Why do Optimist Volunteers matter?

It has been two months since my last post. That seems impossible to me, but the archives do not lie so as I set out this morning to catch up - so to speak - I was contemplating a very serious topic. I planned to explain that in a membership organization members are customers. Not only are they customers, many are fans; the people that will always buy what you are selling. I was then going to launch into a critique about the services that are missing from the district in which my Optimist Club belongs and caution that if members' needs are not met, like most customers, they will shop around and perhaps find their supplies somewhere else. If one is not cautious and strategic, a club will lose its fans.

Whew! That's a one paragraph recap to what was going to be a 300-word essay.

Here is what saved you from my pontifical  musing. I opened my email to find the latest club bulletin from the Optimist Club of Albuquerque. Editor Jim White puts a lot of information into the four-page publication every week and this week was no different. What caught my attention and made me smile was this picture.

The caption read: First Graders at Janet Kann Elementary with Optimist backpacks full of supplies.

As I looked at the picture, I thought, those backpacks could have been provided by anyone or any group, but they were not.  

They were provided by an Optimist Club. 

Like most Optimist Club members, I enjoy the social proof that answers the question, why are you an Optimist? This picture explains what we do (help children) and one can imagine how we do it (collecting and distributing school supplies) and why we do it (so that children can participate in school and get the education they need to live up to their full potential).

What it doesn't explain is how belonging to an Optimist Club makes the difference. Bringing caring adults together on a regular basis, Optimist Clubs discover local needs and develop plans to meet those needs. As an established organization, the Optimist Club offers a consistent point of contact; serves as a charitable fundraiser and funding source; and shares hope through positive words and deeds in the community.

Optimist Clubs are as relevant today as they were when they started in 1911. Yes, there is more competition from other organizations and corporations that provide social welfare and civic services, but only one provides the opportunity to serve as an Optimist Volunteer.  Optimist Clubs, the local chapters of Optimist International, are the positive face of community service in North America and around the world.

You are invited to be an Optimist Volunteer. Find a club near you and #JoinAnOptimistClub today.

Photo credit: Optimist Club of Albuquerque

Bounce Fever in London, Kentucky

I often see Optimist Club projects that I want to "do at home." In other words, I want to take the idea to my Optimist Club and ask for volunteer members to be as excited about it as me. When we're all excited about something, we make it happen.

Of course, often times when I see a project, especially around the holidays - take the Oswego Optimist Club Pumpkin Races for example, we have to wait a whole year to make it happen. However, the project that I am highlighting today, playfully called Bounce Fever, can be done at any time of year. But putting it on when its cold outside, well that just makes it more fun. Kids love bounce houses and what could be better than a whole gymnasium full of them with unlimited access for a full day? 

Thanks to the London Laurel Optimist Club in Kentucky for the inspiration. I see Bounce Fever coming to a gym in Idaho very soon.

Working together for Christmas

Optimist Clubs frequently serve as a catalyst or conduit for others give more to their community. As a catalyst, the club might spark an interest in a cause and as a conduit, the club enables giving of gifts, money, or service.

During the holiday season, the Optimist Club of Barbados South is doing both. It recently accepted gifts from the Sport for Life Program. The gifts will be given to children and families with the Christmas Hamper project that targets 30 families this year through the Child Care Board, plus an additional 10 families in the community.

According to Tricia Ford with the Sport for Life Program, a program that inspires children in all areas of their life through sports, the group is focusing on service. She was proud to report that all 43 of the participants donated gifts to the cause.

Optimist Club president Margaret Chapman-Farley received the gifts and was thankful to the group for helping the Optimist Club provide more services for children.

Photo credit: The Barbados Advocate

Brand awareness starts with you

The Optimist Club of Leesburg, Florida is getting ready for Kids FunFest 2013. Club members have decided on the location; it will take place at the Harley Davidson of Leesburg. They have recruited sponsors and participants, informational exhibitors and vendors, and they are now in the process of marketing the event.

