Have a little fun with your pancakes

I have mentioned before how much I love an Optimist Club Pancake Breakfast. It brings the community together for a good cause and there's sweet syrup to boot!

One of the real attributes of a pancake breakfast, spaghetti supper, chili cook-off or other club fundraiser with food is it increases fellowship within our clubs. Our members get to laugh and enjoy one another and build true bonds of friendship as is demonstrated in this quick little video from the Cerritos Optimist Club. Enjoy.

Posted by Cerritos Optimist Club on Saturday, March 5, 2016

Malibu teachers awarded for dedication to youth

Through its members, Optimist Clubs strive to bring out the best in children by working hands-on with them to help them realize and reach for their full potential. Optimist Clubs do this on a random basis by coordinating scholarship programs, hosting youth sports events and producing family-style festivals, among other things, that set the children in the right direction.

However, there are others who do this regularly, every weekday, for nine or more months per year. They are called teachers. The Malibu Optimist Club recently held its eighth annual teacher appreciation "Excellence in Education" program. Six teachers were awarded the "Teacher of the Year" at their respective Malibu schools.

The teachers were nominated by their school principals and honored by the Optimist Club with award plaques and $100 gift certificates to a local merchant. Congratulations to all.

Optimist Phil Gajic (far left) poses with (left to right) Susy R. Blair of Webster Elementary, Heather Russell of Our Lady of Malibu, Sandy Carter of Point Dume Marine, Julie Siegel of Juan Cabrillo Elementary, Juliacheri Hoos of Malibu Middle School, Henry Wadsworth of Malibu High School, Optimist Ken Kearsely and Optimist President Tarek Shraibati.

Thanks to the Malibu Optimist Club for the photo.

Positive Policing recognized in Santa Barbara

Optimist International's motto is "Friend of Youth." The motto is one of the most celebrated reasons for belonging to an Optimist Club, preceded only by the Optimist Creed and the fellowship of sharing community service with others.

Many Optimist Clubs form special bonds with the law enforcement officers of the community and partner with them on projects like bike safety events, anti-bullying presentations, and drug and alcohol prevention programs, among other things. Many take time to give special recognition during a Respect for Law Program that recognizes the police officers for their service.

The Optimist Club of Santa Barbara recently went above the service angle to recognize the officers in their community for "positive policing." According to club president Chuck Champlin,  Officers Jon Reyes and Kyle Lowry, and Sgt. Ed Olsen performed acts during 2013 that made them stand out among their peers for their positive actions. Read the full story here. 

Santa Barbara Optimist Club awards Positive Policing Award

As Optimist Clubs strive to share positive actions and attitudes with others, the recognition is a perfect way to share that vision with others. Congratulations to all.

Photo credit: Lara Cooper, Noozhawk

The Optimist Creed, always

Over the years, I've discovered that Optimist Club meetings vary in style in substance. Some offer informative speakers so that Optimist Club members can learn about what's happening in their communities, among other things. Others focus on business and the Optimist Club members make plans for how they will serve more people and more causes. A few focus on fun and tell jokes and share social time with their community of friends.

However, one thing remains constant. No matter where you travel, an Optimist Club meeting will always begin or end with the Optimist Creed. In the following video, the Optimist Club of Apple Valley, CA shares its rendition of the Optimist Creed featuring the most important part of any club: its people. Enjoy. 

Service clubs are built to last

We are frequently told that service clubs are a dying breed, beginning with Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone, published in 2000, and continuing with the mindset of many volunteer leaders and workers today.

Putnam's book was subtitled "The Collapse and Revival of American Community." My thoughts today lie in that second verb - revival. You see, I don't believe that service clubs ever collapsed; however, I know that many individuals who made up service clubs were a number of distressing things.

First, they were exclusive. That's right, men made up the service club foundation and their spouses were invited to play along only at social occasions. When women began to be more visible in the workforce, men were slow to adapt to working alongside ladies in the pursuit of good. Truth be told, they probably just didn't want to eat lunch next to them, for whatever reason, and women weren't invited to join the local service club.

When pushed, the Supreme Court said ladies had to be allowed to join and then the service clubs shed many of those men who were set in their ways, many of whom were long-time members. Those men were selfish. They didn't want to share their network, nor the social good they provided, with all. I'll refrain from actively stating that those men disregarded basic human rights. It was just a time of change in our culture, where women and African-Americans were making small steps towards parity and those who didn't like progress demonstrated their distaste by removing themselves as a form of protest.

However, ladies and other minorities joined and that is when the revival began. The pace is insufferably slow, but it is a revival nonetheless as new clubs are built, members are added and more projects are conducted. Service clubs provide community service on a local level every day in cities and regions all around the world.

