Students at Troy University’s Dothan Campus are growing more connected with their local community thanks to the campus’ new Rotaract club.

The club started in the spring with the support of the Dothan Tuesday Rotary Club and Dr. Carmen Lewis, associate dean of the Sorrell College of Business at the Dothan Campus.

According to Rotary’s official website, Rotaract clubs “bring together people … to exchange ideas with leaders in the community, develop leadership and professional skills, and have fun through service.”

The partnership in Dothan has already proven fruitful, and the Dothan Tuesday Rotary Club recently donated $1,250 to the Dothan Campus Rotaract.

“I’ve been a member of Rotary for a year, and during this time, they graciously offered to support us in establishing a Rotaract club,” Lewis said. “It’s created a great opportunity for our students, because they now have access to business professionals in the area. I bring a Rotaract student to sit in on the weekly meetings. They get to hear these wonderful presentations given by community leaders, get a sense of the current events in the Dothan area, and they can mingle with business professionals.”

Ben Armstrong, president of the Dothan Tuesday Rotary Club, said the partnership with TROY is mutually beneficial.

“It was just a natural fit to work on establishing a Rotaract at TROY,” Armstrong said. “One of the things we take pride in is being able to give back to the community, and this helps us in that regard. For all the TROY Dothan students it’s a good way for young people to get a feel for what Rotary is. They can be hands on in the community and be part of special interest projects, service projects, and start giving back to the city of Dothan.”

Rotaract is already making a difference in Dothan.

In May, the group volunteered to participate in a 5k run to raise money for the Wiregrass Exchange Center for Child Abuse Prevention. On June 29, TROY Rotaract students will volunteer at the Wiregrass Area United Way’s Fireworks at the Fairgrounds event, taking place until 9 p.m. at the National Peanut Festival Fairgrounds.

“It benefits us to have some fresh faces and people willing to roll up their sleeves and be hands-on and serve the community,” Armstrong said. “Hopefully, it can inspire us to be even more involved than we have been in the past. And as a TROY alum, this was always something I thought I’d like to be part of as a student.”

Lewis said the University is thankful to the Dothan Tuesday Rotary Club and, in particular, Assistant District Governor of Rotary International Mike Smith.

In 2016, the Troy Campus reactivated its Rotaract chapter.

For more information about TROY’s Dothan Rotaract, email Lewis at cclewis@troy.edu.