Drawn by national curling and youth baseball contests, crowds of athletes flock to the small town of Summerside on Prince Edward Island. Townspeople, however, aren’t content merely to be spectators. Each winter, local curlers contend in a tournament that’s been sponsored by the Rotary Club of Summerside for nearly 20 of the event’s 36 years. In March, 36 teams vied in a friendly meetup that raised about CA$40,000 for Strive, a program that provides scholarships and Rotarian mentoring to high school students. “In curling, [a tournament] is a bonspiel,” explains Paul Power, a past president of the club. “We call ours a ‘funspiel.’” Participants, including about a dozen club members, “love their curling,” says Power. “It’s not competitive whatsoever,” unless you count the points awarded to the best-dressed Mardi Gras-themed team. “It’s basically all hands on deck” — and on the granite stones players slide across the ice once the games begin.

       United States

Students learned to become environmental “solutionists” at a Maryland Rotary club’s youth summit, organizing battery and plastic recycling drives and teaching peers about growing trees. Teens at the environmental summit, the second hosted by the Rotary Club of Southern Frederick County (Urbana), joined a coalition of Interactors and other young people who volunteer to rescue uneaten school cafeteria food and compost waste. The students advocate with school leaders and state lawmakers, backed by Rotary members who support the expansion of the Lunch Out of Landfills initiative. The summit’s goal is to give students skills and confidence to push for change in their communities. “Young people bring an incredible energy and urgency to climate action,” says Mary Jo Anderson, the club’s president.