That revival is to be celebrated. And that is what the Gardena Evening Optimist Club in California plans to do. On Saturday, February 22, 2014, it will hold its 50th Anniversary party. Charter members Herb Kawahara, Burt Nakamura and Sho Hiraizum will be honored.

Now that's a revival, or perhaps just recognition, that some service clubs are built to last.

Festival of Trees at the Optimist Youth Home

Christmas trees are an important part of the holiday season and many Optimist Clubs use them as fundraisers for the projects that they will do throughout the year. In Southern California, Optimist Clubs are using Christmas trees to help raise funds for another cause.

According to Janet Bennett Bryant, The Van Nuys' Airport Optimist Club, among others decorated Christmas trees for the Festival of Trees at the Optimist Youth Home. The Festival of Trees took place on December 1, 2013 and marks the 61st consecutive year that Optimist Clubs have come together for this fundraising activity. The Optimist Youth Homes and Family Services, a charitable organization that provides services to more than 500 at-risk youths and their families every day, has been supported by Optimist Clubs since 1920.

Shown here are the designers and submission from the Van Nuys' Airport Optimist Club. The ornaments on their tree were all handmade. Thanks to Janet Bennett Bryant for the photo and story.

A year in the life of a Cerritos Optimist Club member

It's a tad long, but the Cerritos Optimist Club's community connections show through loud and clear in this video that takes you through a year of Optimist Club activities including a pancake breakfast, trunk-or-treat, youth appreciation and the Optimist International Oratorical and Essay contest among other events and causes. Kids and family are foremost on the minds of the members of the Cerritos Optimist Club and they even highlight how fun it is to visit the club for a breakfast meeting.

 I'm going to be in the area next week. Maybe I just might join them for the fun. If you live in the area, why not visit and join? They meet at 7:00 a.m. on the 1st, 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month at The Off Street Cafe, 11020 Artesia Blvd,  Cerritos, CA 90703.

 

It's an Optimist Sports Fiesta

Optimist Club of Coronado

The Optimist Club of Coronado, California will host the 42nd Annual Optimist Sports Fiesta this weekend, July 27-28, 2013. The event includes a 10k run and one-mile ocean swim on Saturday and a triathlon on Sunday for athletes ages 12 and up.

Adding to the fun and as a way to involve the whole family, other activities have been added this year. They include golf, diving and sand castle construction. July 20 - 28, Optimist Club members will be at holes 3 and 11 at the Coronado Municipal Golf Course to award a new quality golf ball to golfers who make a required good shot. The diving competition will take place on July 28 the community center pool and is open to all age groups. The sand castle instruction, construction and demonstration takes place at Coronado's North Beach on Sunday. Teams of five are invited to build.

All activities except golf have an entry fee attached to them. That tells me that the Optimist Sports Fiesta is a both a fundraiser and a fun raiser. Serving as a great way to help kids be active outdoors, it also helps fund the many youth-serving activities of the Optimist Club year-round. With 110 members, the Optimist Club of Coronado is a patron of its community. Click here to see just some of their beneficiaries. 

Photo credit: Optimist Club of Coronado

Varsity pride

Throughout the 2012-2013 school year, the Morning Optimist Club of Moreno Valley, California solicited donations from the community to purchase varsity jackets for student athletes who could not otherwise afford them at Moreno Valley High School.

Donations came from businesses and residents and enough was raised to purchase 18 jackets this year. Fundraising will continue to do the same for next year's student athletes.

For the student to receive a jacket, they had to maintain a 2.75 GPA. Shown here are the first six recipients. Their GPAs ranged from 3.66 to 4.7. Great job on and off the field!

Photo courtesy of George Price, President, Moreno Valley Optimist Club.

Meet the Riverside Optimist Club

KVCR, the public radio station for the Inland Empire, California, recently featured the Riverside Optimist Club as the topic for the I.E. Scene. Connecting the Optimist Club with their audience extends the vision of KVCR to bring communities together. For the Optimist Club, it gets them a little publicity for the scholarship programs they provide to the deserving youths in the community.

Watch it online here: Riverside Optimist Club.

Truckee Optimist Club to host brew fest

The Truckee Optimist Club supports the youth in their community in a number of ways. They respond to requests for programs with special needs and those that have benefited recently include:

High School Athletics

Girl's softball
Swim Team
Cross Country Skiing
Alpine Skiing
Travel Fund
Symphonic Band
Cheerleaders
Football
Girl's Soccer
Track
Boy's baseball
Girl's volleyball

High School Academics
Student of the month
Oratorical

Cowboy poetry
Scholarships
Project Graduation
Year book
Computer
Sierra High programs
Young Authors
Drama club/play

Community Athletics
Jr Wrestling
Youth Basketball
Buddy Werner Skiing
Girl's softball
AYSO Soccer
Little League
Pop Warner football
Jesse Owens track
Teen basketball

Community Youth Activities
Girl Scouts
Truckee Scouting
Halloween
Children's museum
Wheelchair tennis
Bike Safety
Art for the schools
Individual youth sponsorships
Civil Air Patrol Cadet

Elementary & Middle School
Elementary Swim Program
6th grade environmental camp
PE transportation
Egg art & poetry
Field Trips

One might think that a list that long covers everything, but they would be wrong. Additionally, the Truckee Optimist Club awards four scholarships to high school graduates each year. The scholarships range from $2,500 to $4,000 each. 

