to Rotary.

“I have my own marketing and advertising business and wouldn’t survive if I didn’t interact with a wide age group,” Alex says.

I find that older generations have a lot of life knowledge and I’m keen to listen and learn from them. I get to tap into knowledgeable people who can help me in my business, and I can trust them to give me good advice.”

It was also the club’s flexibility and range of volunteering opportunities that appealed to the young Rotarian.

“I liked the club’s motto of ‘come as you are, do what you can’, which they offered me from the beginning.

“Members made me feel very welcomed and understood my need for flexibility due to my work. There was no pressure to be there every week or to volunteer on every project. I get to meet people from all walks of life, hear about what is going on in my city and local area, and volunteer on projects that interest me.”

Before joining the Rotary Club of Papanui, Alex had been volunteering for another organisation but felt the group focused on a very specific need rather than addressing wider issues.

I looked at the Rotary club’s website and social media pages and discovered they were involved in a variety of activities both locally and globally, which immediately caught my interest.”

On attracting younger members to Rotary, Alex says we should target the 25- 40 age group with social and fun activities where they can involve their families.

“Pub quizzes, clean up events, collecting toys for distribution to children for example.

Word of mouth is still a very powerful tool, and we need to talk more about our stories of enjoying connecting with others.”

Alex says targeting our events on social media platforms will resonate with younger people keen to volunteer, while working as a collective will help promote Rotary’s work to a broader audience.

“Working together with other organisations and other Rotary clubs doing the same type of activities adds greater impact. And by using a variety of social media platforms that have a younger following, like Instagram, we will increase awareness.

“Rotary is such a great community where you can volunteer on unique projects. We have to keep talking about Rotary and working with other organisations to expand our reach.”

Targeting our events on social media platforms will resonate with younger people keen to volunteer, while working as a collective will help promote Rotary’s work to a broader audience.”