Saddleback College Rotaract Club participates in the Rotary Route for mental health

Members of the Saddleback College Rotaract Club gather at the Rotary Route walk. Angelina Horodezky | Guest

The Rotaract club at Saddleback College attended the “Rotary Route: Paving the Way to Mental Wellness in our Community” 1k to 5k walk on May 4, which took place at the Outlets at San Clemente.

The walk occurred during Mental Health Awareness Month and its intention was to “bring attention to the importance of mental health, support those affected, and reduce the stigma surrounding these challenges,” according to the event flyer.

This was the second annual Rotary Route, and offered multiple ways for participants to contribute to the fundraiser, including registering for the way, paying to have a booth, sponsoring the event and making donations. The money raised is distributed to local, nonprofit mental health resources.

Saddleback’s Rotaract club provided dog treats and toys for the walkers and their pets, one of the many booths offering giveaways for the participants. Other items provided were snacks, water, bracelet-making and information about mental health resources.

“I think it’s important just to bring the community together and to tackle important issues like mental health,” Angelina Horodezky, Saddleback College Rotaract club president said.

This event follows several other events that the club has participated in, including the Stand Up To Trash beach cleanup event, the Service for Change Earth Day and Dia del Niño events and the Saddleback College Earth Day event.

Rotary International is a community service organization that provides support for many different causes worldwide. It works to “provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders,” according to the Rotary International website.

The mission statement of the organization states, “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.”

Rotaract is a type of Rotary group for people ages 18 and older and the Rotary club for ages 12 through 18 is called Interact.

The Saddleback Rotaract club started in 2024 and it was the first Rotaract club at the college. It is sponsored by the San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente and Monarch Beach Sunrise Rotary groups.

“Rotary does issues all over the world and they help in a lot of different things,” Horodezky said. “And the goal is overall just giving back to the community and just bringing the community together as well.”

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