I'm happy to report that they took to Facebook and Twitter in order to gain some social media buzz and in both locations they claim that the Optimist Club of Leesburg is putting on Kids FunFest 2013. However, they've also included this flyer with their posts.

Notice anything wrong? Let's do a quick survey:

• Location? Check.
• Date? Check.
• Time? Check.
• Who will be there? Check. 
• Who's coordinating the event? 
• How do I get more information?

Sadly, they Optimist Club has forgotten to include its own name, logo and contact information as the coordinator of the event. Not only does the flyer leave questions unanswered, the Optimist Club will miss out on the community awareness and goodwill that the event will generate.

Don't be shy, Optimists! Share the Optimist International logo as often as you can. This is just one example of how brand awareness starts with you.

Optimist Clubs should deter violence

When I heard of the NRA response to the Newtown, CT tragedy, I went to Twitter, but what I had to say was longer than 140 characters. That led me to Facebook instead. I have to admit, I don't always share fully on Facebook because many of my Facebook friends are not as liberal as I am, but I do hope that they are as pragmatic.

My post was, "How discouraging that the NRA would call for armed guards in every school. Not only do I find it a disturbing picture, I fear that it would be a very short distance to impair individual freedoms. Liberty can be taken away by armed men and women, perhaps even more quickly than it can be preserved."

As an Optimist Club member, I look for ways to help raise children up, inspire them to try and try again to live up to their full potential. The vision of an armed guard in every school, in my mind, limits everyone's potential.

We do not live in a society that believes violence begets violence. The statement made by NRA's executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," is so out of touch with my values that I was compelled to respond.

I generally leave the topic of guns alone. While I don't like guns, I believe that those who want to own them have an individual right to do so. However, we cannot ignore that guns are being used inappropriately by some citizens and for that reason we must call for more regulation. 

The purpose of government is to keep its citizens safe; let's start with greater gun control laws in our own country. The purpose of an Optimist Club is to provide hope and a positive vision for all. Again, I say, let's start with greater gun control laws in our country. These are completely compatible purposes and perfectly achievable goals.

Optimist International has long searched for a flagship program that its member clubs can rally around. It's dabbled in scholarship contests for communications skills, pediatric cancer research and golf. It's even tried internet safety. The biggest challenge has been its dated approach to address problems that were being addressed by others in more dramatic fashion.

The rise of violence in our communities is neither dated or well-addressed by any group. Optimist Clubs, with their positive approach, can be on the forefront of this issue and I hope that they will. Deterring violence through education, alternative activities, and an increased awareness of those who have mental and cognitive impairments is called for in the name of optimism, hope and a positive vision for all.

I'm interested in designing a non-violence program for our Optimist Clubs to pursue. Who's with me? Leave a note; let's work together to get this done. 

Harry Potter to take on Darfur

Organizations, or perhaps individuals inside organizations, lament that our young people are not as willing to give as generations before them and service learning programs have emerged as early as elementary school to teach them to volunteer. I always wonder why children must taught this value. Shouldn't it be an experience they get at home or from the community over time?

Today I learned of an effort to capitalize on the popularity of Harry Potter as a way to encourage children to be socially aware. The Harry Potter Alliance capitalizes on the popularity of the Harry Potter and Hunger Games movies and books and the director thinks that by harnessing the energy of our young people today, they will someday make a difference in Darfur or beyond.

Noble efforts, but personally, I think that kids need time to be kids. Their job description should be go to school and learn, help out at home, have a hobby, and play, not solve the world's problems.

Children should first and foremost get the foundation to make responsible decisions later in life.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments, please.

Video from Philanthropy Video on YouTube. 

Making a difference in the lives of youth

Their motto is "Making a difference in the lives of youth."

Yes, the Little Haiti Optimist Club is making a difference in  Miami Beach, Florida.

One of their early activities enabled students to produce  their own video segment for Reel2Real TV. This is only  one of the ways this new Optimist Club, formed in April 2010, is giving back to their community. They also provide sports opportunities, education and tutoring, an empowerment conference for girls, ongoing community beautification programs, toy drives, family activities and more.

