Take a tour of the PNW District blog

One of the most ambitious website projects to be conducted by an Optimist District is going on in the Pacific Northwest. This district has created a dynamic blog platform that incorporates all 50 Optimist Clubs in the district.

The PNW District stretches from Idaho to Alaska and includes Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. The main blog site attempts to highlight stories from all around the district and bulletin editors and others are encouraged to contribute to their own blogs which also serve as an enhanced club directory.

Visitors can go on a quick tour by watching this video. Click here to visit the PNW District blog.



Do you belong to an Optimist Club in the PNW District? They are looking for authors, photographers and more. Contact the district at this link for an assignment.

Santa says, "Join an Optimist Club"

Following breakfast, Santa
and Mrs. Claus prepare to meet
some Coquitlam children

The Optimist Club of Coquitlam, British Columbia has been assisting the Coast Sound Music Academy by selling Christmas Trees at IKEA. For only $20, customers can choose their tree, receive an additional $20 coupon for IKEA, and have the great spirit of Christmas provided by the Optimist Club. Their original $20 goes straight to the Academy's music program. What a deal!

In more holiday activities, the Coquitlam Optimist Club also collected nearly 600 pounds of food for the Share Food Bank during the Annual Breakfast with Santa program. 

According to club spokesperson Annette Smith, more than 300 Sparks, Brownies, Beavers and Cubs, plus their siblings, parents, and leaders helped with the donations and were rewarded with "full tummies, candy canes, balloon art, and a sense of helping the less fortunate." 

Yes, Christmas is for sharing, but did you know that you can join an Optimist Club and have that feeling all year-round? Santa says, "Find a club near you and join today." 

Feeding children close to home

Chilliwack Optimist Club donates
to the Feed the Children Program

My friend Brian Phillips (center) has a favorite project that he ushers through the Chilliwack Optimist Club every year. It might hit with some resistance along the way, but with his drive and personality, the club contributes in a major way every year to make certain that children can get a free lunch every day from the Feed the Children Program at Bowls of Hope. 

Why would there be any type of resistance to such a great campaign? Anytime that an organization raises large sums of money to give away to another organization, people might wonder why. After all, money is needed to operate their own club or organization. 

This is what makes an Optimist Club so special. Because of their local involvement in community causes, and their drive to fit in where they are needed most, Optimist Club members choose the projects that they want to be involved with. And for the Chilliwack Optimist Club, the Bowls of Hope Feed the Children Program comes out on top every year. 

This year, the Chilliwack Optimist Club donated $20,000 to the program. Last year they donated a little more, but that included the van that you see in the picture. The program requires between $30,000 and $35,000 each year, so corporate sponsors are sought as well. The meals are cooked in the Chilliwack Community Correctional Facility kitchen, involving more people in positive service learning opportunities. 

Ten schools are provided approximately 450 meals each day during the school year. According to school administrators, the program has had an added benefit: absenteeism has gone down. More children are in class and learning. What a great project! 

If I were leader of the free world

Optimist International has extended the oratorical contest to include students with hearing deficits. Called the Communication Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, students up to age 19 compete against one another to earn $2,500 scholarships in 49 districts around the world.

Like their hearing counterparts, the students prepare and present a speech on the same topic. This year it is, "If I were leader of the free world, the first issue I would address would be..."

Yesterday in Eagle, Idaho, the Eagle Optimist Club hosted the first communication contest for deaf and hard of hearing students in the state in many years. Six students participated and three will advance to the district competition. It was a good start on an excellent program according to Chairperson Myrna Harris. "It was good this year, and next year will be even bigger and better," she said.

Getting the program started in Idaho was a two-year project. Making the connections and plugging into the deaf community took some time, and honestly, happened accidentally as part of another program that Harris was involved with through the Ada County Sheriff's Department where she serves as an outreach and volunteer coordinator. Of course, it wouldn't have happened if the club had not been alert and reaching out to others.

In Burnaby, British Columbia, the Optimist Club has connected to the deaf community through Deaf BC. For nearly ten years, they have held the Communications Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at the Michael J. Fox Auditorium. This year 27 students participated. Their top three contestants will meet Eagle's top three at the end of April in the District finals.

