This week we had the privilege of attending a special meeting of the Rotary Club of Grafton, one of five local Rotary clubs active in the Clarence Valley. The event was a celebration of student Luci, who is returning from her Rotary Youth Exchange to Italy, and also an acknowledgment of the many young people who have travelled abroad through this remarkable program.
In the past 12 months, 11 students from the Rotary district have participated in international exchanges, three of them from this small but mighty club. Rotary Club President Chris Wheelahan shared his deep commitment to the program:
“This must surely rank as one of Rotary Internationals best youth focused programs. The program has been operating in this area for more than 40 years and provided an exceptional opportunity for young people to live with families in another country, learn another language and experience their culture. It has also provided rewarding opportunities for the host families who have taken in youth exchange students from all corners of the globe hosting them for periods of three to four months during their 12 month stay.”
This is a powerful example of community readiness in action.
At Ready Communities we talk often about early intervention and wrapping around our young people, not with punishment or pity, but with possibility. Youth Futures is a core focus area in our Ready Grafton program, as it was in Kempsey. And it’s no coincidence this theme continues to shine at our annual Social Impact in the Regions conference, where our partners at Futures Isle guide national conversations about youth inspiration and capability.
While there’s plenty of airtime for law and order debates, the real stories often go untold. Not long ago, a ‘crime rally’ attended by some 700 people was held in Kempsey NSW. As 700 angry fists pumped in the air it was fair to question what could have happened if the excited mob was asked to do something productive towards the matter – like volunteer just an hour a week to support a young person?
That’s 350 hours of weekly support. That’s mentoring, coaching, presence. And it doesn’t have to be complicated. It just needs to be consistent.
Our Readiness Indicators offer a framework for this shift. In this context:
- Clarity & Understanding – helping young people see themselves beyond stereotypes and see what’s possible.
- Connection & Connectivity – building local relationships that anchor and uplift.
- Capability & Capacity – opening doors to real skill-building, leadership, and agency.
- Collaboration for Purpose – engaging across sectors to make meaningful change.
- Advocacy & Promotion – amplifying stories that inspire and shift narratives.
The Rotary Youth Exchange program hits every one of these. It brings clarity to young people’s identity. It builds global and local connections. It grows personal capability. It leverages a global collaboration for a shared purpose. And it promotes a powerful story: young people matter, and they are worth investing in.
And it’s not only the Rotary program that’s building young leaders in the Grafton community. In a few short weeks we’ve also discovered:
- * LovingLifeFM, which allocates air time each week for young people to host their own live show
- * Jacaranda Festival youth leadership program (the Jacaranda Festival has been running for 91 years)
- * The conservatorium of music has many programs and performance opportunities
- * Headspace has an employment model with wrap around services that were previously a massive gap in employment services
Why people and organisations in Grafton just know incorporating young people into their programs is important. Some theories include:
- When Councillors were sworn in they were asked about the legacy they would like to leave and young people were identified as a priority.
- As a town on the edge of service districts (many describe this as the hole in the map) the community just does what it can in lieu of (or as well as) constant frustration about poor access to services.
- It’s just what we do.
There are always other ways. They start not with more control, but with more readiness. And readiness begins when we show up—just like Grafton does.
