Rotary Clubs & Clubhouses: A Win-Win Partnership
The Importance of Rotary Club & Clubhouse Relationships
The mission of Rotary International and Clubhouse International are very similar—to make the world a better place. Rotarians, who follow the motto Service above Self, provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. Clubhouses, following the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized Clubhouse Model of psychosocial rehabilitation, provide opportunities and resources for people living with mental illness to reclaim their futures and to thrive. Rotary Clubs and Clubhouses both strengthen their communities, and, in partnership, they assist in fulfilling each other’s missions.
Clubhouses exist to promote their members’ recovery from mental illness. Due to the nature of mental illness, people with lived experience make up one of the most vulnerable populations around the world. The stigma attached to people who have a mental illness often results in isolation and difficulty integrating back into society through employment, education, housing, and friendships. Clubhouses support members in all of these areas to restore what has been lost due to illness.
This paper serves to illuminate existing Clubhouse and Rotary Club connections, answer frequently asked questions and to provide a how-to guide on developing beneficial and lasting Rotary-Clubhouse relationships. This paper highlights existing Clubhouse and Rotary connections which are making a difference in strengthening mental health services and local communities in a variety of ways.
What is Rotary / Rotary International?
Rotary International is a worldwide organization of professional men and women who provide humanitarian service. The mission of Rotary International is to provide service to others, to promote high ethical standards, and to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through its fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders. Rotary International is organized with a Board of Directors and has a Rotary International President, Gordon Mclnally. There are more than 33,000 Rotary Clubs in 531 Districts around the globe with approximately 1.4 million Rotary members worldwide. Each Rotary Club has a President, and each District has a Rotary Governor. Many Districts make up a region that comprise a Zone.
Each Rotarian makes a personal and professional commitment to better their own communities through their volunteerism. Every year Rotarians commit their financial support, professional resources, and humanitarian support to the mission of Rotary.
Rotary International has partnered with many national and international organizations in making the lives of those less fortunate better. Since 1986, Rotary’s signature project has been, and continues to be, its PolioPlus initiative to eradicate the dreadful disease from the world. Since 1985, when Rotarians made a promise to the children of the world to eradicate polio, the number of cases worldwide has declined by 99% thanks to the efforts of Rotarians.
One of Rotary’s guiding principles is in its 4-Way Test. “Of the things we think, say and, do” is the heart of Rotary’s commitment:
- Is it the truth?
- Is it fair to all concerned?
- Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
- Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
What is Clubhouse / Clubhouse International?
The Clubhouse Model is widely recognized as an asset to communities and local economies. Clubhouses exist to reintegrate members into their communities in meaningful ways, including volunteering, educational pursuits, and employment. To fulfill their mission, Clubhouses must be rooted and well connected with local businesses and community leaders.
Clubhouse International is a global mental health nonprofit that is working to end social and economic isolation for people who have lived experience with mental illness by improving quality and access to award-winning community mental health programs, known as Clubhouses, worldwide. The Clubhouse network, currently made up of 335 Clubhouses in 34 countries, follows the Clubhouse Model which provides recovery opportunities, resources, and support to an average of 100,000 people per year so that they may reclaim their lives and reintegrate with society.
A central component of the Clubhouse Model is its unique employment program which supports Clubhouse members as they identify and maintain gainful employment. Employment opportunities for Clubhouse members are contingent upon Clubhouses being connected with local businesses. Financial opportunities depend upon prominence and acceptance of Clubhouses in their communities and by their governments. Rotary Clubs offer a means for Clubhouses to become connected, rooted, and prominent in their communities.
Why is this so important now?
The focus on helping those with mental health conditions is growing as a priority topic within Rotary International, as it is around the world; according to the United Nations, one of the greatest challenges facing society is the growing rate of people living with mental illness. Millions of people worldwide have mental health conditions and an estimated one in four people globally will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime. Almost one million people die due to suicide every year, and it is the third leading cause of death among young people. Depression is the leading cause of years lost due to disability worldwide.1 Mental illness is a global humanitarian crisis that requires immediate, ongoing, and persistent action.