The club's ability to fund these important projects comes from the success in their community events. Namely, the Cannibal Car Cruise, Christmas Tree Sales, and the Brew Fest. 

The Truckee Optimist Brew Fest is what caught my attention today because it is fast approaching. It will be held on Saturday, June 8, 2013, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Attendees will taste specialty brews from Northern California and Nevada breweries, enjoy live music and lots of fun at Truckee River Regional Park. 

They say it's a great way to kick off the summer. I agree! It's also a great way to support the community. 

Hollywood Optimist Club presents the Junior Blind Olympics

George Ohan, president of the Optimist Club of Hollywood shares his video production skills with a video of the Junior Blind Olympics 2013. The Optimist Club supports the program through the Optimist Blind Youth Association.

Youth, ages 6-19 , are invited to participate in the annual event where they will gain confidence, friendship, and a true sense of accomplishment through competition. All events are adapted and coaches are on hand to instruct along the way. No experience is necessary for the athletes.

New members welcome to the family

"This morning we installed three new members," said the Cerritos Optimist Club.

Those are always such wonderful words to hear! New members bring new enthusiasm, new perspectives, and new ideas to the club so that it can reach out and serve the community in more ways than ever before.

The new Cerritos Optimist Club members are shown here in the front row: Dr. Dina Lew, Dr. Carol Hansen, and James Watson. Congratulations and welcome to the family.

Spring: Time for Optimist Games

Activities that get children outside and moving are really popular right now, partly because springtime makes us want to get active. But they are also popular because of the obesity epidemic that is threatening our country. Optimist Club members know that bringing out the best in children requires helping them to be healthy as well.

So over the past few weeks, I've seen a number of tri-star sports activities sponsored by Optimist Clubs. Tri-star sports encourages kids to do three activities in a sport. For instance, for baseball, young athletes would pitch, hit and run, and I was especially excited today to learn about the Redland Optimist Club Games. The games are series of track and field events for special needs children.

Each year, more than 200 elementary, middle school and high school students participate. Following the games, a healthy lunch is served. The Optimist Games, sponsored by the Redland Optimist Club has been held annually for 27 years. This year they received help from University of Redlands students, Redlands High School girls soccer team, and the Octagon Clubs from Redlands High School and Citrus Valley High School.

Thanks to the Redlands Optimist Club, Redlands, CA, for sharing the story and pictures.

Optimist Club scholarships for future health care workers

Ron Klemann, President, Camarillo Noontime Optimist Club, provided the above photo of seven outstanding students who were recently awarded scholarships courtesy of the Optimist Club. There was an informational press release that identified the students, left to right, as Zachary Pedersen, Reyna Montoya, Ariana Reyes, Jordan Jennings, Kaytlin Kuns, Leah Ramsaier and Ariana Cortes. Not shown in the picture is Tesara Santora. Scholarship chairperson Joyce Amer is shown third from left.

Each student received a $1,000 scholarship in memory of long-time Optimist Club member Dr. Lynn Merrill Jones. They each presented a brief history and discussed their plans for the future. The recent grads are planning careers in health care. In addition to earning outstanding grades they were active in school activities and community service.

I was especially touched by the picture. The fresh faces and casual style of the students showcases hope and potential. Combined with their spirit of community service, they exemplify what Optimist Clubs stand for. Congratulations and good luck, students.

Thanks to Ron Klemann for the photo and story. 

Eco-friendly fundraiser

The Breakfast Optimist Club of Sacramento, California is planning for the new year with their first fundraiser and community service project all wrapped up into one.

The Sacramento Breakfast Optimist Club and Kohl’s will hold an E-Waste and Shredding Event on Saturday, January 7th, 2012 between 8 and 5 pm. at the Kohl’s Store Parking Lot: 1896 Arden Way, Sacramento, CA 95815. 

Shredding is scheduled for 10 to 2 pm. and a donation of $5/banker box is welcomed. This event is held as a fundraiser to help finance youth projects in our community.

E-waste is the fastest-growing waste in the country and frequently contains hazardous materials like lead and mercury, which can adversely affect the environment. Everything from laptops and desktops, televisions and cell phones are collected at the event. 