It is rewarding to start a new project and extend the reach of Optimist Clubs. It is especially fulfilling to touch the lives of students who face challenges with grace and poise.  I believe that Optimist Club members learn from our students every year in the oratorical contests. Their views are fresh and full of hope and amazement. Through them, we experience optimism in action.

Smiling through adversity

Glenda Standeven is a member of the Optimist Club of Chilliwack, British Columbia.  She is also a cancer survivor. Glenda has spoken on different occasions to the Chilliwack Optimist Club and the Pacific Northwest District - Optimist International  with inspirational stories of her struggle with bone cancer.  Always peppered with humor, she says, "When you've lost a leg to bone cancer and your last name is Standeven, you really find a sense of humor in a hurry."

Now Glenda and two other cancer survivors, Julie Houlker and Michelle Rickaby, have written a book to tell how they deal with life's many challenges including cancer.  All three agree that it is their positive attitude that helps them get through the tough times. The book's title "Choosing to Smile" reflects their optimism.

Find out more about the authors, read excerpts from the book, learn where they will be speaking and buy the book at this link http://www.choosingtosmile.com/index.  Two dollars from every sale is designated to the Optimist International Foundation of Canada.

Celebration, fundraiser or both?

The Abbotsford Optimist Club of British Columbia celebrated their 25th Anniversary earlier this month.  I asked them to send me a picture for the PNW District Optimist blog.  Perhaps I thought I would get a picture of awards being given or speeches being made.  What a pleasant surprise to see happy faces and people enjoying being a part of the the fun.  Since it was March, they chose a St. Patrick's Day theme and they shared their special day with the Childhood Cancer Foundation of Canada, raising $3,000 for them through the silent auction. 

In the picture: Gwen Settle, Stephen Poirier and Carol Lum. 

Keeping children out of trouble

The Optimist Club of Mission, British Columbia will host the Annual Youth Talent Show on March 20, 2010.  Always popular in the community, the talent show lets children shine and the $5 ticket fee raises money for the other youth serving projects that the club performs throughout the year.

The Mission Optimist Club sponsors free ice skating and swimming and coordinates a full color magazine written and designed by students. 

The talent show allows the participants the opportunity to experience a real stage and a live audience.  Rhett Nicholson, youth programs coordinator remarked, “In Mission there isn’t a lot to do as a teenager, so we provide opportunities to keep kids out of trouble.”

That is what being part of an Optimist Club is all about.  Inspiring children; recognizing children, and helping them to be the best they can be. 

Anniversary party to double as club fundraiser

Optimist Club fundraisers are often times for fellowship as well.  Take the Abbotsford Optimist Club 25th Anniversary for example.  This Saturday they will celebrate 25 years of service to their community and they have decided to share the evening event with the British Columbia Cancer Foundation.  The evening will include dinner, dancing, a silent auction and door prizes.

What does Santa eat for breakfast?

According to the Optimist Club of Coquitlam, British Columbia, Santa Claus eats pancakes for breakfast.  In fact, I believe most Optimist Clubs in North America believe in that menu for the jolly old elf and his friends.

Optimist Clubs have been serving up pancakes to the delight of  youngsters throughout the US and Canada for more than twenty-five years.  In addition to the pancakes, they take pictures with Santa for the children to take home and some give them early gifts.  But I think the best part about Breakfast with Santa is the opportunity for adults to interact with the wonderful young participants for their enthusiasm, smiles and squeals of delight remind us all of what being an Optimist is all about. 

Picture courtesy of the Optimist Club of Coquitlam, British Columbia. Optimist Club Chef Hal Griffin looks on as Santa greets his happy guests. 

Victoria Optimist Club donates to Jenecee Place

Technology is making it so much easier to share information.  I was excited to see that I had a Flickr alert for new Optimist Club pictures.  I was doubly excited to see that the picture set was about the Optimist Club of Victoria, British Columbia; my home district.  Great pictures: please take a look.

But here's the challenge of ubiquitous technology.  I grabbed the link.  I enjoyed the pictures of my Optimist friends, but at the end of the photo set, I was confused.  I had no idea who the people in the pictures were or what the cause was they donated to.  Yes, I could see that it went to Jenecee Place and I could event tell that Jenecee Place was the organization that posted the photos.  However, I still don't know why or who the young lady was that collected the donation.

So I have a tip for you today.  When you set out to tell a story in pictures, please be sure to provide captions.  Your viewers will appreciate it.