It is very exciting news that the 2023-24 Rotary International President Gordan McInally, has proclaimed the Rotary theme as “Creating Hope in the World.” Mental health will be a priority issue with initiatives and action steps during the year. The Rotary Action Group for Mental Health Initiatives will be a primary focus. There are conversations taking place on this topic at Rotary forums around the world. Rotary Clubs are located in thousands of communities and are often looking for international and local service projects. It is perfect timing to encourage Rotary Clubs and Clubhouses serving adults with a mental illness to partner with each other!
Clubhouses across the globe are already working in partnership with their local Rotary Clubs. According to a 2022 survey, 55% of 102 Clubhouses from 17 countries and 26 USA states which responded to the survey reported a connection with their local Rotary Club (see appendix for the complete listing).
What are different ways that Rotary Clubs can assist Clubhouses?
- Employment resource development
- Public Relations/Marketing
- Funding support
- Advocacy
- Community service project partnership
- Specific project support for the Clubhouse
- Rotary members serve on the Clubhouse Board of Directors or Advisory Board
- Clubhouse has been a presenter/speaker at their local Rotary Club
Employment Resource Development
Many Rotarians are business owners or hold upper management positions within their companies. They are often looking for reliable employees and thus, the multi-layered, sophisticated employment program that a Clubhouse offers is often a very good fit for these potential employers.
Explaining the Clubhouse program can be incorporated into a Rotary Club presentation when the Clubhouse is invited to speak. Employment development presentations will need to be made with individual Rotarians that have businesses so they fully understand how they will be getting a trained, motivated, eager employee and how much of a positive impact they will be making on the lives of people with mental illness.
The ideal situation is when the Clubhouse Director, a staff worker, or a Clubhouse Board Member, is a member of a Rotary Club. This provides continuity and an ongoing forum to communicate with the employer.
Below are example responses taken from the Clubhouse survey in 2022:
“Through our relationship with Rotary, we have been able to develop a Transitional Employment Placement.”
“Kildehuset was invited to present at a Rotary Club morning meeting. One of the Rotary Club members contacted the Clubhouse afterwards and invited us to visit his company. After this he offered a job to one of our members.”
“The Director is a Rotarian, and we have another Board Member that is a Rotarian. We have presented and have gotten employment opportunities from them.”
Public Relations/Marketing
Rotary Clubs often have people with Public Relations and marketing experience in their membership. This level of professional experience can be very valuable to Clubhouses who frequently have staff workers from the social service industry, but limited experience in the PR/marketing sector.
Examples of where this kind of networking is valuable include:
- Providing speaking/presentation opportunities for the Clubhouse at the local Rotary Club
- Receiving assistance in developing and growing the Clubhouse social media profile
- Obtaining advice on newsletter layout, fundraising pitch letters, raising public awareness about the Clubhouse in the larger community
- Take part in mentoring Clubhouse members to help enable them to get back to work using a professional network, which Rotarians are a part of and into work study
- Enable strategic development
- Support in seeking funding and financing
- Establish structures with Clubhouses to assist them in providing sufficient reporting requested from external stakeholders
- Take part in Clubhouse Board or Advisory Boards in helping to guide the work and strategy implementation of the respective activities of the individual Clubhouse
- Having these kinds of relationships in the community lessens stigma and opens other doors of opportunity for the Clubhouse
All of the things mentioned above has been implemented in the well-working collaboration between Fountain House Copenhagen and Rotary Copenhagen North, which has been up and running since 2014. And was also introduced to Rotary World President, Jennifer Jones, at her visit to Fountain House Copenhagen on the 25th of October 2022.
Below are example responses taken from the Clubhouse survey in 2022:
“Join the Rotary, attend the meetings they are a good networking opportunity and puts you in contact with many local businesses.”
