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國際 RI 與總監事務 3
Mental health and your club
ear fellow Rotary members,
D The World Health Organization
designates 10 October as World Mental
Health Day, and with Rotary placing a
special focus on mental health this year,
I would like to help answer the question
posed to me most often when I travel to
meet members: How can my club get
started?
There are some wonderful examples of
Rotary members taking action already. In
the Philippines, the Rotary Club of Tiaong-
Hiyas held a 12-week health challenge for
mothers in the community to promote some
baseline health screenings and coaching on a
healthier lifestyle.
By the end of the challenge, the mothers
had a special bond and decided to form a
Rotary Community Corps called Ilaw ng
Tahanan (“one who lights up the home”)
with the goal of involving more mothers in
health education and wellness support —
and later youth services, teen pregnancy
prevention, and help with unhealthy
substance use. Almost a year later, the RCC
is preparing to open its own health center
where mothers can come for peer-to-peer
support.
Another strong example is in Colorado.
In the fall of 2021, a small group of
stakeholders from the Rotary Club of
Highlands Ranch formed the Rotary Clubs
of Colorado Endowed Fellowship for
Pediatric Mental Health, which enhances
the ability of Children’s Hospital Colorado
to recruit and train pediatric psychiatry
providers and allows the hospital network
to make additional appointments. This
increases access to mental health care for
children and decreases provider shortages.
Since then, the project has brought on
new supporters and is now fully funded
with a $500,000 endowment. Investment
income from this endowment will support
a fellow — a psychologist or psychiatrist
— at Children’s Hospital. A new fellow
will be named every one to two years,
beginning spring of 2024. Over time this
will create a cohort to bolster the mental
health workforce, treating kids from all 64
Colorado counties and neighboring states.
There are many more great mental health
project stories on Rotary Showcase, and I
invite you to share your experiences as you
begin your own projects. Also, please reach
out to mindhealth@rotary.org with any
thoughts or ideas you would like to share
about mental health in the Rotary world.
On 10 October, I will host a Facebook
Live event when we will recognize World
Mental Health Day and further explore how
Rotary members can begin this journey. But
I would like to leave you with one way every
Rotary member can make a difference.
Right now, there is someone you know
in the Rotary world — in your club, from
a project you’ve worked on, in a Rotary
Fellowship or Rotary Action Group — who
could use a little more of your time and
attention. Rotary is this great gift of global
friendship, and that also means being there
for each other.
Discovering the human connections
that bind us is what we do through our
membership every day. It’s what Rotary has
always been about, and we can build on it by
helping each other find peace at home.
We need to learn how to ask not just “How
are you?” but also “How are you really?”
By doing so, Rotary can continue to Create
Hope in the World.
R. GORDON R. MCINALLY
President, Rotary International
2023. 10-11 總監月刊