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<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Most workplaces have an employee like Peter Lee. His job title may be office administration assistant, but it\u2019s more accurate to say he\u2019s the go-to guy.<\/p>\n \u201cI do a lot of things. When there\u2019s a printer problem, people come and find me,\u201d says Lee, who works for the Edmonton, Canada, branch of the multinational insurance consultant NFP.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s basically Mr. Fix-It,\u201d adds Rotarian Andre Charrois. He hired Lee through a Rotary collaboration with local nonprofit Inclusion Alberta, which works with people who have intellectual disabilities.<\/p>\n \u201cPeter helps with the photocopy machines and knows where everything is in the supply room,\u201d says Charrois, a member of the Rotary Club of St. Albert, Alberta, Canada. \u201cNobody enjoys it when he takes a vacation, because they have to figure things out on their own.\u201d<\/p>\n Lee is among many Albertans with intellectual disabilities who have found rewarding work with the help of Inclusion Alberta and Rotary. For more than two decades, Rotary\u2019s alliance with Inclusion Alberta has made the most of Rotary members\u2019 extensive networks in the business community. Members spread the word about the benefits of hiring people with intellectual disabilities and streamline the hiring process. The initiative has helped fill around 900 jobs.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat Rotary provides is the strength of our networking, who we know. It\u2019s been pivotal,\u201d says Wendy McDonald, a member of the Rotary Club of Edmonton Sunrise, Alberta, Canada, and chief operating officer of Inclusion Alberta. \u201cRotary\u2019s strength is the ability to open doors to the business community that otherwise wouldn\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n Unemployment among people with intellectual disabilities tops 70% in Canada, according to Inclusion Alberta. In the United States, it\u2019s more than 75%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But McDonald says there\u2019s no reason that should be the case.<\/p>\n Your chance to make a change<\/p>\n If each of the 1.2 million Rotary members worldwide used their professional expertise to help connect just one person with a sustainable job opportunity \u2014 as Andre Charrois did for Peter Lee \u2014 we could make a significant difference to the global employment gap. Your network, your skills, and one introduction can be someone\u2019s pathway to self-sufficiency.<\/p>\n She cites the wide range of areas in which program participants work, from administrative work and customer service to construction and manufacturing. \u201cThe business case for hiring somebody with an intellectual disability is substantial,\u201d McDonald says.<\/p>\n Business leaders who are skeptical about hiring people with intellectual disabilities are usually uninformed rather than deliberately prejudiced, says Ken Masson, who helped charter the Rotary Club of World Disability Advocacy, Central MA and Metro West in 2021. He spent a decade working for a social services agency in Massachusetts, USA, that helped people with disabilities find jobs.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a majority of situations, it\u2019s not a case of discrimination. I think it\u2019s just a lack of knowledge,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople would say, \u2018Let me think about it,\u2019 or \u2018Let\u2019s bring someone in and see how it works out.\u2019 I had several cases where they totally changed their attitudes.\u201d<\/p>\n Charrois heard various objections when he first spoke to his colleagues about hiring Lee. They worried about what Lee\u2019s role would be and what kind of supervision he would need. But after the decision was made, Inclusion Alberta\u2019s onboarding assistance smoothed the way considerably.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Inclusion Alberta people came in without Peter and told our staff what they could expect with him, what his challenges were, and so on,\u201d Charrois says. \u201cAs soon as they were done, I got about 10 email messages from people saying, \u2018This is a really cool thing we\u2019re doing as a company. This is a company I want to work for.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n Inclusion Alberta staffers and Rotary volunteers are active early in the hiring process as well. Representatives from Inclusion Alberta may tour potential employers\u2019 workplaces to find departments that could benefit from additional help. Rotary members act as employment coordinators and review job descriptions to decide whether a specific position can be filled by one of the people they represent. Sometimes it\u2019s possible to modify a job to fit the applicant\u2019s skills.<\/p>\n Although similar employment programs exist elsewhere in the world, this initiative is particularly cost-effective, says former Inclusion Alberta CEO Bruce Uditsky. That\u2019s because it makes such good use of its Rotary volunteers. \u201cToday, a lot of employment is secured by paying people in the disability field to find the jobs. In our case, we have the Rotarians securing the jobs, finding the openings, creating the chance for a conversation,\u201d says Uditsky, a member of the Rotary Club of Edmonton Sunrise who led Inclusion Alberta for 25 years. \u201cThis engages Rotarians who want to have a direct impact on their communities and make a difference in somebody\u2019s life, in a way that is tied to the very roots of Rotary.\u201d<\/p>\n For Lee, the program has indeed been life changing. That\u2019s partly because working at NFP has been so different from his onetime goal of owning a coffee shop. He also feels supported as he navigates his role. \u201cAnytime I have questions, I can call someone from Inclusion Alberta or the Rotary club. They\u2019re always willing to spend time to chat with me and find solutions to any problems,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019ve always been really helpful along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n Find out more about Rotary\u2019s commitment to local economic growth<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 October 2025<\/p>\n Related stories<\/p>\n For a new Rotary club, the goal is accessibility and advocacy<\/a><\/p>\n Job training program brews confidence in youth with autism<\/a><\/p>\n A retired executive profits most from empowering others<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rotary.org\/sites\/all\/themes\/rotary_rotaryorg\/src\/assets\/images\/social-facebook.svg\"\/)
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