• Click here to see a complete list of Little Haiti Optimist Club activities for 2011. 
• Check out some of the people, companies and organizations that partner with the Little Haiti Optimist Club.
• Donate to or become a member of the Little Haiti Optimist Club.
• And please, be sure to check out the video, produced by the kids. 

From Reel2Reel TV Show from Little Haiti Optimist Club on Vimeo.

Check out those pumpkins!

The Evening Optimist Club of Fort Morgan, Colorado has a pumpkin patch and at this time of year it is a pretty popular place. Students from all of the elementary schools in Morgan County have been visiting the patch and picking a pumpkin to take home with them.

The Optimist Club also uses the pumpkin patch as a fundraiser. After the schools' visits, leftover pumpkins are sold to the public.

Thanks to the Evening Optimist Club for the picture and story.

Children enjoy Spring Break Day

Ahh....spring break.  Students long for the cold months to end so they can get a taste of the warm sunshine and preview the summer hiatus from school that is only about eight weeks away.  Parents, however, are not always that enthusiastic because with more and more two-earner households, spring break often means one has to take time away from work to be with the kids.  While mom or dad might enjoy the week, they often cannot help but worry about the crimp in the budget or loss of accumulated vacation time that the week off might create.

The Optimist Club of Brighton, Michigan offers one day during spring break to help parents out.  "Spring Break Day" is a fun field day of activities that includes crafts, gardening, face-painting, swimming, basketball, and safety/first aid stations that provide hands-on learning and entertainment for the children.  Parents are welcome, but not required in this day-long activity.  The Brighton Optimist Club provides the manpower, activities and supervision for the day. 

Please click here to see photos from Spring Break Day.

Optimist Club's woodworking booth most popular attraction

There were 25 people in line when the doors opened at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday for the Children's Festival at Marathon Park in Wausau, Wisconsin.  More than 2,000 people visited throughout the day to enjoy this family-friendly activity.
 
From arts and crafts to puzzles and pets, the children get the opportunity to participate with hands-on activities.  According to park superintendent Karyn Powers the children enrich their creativity by seeing and feeling things that might be different than what they experience at home. 

For 37 years, one of the most popular booths has been offered by the Wausau Optimist Club.  They offer a Woodworking Booth where kids pick out a small piece of lumber and then go to work hammering nails.  The club demonstrates how to hold the tools and hammer safely so that they will be safe avoid injury. 

What a great way to engage with the imagination, energy and sensory stimulation of the kids.

Thanks to the Wausau Optimist Club for the pictures and story.

Holiday Happenings

Most Optimist Clubs perform some type of Christmas event. Could it be because of the youth connection?  Maybe...I know that is sure what brings the most smiles to the most faces.  Here is a look at a few activities in our Optimist Club communities:

• The Optimist Club of Parry Sound, Ontario coordinated the biggest Santa Claus Parade ever.
• The Noon Optimist Club of Boise, Idaho helped throw a party with Santa at MSTI for kids with cancer and their families.
• The Optimist Club of Jerome, Idaho served up free Breakfast with Santa to the entire community.
• The Mt. Holly Optimist Club of Gastonia, N. Carolina presented free Breakfast with Santa.
• The Optimist Club of Anguilla celebrated Fete d'Noel.
• The Optimist Club of Twin Falls, Idaho gave Head Start students and families a dinner party with Santa and presents.

These are just a few examples of how Optimist Clubs and Christmas come together.  Please provide a comment below and tell us about the Holiday Happenings in your Optimist Club!

Photo courtesy of the Parry Sound Optimist Club. 

Optimist Clubs just do it

This link was sent to me by Don Keating, S/T, Optimist Club of St. Andrews, SC.  Kids don't recognize difficulty as impossible. They just go to it and get it done. 

Same for Optimist Clubs. What we do as Optimist Club members is not always written or easy; but like this little guy in the video, we imagine what can be and just do it. Enjoy!