After Elaine Swanson graduated from Southern Oregon University in Ashland, she missed her involvement with Rotaract, a Rotary Club for ages 18 to 30.

Her solution: Create a club that members could join from anywhere.

“A group of friends and I started an online Rotaract Club — the first in the world,” she said.

Swanson graduated from Baker High School in 2009 and from SOU in 2013.

She and others founded the Rotaract Club of No Borders in 2015. This club has 17 members, including one in Pakistan and six in Guatemala.

“Actually, they don’t even speak English,” Swanson said.

Thanks to technology, the Guatemalan members can use a translation program to post comments in English during the meetings, she said. Swanson said interactions are also helping club members improve skills in English and Spanish.

An online club does have its challenges — Swanson said it’s helpful if members have previous experience with a traditional Rotary Club.

“It’s hard to introduce someone to Rotary online — I don’t feel like they get the whole experience,” she said.

The club has two meetings a month held as an online forum to update members on news and projects.

Swanson is the “international service” leader, and currently heading up a fundraiser for the club’s project Grow Guatemala.

The club is working with the nonprofit Adopt-A-Village (AAV) Guatemala, and expanding the Child Nutrition Project of the Grants Pass Rotary Club.

AAV has established a high school in Guatemala, along with a Sustainable Agriculture Program.

The goal is to address the problem of malnutrition in rural Guatemalan villages.

“It’s the highest in Central America, and the fourth highest in the world,” Swanson said of the country’s malnutrition rate.

See more in the April 13 issue of the Baker City Herald.