💖 Lead with Heart • Align with Purpose • Inspire Hope 💖
February 2026 • Moving Forward Together✨
Happy New Year — and Happy Lunar New Year. 🐎✨
As we welcome the Year of the Horse, I’ve been reflecting on what this season represents: strength, compassion, resilience, and forward movement. It feels beautifully aligned with the work we share, moving with purpose, leading with heart, and caring for one another along the way.
Lunar New Year is a time of renewal and hope. A gentle invitation to pause, reset, and recommit to what matters most. For us, that means continuing to inspire acceptance, hope, and wellness across the globe.
Earlier this week, Valentine’s Day offered another reminder that love takes many forms beyond romance, in friendship, in service, and in the everyday ways we show up for one another. This kind of connection-centered love is essential to mental wellness. It creates spaces where people feel seen, supported, and not alone.
And during the Super Bowl halftime show, headlined by artist Bad Bunny, one message echoed across one of the biggest stages in the world:
“The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” 💛
Simple. Clear. Powerful.
At the Rotary Club of Mental Health & Wellness, that message feels deeply aligned with who we are. Love in action looks like reducing stigma. It looks like listening without judgment. It looks like building community where everyone feels accepted, supported, and safe to be fully themselves.
As a virtual, global club, we believe in the power of connection beyond geography. When culture, compassion, and community intersect, healing becomes possible. And that is the heart of our work.
🕊️ Peacebuilding & Belonging
February is Rotary’s Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention Month, and this focus is deeply connected to mental wellness. Peace is not passive. It is built through inclusion, equity, empathy, and courageous conversations.
At our District’s Peacebuilders Fellowship Dinner, we had the pleasure of meeting and hearing from Brian Rusch, a founding member of Rotary International’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force. His reflections on belonging and courageous dialogue were a powerful reminder that peace begins with understanding and that mental wellness and peacebuilding go hand in hand.
February is also Black History Month, a time to honor the leadership, resilience, and contributions of Black communities. Equity and access to care remain essential components of peacebuilding. Representation matters. Belonging matters.
Peace begins in the everyday ways we treat one another.
🎓 Investing in the Next Generation
Our "Be Kind" Scholarship is now open, supporting students who are committed to advancing mental health and emotional wellness within their chosen fields.
This scholarship reflects our belief that mental health touches every profession and that leadership can emerge from anywhere.
Applications are due by April 15, with recipients announced on April 30.
We’re grateful for the opportunity to invest in the next generation of compassionate leaders. Please continue sharing this opportunity within your networks.
👉 Learn more, apply, or share the "Be Kind" Scholarship here:https://tinyurl.com/mwxddkxa
🌍 Uplifting Global Youth Leadership
Last month, we also had the privilege of assisting our District with Rotary Youth Exchange interviews, supporting young leaders preparing to represent our communities abroad. These interviews are a powerful reminder of Rotary’s global reach and the courage, curiosity, and compassion that youth bring to international understanding.
Whether through scholarships or global exchange, Rotary continues to invest in the next generation, empowering young people to build bridges, foster connection, and lead with heart.
🌟 Community, Connection & Action
We joined fellow Rotarians from Districts 5280 and 5300 at the joint Ponies to End Polio event at Santa Anita Park, a day of fellowship, fun, and shared commitment to Rotary’s global mission to eradicate polio.
My mom and I had the opportunity to attend the grand opening of a newly established Asian Community Service Center and meet Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell (Second District). It was a meaningful celebration of culture, connection, and belonging.
The new center is intended to serve as a welcoming hub for community engagement, cultural connection, and access to supportive services for local residents. Spaces like this often become anchors for health education, wellness programming, and culturally responsive resources that contribute to overall well-being.
We were also grateful to gather in fellowship with Westwood Village Rotary and Inglewood Rotary, strengthening relationships across clubs and deepening the spirit of collaboration that defines Rotary.
We look forward to celebrating our President-Elect, Sanem "Sam" Alkan, who will be in town for the PELS. Join us for an informal fellowship gathering on Friday, February 20 at 6:00 PM. Let's meet at the lobby of the Los Angeles Airport Marriott.
These moments, large and small, reflect what our club does so beautifully: we show up, we collaborate, and we build meaningful connection. 💛
🍎 Special Meeting: Heart Health & Whole-Person Wellness
Instead of our regular club meeting, we’re in for a special treat on February 24at 11:00 AM PT.
With appreciation to our Program Chair, Claire Blue, we’ll gather for a Heart Health, Wellness & Cooking Demonstration in partnership with Kitchen on Fire Cooking School, exploring practical tools that support both mind and body.
A dedicated announcement with Zoom details will be shared separately. We hope you'll join us for this nourishing whole-person wellness experience.
As we move through this season of renewal, service, and connection, I'm grateful for the many ways you continue to show up for one another, for our communities, and for the mission we share.
It is an honor to serve alongside each of you. 💛
With Love & Gratitude 💖
Grace Grace Leung
Charter Member • President 2025–26
Rotary Club of Mental Health & Wellness | District 5280
