It's scholarship season for Optimist Clubs

Optimist Club of Perdido Bay submitted by Sally McKinney

The spring is one of the best times to be an Optimist Club member for during this time of year we get to hear the thoughts and dreams of the young people in our communities through their participation in the Optimist International Scholarship programs. This year the Optimist International Essay Contest, the Optimist International Oratorical Contest and the Communications Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing have similar themes around our organization's founding principles of optimism.

Shown in the picture above are members of the Optimist Club of Perdido Bay, Alabama and the winners of the club Essay Contest. The students wrote about "How my positive outlook benefits my community."

Shown below are students from the Windsor Optimist Club of Colorado. Fourteen contestants spoke on the topic, "How my optimism helps me overcome obstacles."  Deaf and hard of hearing students will present on the same topic.

Contestants in the Windsor Optimist Club Oratorical Contest photo by Tom Macy 

Scholarship programs are only one way that Optimist Clubs help children fulfill their full potential. Other programs that focus on youth sports, youth safety and community service, among others, allow students and adults to interact in ways that benefit both the kids and the adults and that interaction makes the communities with Optimist Clubs among some of the best places in the world to live.

A driving need

The urge to share and help others is always evident during the holiday season. Some might say the act of giving puts us in the right mood. Others might say that the need to give at this time arises from an economic standpoint of helping others so they may help themselves. Whatever the reason, for as long as I can remember, the Boy Scouts have held an Annual Food Drive and this year is no exception.

Sponsored by the Optimist Club of Foley, Alabama, Cub Scout Pack 77 of Foley participated in the activity this year called the Boy Scout National Good Turn Food Drive. The young men pictured here gathered nearly 600 pounds of food.

Kayden Brumfield, Ashton Brumfield and Lisa Jones, Cub Master

Food drives are a way to enlist the help of many. They also raise awareness of challenges that communities and their residents face and allow the participants to learn the spirit of service and the great depth of need. Optimist Clubs and Boy Scouts share the same goal of serving others and meeting those needs.

Thanks to Joe Bischoff for sharing the picture.

It's all in how you say it

In a feature known as "Good Morning Hartland" in the Hartland Patch, ladies from the Optimist Club of Hartland, MI sent a message to their community to encourage them to help with the holiday gift giving program by adopting a family this Christmas.

Of course we know that please and thank you go a long way in showing respect. In another part of the country, the Optimist Club of Perdido Bay, Alabama came together with members of their community to say thank you for being "Friends of Kids" and to award them with donations to help carry out their projects in the coming months. Approximately $7,000 was given to local organizations including the Lillian-Perdido Bay Library, Baldwin County Special Olympics, Alabama Sheriff's Ranch, Baldwin Tech Center and more. Read all about it in the BaldwinCountynow.com

How to find the right spokesperson

Optimist Clubs often wish they could find a spokesperson to champion their club to others. Well, the Optimist Club of Birmingham, Alabama has found a good one and a good cause to share: childhood literacy.

Together with Miss Trussville, Chandler Champion, the Birmingham Optimist Club is supporting Books-A-Million and asking others to give their support at a book fair. According to Miss Trussville, portions of the sale will go directly to the Optimist Club to help with all of the programs they perform to help others and empower youth.


What a great message. Thank you Chandler.

And what a great idea for your community service group. Partner up with the young ladies chosen to represent your community as Miss CIty or State. They will get invaluable exposure and practice, and your club will garner awareness in your community for supporting great causes and helping young people achieve their goals.

Kids step out to a healthy lifestyle

Healthy shopping trip with
the Optimist Club

Keeping children safe, happy and healthy are reasons to belong to an Optimist Club. They are also great reasons for an Optimist Club to partner with other groups and that is exactly what the Optimist Club of Mobile, Alabama is doing.

Together with the Greater Mobile Chapter of the Links, Inc, and the Boys & Girls Club of South Alabama, Inc., the Optimist Club has started a fight against childhood obesity.

The program is called "Stepping Out" and it encourages children to step out to a healthier lifestyle by teaching the children about their bodies and food choices. They learned

• People are different and have different shaped bodies. 
• Bodies need fuel.
• How to read nutritional labels on foods to get the fuel for your body. 

The children are also involved with exercise programs and dancing and of course the "stepping out" part when they take what they have learned to the grocery store where they learned to choose fruits, vegetables and healthy snacks.

In order to reach more children, the program is currently seeking funding from the United Way.

See more about the program at al.com. 

Photo credit: Connie Rozier

An Optimist Club member's work is never done

It's July 6. The 93rd Annual Optimist International Convention has come to a close. Optimist Club members came together to tweak policies, elect officers, learn about new opportunities to work with our communities and share our spirit of positivity.

It was a good weekend, and at home, our Optimist Clubs continued their fine work. For example, in Bixby Oklahoma, a new shoe drive began.  According to Dr. Tom Outhier, school begins on August 11 and shoes are needed, any size for school-aged children. The Optimist Club distributes the shoes before opening day through the Bixby Community Outreach Center.