“Be presenters and do Lunch and Learns”
“The link is important to the Clubhouse public relations”
“Our Rotary Club has helped us decrease stigma against people with mental illness.”
Funding Support
Rotary Clubs have often provided financial support to Clubhouses for various building improvement projects, support to attend Clubhouse conferences/seminars and as recipients of their larger fundraising events such as 10K races, golf tournaments and other events.
“De Ronde Tafel annually donates money (about 6000 euro) to the Clubhouse and supports the Clubhouse in specific needs like helping out with Christmas dinner.”
“We just returned from an open house at Gainesville Opportunity Center. They have a great relationship with their local Rotary. They are providing them with $50,000. to put towards a commercial kitchen and one of the Rotary Members provided them with 2TE’s and 1 supported employment job.”
“Our Rotary Club helped us with our annual Business Breakfast event that focuses on raising awareness about the Clubhouse, finding TE partners and fundraising and they have also donated food hampers over the holiday season during the pandemic.”
“Your Director and other colleagues should become a member of a local Club to open the opportunities for full engagement in service. Each Rotary Club is different, do your research. Some Rotary Clubs are not as active with hands on community service as others, that may only focus on financial supports of non-profit organizations. Match the needs of the Clubhouse to the focus of the Rotary Club.”
Advocacy
Being a member of the local Rotary Club enhances credibility for the Clubhouse in the business, political and general community. Rotary Clubs have been part of advocacy efforts to help Clubhouses receive approval for the location of their building and help them combat stigma.
Obtaining support from members of your local Rotary Club can also help in obtaining support letters for legislative activities the Clubhouse may be involved with.
“I saw the value and was ready to join our local Rotary Club. Building relationships with like minded people (people in service of humanity) will help all communities and our population receive the recognition and awareness to our Clubhouse services.”
“The key is establishing a relationship with a Rotarian that can be an advocate of the clubhouse and align yourself with their mission and goals.”
Community Service Project Partnership
A great way for Clubhouses to become a part of the fabric of their respective communities is by joining other non-profit organizations projects/activities. Rotary Clubs often get involved in these various projects and by being a member of the Rotary brings with it enhanced networking opportunities, more awareness from other organizations about the Clubhouse, and fosters a win-win collaboration that benefits the entire community.
These projects also go a long way towards breaking down stigma and shows the value of the Clubhouse as a dedicated organization wanting to make the community a better place.
“Rotarians tend to want to help make connections and are always looking for volunteer and service opportunities. It is also a great audience of local community leaders; for example, the County Administrator is a member of one of the Rotary Clubs with which our Clubhouse has now developed a relationship with.”
Service Project Support for the Clubhouse
Once a relationship has been established, many Rotary Clubs have supported their local Clubhouse with labor, funding, or equipment donations to enhance their Clubhouse building and work units.
“The Rotary Club has been of tremendous assistance in our Food & Hamper program through the pandemic, capital and maintenance funding for our tenants in our housing.”
“They supported our Horticulture Unit with many plants for our greenhouse.”
“We applied to enhance our digital media studio and were awarded 20,000 for this project.”
“They named us the primary recipient of Wild Game Feast funds next year. We expect to receive $40,000 for a commercial kitchen.”
“In Hawaii, the District Governor had each Clubhouse adopted by the local Rotary Club and we all felt so much more wanted and needed by our communities. Rotary Clubs understand community and so do we! A great partnership.”
Rotary Members Serve on the Clubhouse Board of Directors or Advisory Board
Many Clubhouses struggle with expanding their Boards or Advisory Boards beyond the connections that they have in their mental health community. Being connected to a local Rotary Club easily enhances the Clubhouse networks and given many Rotary members are business owners or upper ranking management level people, creates a wonderful opportunity for the Clubhouse to invite a fellow Rotarian to join their Clubhouse Board. This brings outside expertise, connection to the larger community and ‘fresh eyes’ to the Clubhouse’s various interests and needs.
