Safety Policy

In an effort to ensure that all students are safe and well cared for during the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Retreat, all volunteers who will be working directly with students must read, understand, and agree to the following guidelines. This guide is intended to educate volunteers about maintaining a safe environment for our students. As Rotarians, we have the highest standards and expectations for our volunteers. We expect that they will always help to create and maintain a safe, friendly and motivating environment. This includes monitoring behavior from other volunteers and students.

Five Recognized Types of Abuse: Volunteers must be aware of, refrain from and look for the following:

  • Emotional Abuse: Attacking the emotional well-being and stability of an individual.
  • Physical Abuse: Harming the physical well-being of an individual.
  • Sexual Abuse: Frequently hidden; harming an individual through inappropriate sexual contact, lewd behavior or suggestive language.
  • Neglect Abuse: Not always easy to identify; harming an individual by abandoning, ignoring or rejecting basic needs.
  • Ethical Abuse: Harming an individual by convincing him or her to do an act that is against his or her physical, moral or ethical interests.

Compromising Situations

Volunteers who work with students should take precautions to protect them from any of the recognized abuses and also to protect themselves from misunderstandings or accusations. Be aware of compromising situations.

Cabin Rules

No males are allowed in the female cabins. No females are allowed in the male cabins. This includes all adults. If there is a circumstance where an adult member of the opposite sex must enter a cabin, the adult counselor of that cabin must accompany him or her.

No students may be in the cabins unattended. Any student who wishes to enter his or her own cabin, must be accompanied by an adult volunteer of the same gender. Valid reasons to enter a cabin when other students are not present are: personal hygiene, to retrieve forgotten classroom materials, to retrieve warmer clothes, and to retrieve medically necessary items. If a student is ill and must rest, the lead counselor may choose to have the student rest in a location other than the cabin.

All students must remain in the cabins between “lights out” and daybreak unless otherwise instructed. No students are allowed to roam the campus unattended.

First Aid

First Aid is the immediate treatment given before regular medical care is available. If an injury occurs and the necessary treatment is unavailable, then all volunteers must immediately notify the RYLA chairpersons and/or call 911. There is protocol in place for RYLA chairpersons to notify emergency contacts. DO NOT contact the parents of an injured student unless directed to do so by a RYLA chairperson.

A basic first aid kit is available at the command center of the event.

Dealing With Blood

Due to the nature of some of the activities at the retreat, there is a chance that minor injury can occur. Any student or volunteer who is bleeding must not come in contact with other people. The wound must be covered and bleeding must be stopped before resuming scheduled activities. If blood is on the body, the blood must be cleaned and disinfected prior to resuming scheduled activities.

If there is blood on clothing, the clothing must be replaced with clean clothes immediately. The discarded clothing must be placed in a plastic bag that can be tied or sealed.

If any student or volunteer has open wounds that are bleeding or oozing, they must cover them and refrain from direct contact with others until the injury is safely covered.

Injury Prevention

  • Be safety conscious
  • Be aware of hazards
  • Inform others of dangerous situations or obstacles
  • Modify activities or rules to keep everyone safe
  • Move to a safe location if necessary
  • Be aware of the weather including temperature, humidity and air quality
  • Use common sense