Following the event, equipment is property disassembled and recycled into raw materials to be reused to manufacture new items. All equipment is destroyed and recycled in an environmentally sound manner by a fully permitted recycling facility.

"Why not kick-start the year by giving your old electrical items a new lease of life and recycling them at our community event?" asked David Komar, Event Coordinator.  "Last year, residents participated in this free opportunity to safely and securely dispose of their electronics, and we are please to continue to offer this service to the community and help, protect the balance of our environment," he concluded.

For more information, please click on the flyer or visit the Optimist Club event partners Viking Shred  or Advanced Computer Recycling. 

Celebrate your service, yourself

The Optimist Club of Cerritos, California collected more than 7,000 pounds of food this season to distribute to, among others, families they have adopted for the season through the "Needy Families" program that they coordinate with the Soroptimist Club. Annually, 25 families are identified through the Parks and Recs Department. This year they added 2 additional families.

With the needs so profound this year, many Optimist Clubs are doing even more, or as Optimist International President Jack Creswell would say, "Optimists are giving 100% and then some."

Giving time, talent and treasure through your Optimist Club, other service club, church or community organization is an important aspect of our own personal development.

We can do so much more to make a difference when we work together. It's just as important that we celebrate together and as the holiday season offers ample opportunities to serve others, it also offers similar opportunities to nourish our families and friendships.

That is exactly what the Cerritos Optimist Club did with their Annual Christmas Party. I think you'll agree, the pictures provided by David J. DeKriek show that the celebration is just as meaningful for the adults as the children.




Please use this post as reminder to do the same. Work hard, share your strengths, and take time to celebrate each other, the greatest gifts of all.



Photos courtesy of the Cerritos Optimist Club. 

How's that for optimism?

The Coyote Optimists at Cerro Coso Community College

Just before the end of the Optimist International administrative year, a new Optimist Club was formed at Cerro Coso Community College. Optimist Club members from West Bakersfield, James Minyard and Dr. Tom Thomas, led the charge to introduce the students to the positive feelings that accompany the opportunity for service through optimism.

As the students settled into their new club, the school has also joined in their optimism. They announced the organization's formation by publishing the Optimist Creed.

"How's that for optimism," asks the public information officer Natalie Dorrell.

I think it is just right! Thanks and welcome to the new Coyote Optimist Club.

Read more at the Cerro Coso Community College website. 

New Optimists Welcome

In two short days, Optimist International will celebrate the new year. With only 48 hours left to achieve their annual goals, Optimist District governors and Optimist Club presidents are still seeking new members to join the movement to bring out the best in children.

Since Optimist Clubs have different cultures, different approaches are taken in membership recruitment, but two show-and-tell type events crossed my desk recently that I want to share with you.

The first was a NOW (New Optimists Welcome) banquet hosted by the Tri Cities Optimist Club in Richland, Washington. (right) The Tri-Cities Optimist Club invited members of their community to enjoy dinner and learn more about the Optimist Club with a PowerPoint presentation. Additionally, current Optimist Club members hosted each of the tables and talked to their guests about the projects their club performs and what they enjoy the most. It's not high pressure, but they do ask for the sale and were rewarded with ten new members that evening.

On a little softer side, the Optimist Club of Newark, California hosted what they billed as the "Social Event of the Season" for their Optimist Club and invited members and guests to an afternoon BBQ picnic at the Jett Ranch. (left) Lunch was catered, bocce ball was played, a DJ entertained, and in between the members and guests looked at scrapbooks and talked in glowing terms about the club's projects and youth activities.

According to the report, potential new members were impressed, felt comfortable with the club and members and were sent home with applications to complete. They say the applications will come "flowing in."

It's always interesting to hear how different clubs promote themselves to others. The key to membership growth is to do projects that people want to participate in, talk about the projects (a lot), and then ask others to get involved.  And then remember, sometimes you have to ask more than once because no may just mean tell me more.

How do you recruit new members to your Optimist Club? Please share your stories with us in the comment section. Inquiring minds want to know!

Positive product placement

Keyboard, mouse and coffee. 

In order to share his passion and interest, Brian Voigt, President of the new Optimist Club in Ridgecrest, California recently made what he called a sneaky product placement.

When his employer, the Desert Empire Fair, received an anonymous donation of computers, he sent a press release to the paper as an acknowledgement. He included a picture of a computer, ready to go to work, with a a cup of Optimist Club coffee just waiting for its user.

Product placement has long been used by advertisers in Hollywood as a way to create brand awareness for their product. Of course, blatant product placement examples create criticism and garner more awareness in the process.

Brian called his product placement sneaky. I think it's most likely a snapshot of Brian's workspace and am touched by its authenticity.

How do you display your volunteer passion at work? Does your positive product placement inspire others to get involved?