In Middleton, Idaho, the Optimist Club set up a refreshment stand at the annual 4th of July parade in order to help raise funds for a new middle school tennis program with the potential players as the lead salespeople.

In Huntsville, Alabama, the new "Everybody Can Play Playground" opened with an 8-year child with Downs Syndrome as one of the first taker. The Kiwanis and Optimist Clubs raised $450,000 to construct the playground and plan on raising another $250,000 for a splash pad.

The Morning Optimist Club of Sioux Falls, South Dakota planned a carnival to raise money to send kids with cancer to camp Bring it On. The carnival will be held August 27.

In Canada and the Caribbean, throughout the United States and all countries with Optimist Clubs, great work continues with the spirit of optimism. Our cause, our mission is strong.

Optimist Club recognizes runners

The Optimist Club of Mobile, Alabama recognizes cross country runners every week during the school cross country season. Last week they were proud to welcome athletes from the Nature Trails Challenge and the Mobile County Championships.  Click here to read the whole story and see a slideshow of the students. 

Everybody can play

This is a project that can bring the entire community together.  Spearheaded by the Optimist Club and Kiwanis Club in Huntsville, Alabama, the "Everybody can play playground" is under now construction. 

Find out all about the project at http://www.everybodycanplay.org/.

Youth programs in Lillian, AL receive donations from local Optimist Clubs

The Optimist Clubs of Perdido Bay and Lillian, Alabama celebrated Optimist International Youth Appreciation Week by making donations to worthy causes that help children.  Sharing in the $7,000 bounty were the baseball and soccer teams who play at the Lillian Recreational Park, Baldwin County Special Olympics, Baldwin Technical Center, Special Education programs at Elberta Elementary School and Elberta Middle School. Also Foley High School “Magnolia Room”, Foley Middle School “Magnolia House”, Lillian-Perdido Bay Library, Lillian Recreational Park Lighting and Athletic Equipment Funds, Association of Retarded Citizens of Baldwin County (ARCBC) Thanksgiving Dinner turkeys, Mary’s Shelter Gulf Coast, Elberta Middle School. And Women Build Habitat for Humanity, Medical Supplies for Elberta Elementary School Nurse, High Hopes, an autism program at St. Benedict School, and Robertsdale High School Special Education Program. 

You might say that Christmas came a little early for these organizations thanks to the Optimist Club.

Sharing optimism as a philosophy of life

Shout outs and "atta boys" are such simple ways to recognize people for their actions.  I really enjoyed reading some of those notes of encouragement in the Alabama - Louisiana - Mississippi District Bulletin for October 2009.  (please scroll to page 2)

Listed as some examples of how clubs in the district were sharing Optimism as a philosophy of life were:

• ALEXANDRIA participated in the National Hunting and fishing Day by cooking Hot Dogs for lunch.
• ATHENS had their 28th annual Optimist Volley Ball Classic with teams from 12 schools.
• BIRMINGHAM palticipated with Our Lady of Lourdes Labor Day Festival and they will receive some funds for their Cards for Kids project.
• BIRMINGHAM WEST END had a NOW program and got five new members and were able to end the year increasing membership by five.
• BOSSIER CITY presented their Respect For Law Award to City Marshall Johnny Wyatt for his outstanding job with internet safety.
• HUNTSVILLE reported that Jim Roe and his committee completed the HEALS Clinic painting project.
• JENNINGS members volunteered to answer telephones for the annual MDA Labor Day Telethon. MOBILE held their annual Youth of the Year banquet
• MOBILE MID TOWN had a Officer of the Month program recognizing a local hero of the community.
• PERDIDO BAY had avery successful 23rd annual Mullet Festival during the Labor Day Holiday. This is their biggest fundraising event.
• TALLADEGA completed the 2008-09 Optimist year being Distinguished, a'first in the life of the club.

Kudos to District Bulletin editor and District S/T Harold Stratz for sharing the accomplishments of clubs in your district.

Optimist Club collects Tools for School

Already? That's what I thought when I saw that the Optimist Club of Fort Payne, Alabama was already preparing to send students back to school with the annual Tools for School supply drive. But it is that time of year and with school beginning in only one month, the Optimists are looking for school supplies or any other things that a student might need.

Each year, more than forty students are helped directly through the Childcare Resource Network. With a nod to the unemployment rate, club president Brian Baine explained that this year they also plan to have supplies available at the Fort Payne Career Center for parents who may have recently lost their job.

The drive officially kicks off on July 23 and runs through August 10. Supplies may be dropped off in DeKalb County at Wal-Mart, Foodland, the Career Center, Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce and Timesaver on DeSoto Parkway.

School supply drives are an easy and meaningful project for any Optimist Club to perform. If you are not sure where or how to donate, contact a school or school district in your local community and offer to adopt a class or spearhead a program. They will give you tips on what's needed, where it's needed, and how to be successful.