Local Service Clubs Offer ‘Join and Thrive!’ for Residents to Find Their Community at a Joining Fair

The Rotary Club of Pasadena is inviting Pasadena residents looking for friendship, a new hobby or a way to serve to “Join and Thrive!” an Oct. 8 evening at PasArroyo on South Lake Avenue that pairs a screening of the documentary “Join or Die” with a fair where attendees can meet and sign up with local clubs, hobby groups, volunteer circles and civic organizations.

The goal is to connect residents with one another and with local service organizations, Rotary Club of Pasadena President Tammy Silver said in an interview with Pasadena Now.

Organizers say “Join and Thrive!” could be Pasadena’s first-ever service club joining fair.

Service clubs bring residents and local leaders together to identify needs, raise funds, organize volunteers and carry out projects that government agencies or individual charities may not be able to take on alone, from scholarships, food drives and youth mentoring to park and school improvements, holiday assistance and disaster relief.

Rotary is a service club. Service clubs such as Rotary and Kiwanis are volunteer, nonprofit groups whose members meet regularly to do charitable work in their communities or to raise money for it.

Some local service clubs are Exchange Club of San Gabriel Valley, Kiwanis Club of Pasadena, Pasadena Elks Lodge No. 672, Pasadena Host Lions Club and Rotary Club of Pasadena.

Their value goes beyond the projects they fund. The clubs connect business owners, educators, nonprofit workers, public officials and residents who might otherwise never meet. Members learn to run meetings, manage budgets, plan events and recruit volunteers, and the relationships built through regular meetings and hands-on projects create the kind of trust a community relies on when it must mobilize quickly after a fire or other crisis. Kiwanis identifies service to children as its core purpose, and youth affiliates such as Key Club and Circle K introduce high school and college students to service and leadership.

The event comes as membership in those clubs has fallen sharply. Rotary International reported this year that its membership in the United States and Canada has dropped by about 30 percent over the past two decades, even as worldwide membership has held roughly steady at about 1.2 million Rotary and Rotaract members. Asked whether the Pasadena club faces the same decline, Silver said yes, and that the club has successfully taken steps to draw a wider range of members.

Among those steps is a new impact membership, in which members pay modest monthly dues and choose which community service projects and social events to join, buying a ticket for any event that carries a cost instead of paying the full bundle of dues and weekly lunches. Silver said the option suits people who are unsure about joining or on a tighter budget.

The club also offers corporate memberships, in which a business can sponsor up to four people, a way for employers to involve younger employees in the community, Silver said.

Members can choose the activities that fit them, she said, from monthly happy hours to preparing lunches at Union Station. On Saturday, Oct. 3, a group of members was scheduled to help build a home in Altadena with Habitat for Humanity.

Silver said the club decided to host the event because many people moving to Pasadena may not know where to go to become part of the community or to make friends.

“No better time than the present to make our community a better place,” Silver said. “We are a club of connecting people.” She said the club saw the event as a way to build on those skills and offer them to the community at large.

“Join or Die,” a documentary by siblings Pete and Rebecca Davis, traces a half-century decline in civic participation and links community ties to health, happiness, the economy and politics. The film is built around Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam, author of the 2000 book “Bowling Alone,” and opened in a limited theatrical release in July 2024.

Silver said the idea of pairing the screening with a fair came from the film itself, which shows a joining fair. “I thought it was a brilliant idea and I thought it fits our Pasadena community perfectly,” she said. The filmmakers encourage screening hosts to add a joining fair, and similar fairs have been held in communities in New York, Massachusetts and Illinois.

When the film ends, attendees will walk into the courtyard, where tables will be set up for a variety of clubs and organizations, Silver said. “They can right then and there, see a club or an organization that interests them and join and sign up right there,” she said.

Asked what she would say to newcomers, recent retirees, remote workers or anyone out of practice at socializing, Silver immediately said the film itself will help. “I think coming to see this movie will inspire anyone who sees it and give them the courage to take a look at the club tables,” she said. “You don’t need to join that night. Pick up a brochure, take it home, think about it, and maybe in a week, maybe more, then you could decide to join.”

Silver also connected the event to the bonds she has seen among Pasadena and Altadena residents since the Eaton Fire in January 2025. She said that during the fire she followed the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s online briefings and noticed the Eaton Fire sessions drew many times the views of the Palisades Fire sessions, which she took as a sign of how closely residents here cared for one another.

“The fire really brought our community together,” Silver said. She said collaborative organizations have grown out of the fire and that the club’s own community outreach “has grown exponentially” since then. The club’s 2025 and 2026 Community Grants went toward rebuilding the amphitheater at Charles S. Farnsworth County Park in Altadena, according to the club’s website.

“We have to help each other,” Silver said. “We need each other and together we form a strong and thriving community.”

Organizers have said dozens of local groups will set up tables. As of Friday, Silver said, the number was looking like almost 20 organizations, recruited by Rotarians reaching out to clubs and organizations they know.

Among them, she said, are LA Unbound, a dance group whose members perform together; the Pasadena Lawn Bowling and Croquet Club; the City’s public library, which she noted sponsors clubs, game nights and other events where residents get to know one another; Union Station Homeless Services; and United Nations Pasadena, for residents interested in international issues.

“Just a wonderful, wonderful variety of organizations,” Silver said. “I think there’s something for everybody.” If the event returns, she said, the club would like residents to suggest groups to invite.

Chartered in 1920, the Rotary Club of Pasadena has more than 200 members and is the largest club in Rotary District 5300, according to the club’s website. It meets Wednesdays at noon at the University Club of Pasadena. Silver, the club’s 2026-27 president, is also an elected member of the Pasadena City College Board of Trustees.

Silver said she will follow up with participating organizations to learn whether they gained members from the fair, and that Rotary will know whether the event brought it any new members. She said she plans to list next year’s event on the club’s website.

“This is the very first time,” she said. “So I hope to do this again next year, and I think it will just grow bigger and better.”

“Join and Thrive!” takes place Thursday, Oct. 8, at PasArroyo, 251 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena, the office campus formerly known as Corporate Center Pasadena. Doors open at 4:45 p.m., “Join or Die” screens from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and the Joining Fair runs from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

General admission is free, Silver said. The club asks attendees to register through Eventbrite so organizers can estimate attendance. An optional $25 VIP ticket includes soda, popcorn, candy and seating near the front, Silver said. Club director Paul Roach told club members that VIP proceeds support Pasadena Rotary.

The Joining Fair is free and open to walk-in visitors, Silver said, so residents who cannot attend the film can still visit the tables.

Event: “Join and Thrive!” a screening of the documentary “Join or Die” followed by a Joining Fair, hosted by the Rotary Club of Pasadena. When: Thursday, Oct. 8. Time: 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; doors open at 4:45 p.m., the film runs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and the Joining Fair runs from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Cost: General admission is free with registration on Eventbrite; an optional $25 VIP ticket includes soda, popcorn, candy and front-area seating; the Joining Fair is free and open to walk-ins. Where: PasArroyo, 251 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena. Parking: Paid parking is available in the PasArroyo garage, with entrances on Cordova Street, Hudson Avenue and Del Mar Boulevard; weekday rates are $1.50 per 15 minutes, up to $15 a day. For more information call the Rotary Club of Pasadena at (626) 683-8243, email office@pasadenarotary.com, or visit Eventbrite.