William and Mary added another accomplishment to its long list of firsts this month when it became the first university in the country to receive a charter for a collegiate Ruritan Club.
Ruritan is a national civic service organization that works in over 1,200 communities nationwide “to create a better understanding among people and through volunteer community service,” according to its website. Unlike other service organizations, Ruritan manages very few national projects, choosing instead to focus on the individual needs of the communities it serves.
Although the service organization has existed since 1928, it has never had a collegiate chapter. That changed this November when Ruritan National issued a charter for a William and Mary chapter.
Club founder Paul Lendway (’11) first got the inspiration to start a Ruritan collegiate chapter while working at a summer camp last year. Lendway met the president of Ruritan National, who mentioned that the organization had an aging demographic and was having difficulty growing with the younger audience. The concept of creating collegiate chapters was born and Lendway brought the idea back to campus this fall.
The William and Mary Chapter will follow the five pillars that anchor the national organization: business and professions, citizenship and patriotism, environment, public service and social development. As a community service club, Lendway envisions the club working on both unique Ruritan projects and joint ventures with other College organizations.
Despite not yet having held elections or an official chartering ceremony, Lendway has already begun to develop ideas and projects for the fledgling organization. Among them is an environmental waste project.
“There has been some talk of partnering with other environmentally-minded organizations on campus to pioneer solutions for the issue of electronic waste at and around campus,” Lendway said. A program like that would fall under the Ruritan pillar of commitment to the environment.
Another proposal in the works for the new club includes the creation of alumni panels for students. “We hope to assimilate panels of alumni for various majors, potentially creating a large-scale forum for students,” Lendway explained.
Lendway is also interested in creating a service to connect students of similar majors and extra-curricular activities under the umbrella of the business and professions pillar.
Aside from establishing itself on campus, the College of William and Mary Ruritan Club will have the additional responsibility of serving as a “paradigm for other forthcoming Ruritan chapters,” according to Lendway.
Two other universities plan to charter collegiate Ruritan chapters before the end of the year. Lendway hopes that the William and Mary Chapter will serve as a “role model” for other colleges and universities looking to start chapters.
For more information on how to get involved, search “Supporters of William and Mary Ruritan” on Facebook or e-mail Paul Lendway at splendway@wm.edu.