“Through our relationship with Rotary, we have been able to develop a TE, and have been invited to speak at multiple events. There are 7 Rotary Clubs in our county, and we are developing relationships with all of them, and have established relationships with 3. The president of one Rotary serves on our Advisory Board.”
“We have a new advisory board member that was from the local Rotary. Through a lead from a Rotarian, we developed a job placement.”
Clubhouse has been a Presenter / Speaker at their Local Rotary Club
Clubhouses are often looking for opportunities to further educate the community about their Clubhouse community. Look no further than your local Rotary Club for such opportunities. Most Rotary Clubs have a calendar of speakers that present on a regular basis to their membership. This provides a solid opportunity to build public awareness and educate a larger segment of the business community about the Clubhouse. With Rotary International focusing on mental health more specifically, this is an opportune time to reach out to your local Rotary Club.
A strong Rotary Club/Clubhouse connection can lead to other community partnerships, break down stigma and help the Clubhouse become known as a well-respected organization just as other groups such as churches, Boys and Girls Clubs and other well-known organizations are integral to the community.
“We have presented about the Clubhouse at the rotary, and they have connected us with former advisory board members and opportunities to support our membership.”
How do you make these Rotary Connections?
Find where your local Rotary Club regularly meets and contact them to speak at
a Rotary Club meeting.
The typical format of a Rotary meeting is that most meetings have a speaker. Generally, a speaker has approximately twenty minutes and some time for questions and comments. There is a standard format for Rotary meetings although every Rotary Club certainly has its own personality. This is very similar to differences between Clubhouses; the Clubhouse and/Rotary Club represents the styles and culture of the community. A Clubhouse presentation is a perfect speaking engagement for a Rotary meeting. For example, a member and staff team with a very organized outline would be preferred. Each Rotary Club has a volunteer that arranges program speakers. It is important to coordinate with this person and find out all the relevant details. Be sure to get to the meeting early to see the setup of the room and to meet people ahead of time. When a Clubhouse has been invited to speak to the Rotary Club it is important to not ask for donations or help at this time. Let the relationship evolve and let the Rotarians ask you for what kinds of help you need. Invite them to come on a tour of the Clubhouse. Make this easy for them to do by providing brochures and business cards. Be sure to follow up with a thank you card. Perhaps you want to invite them to an Open House so they can visit the Clubhouse.
Joining Rotary is easy – please consider becoming a member. To find out where the nearest Rotary Club is in your area, simply go to www.Rotary.org and search the “Club Locator.” Each Rotary Club operates through membership dues which vary by Club. It is a good investment for the Clubhouse Director and/or a member of the Board of Directors to join their local Rotary Club.
Summary
As Clubhouse International seeks to further develop a stronger relationship with Rotary International, strong relationships between Clubhouses and their local Rotary Clubs create win-win partnerships benefiting both organizations many times over.
We encourage Clubhouses to seek these partnerships in their respective communities which have resulted in creating many recovery opportunities for their members.
For additional information, please see the Appendix below for a listing of current Clubhouse – Rotary partnerships at the time of this publication.
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the 102 Clubhouses that responded to the Clubhouse International Survey on this topic in 2022. Your contributions have led to our ability to share this resource with our larger community.
We recognize a consortium of Rotary leaders, Søren Mølby Henriksen, Senior Relationship Manager, Nordea | Business Banking Øst, Denmark, and President of Rotary Copenhagen North; Kathleen Rhoads Merriam, Former International Training Director, Fountain House & Rotarian; Mark Merriam, District Governor-Elect, District 5000.
We recognize the Clubhouse International staff who contributed to this project: Anita Brix Lambaek, Program Officer; Jack Yatsko, Chief Operating Officer; and Anna Sackett Rountree, Director of Communications.
Key Links
Clubhouse International – www.clubhouse-intl.org
Rotary International – www.rotary.org
Interview with Søren Mølby Henriksen, Rotary Club President of Copenhagen North, Denmark explaining how the Clubhouse partnership was established – https://youtu.be/Vel6qHNqgsk
Original PDF article – click here