Young members bring more service to youth

We hear too many stories about how people, especially young, millennial generation individuals, are not joining service clubs. I'm happy to report that is not the case in the Optimist Clubs of Jamaica.

This picture, contributed by the Optimist Club of Mammee Bay in St. Ann, Jamaica shows a youthful surge in membership. All were inducted at their recent installation banquet where they also heard from  Debbian Livingstone-Edwards, legal and policy officer at the Office of the Children's Advocate. Ms. Livingstone-Edwards explained the importance of positive role models in the development of youth.

"As parents and guardians and teachers and community leaders we cannot sew peas and expect to reap corn. Our children are likely to reproduce the values we teach them by our own interaction, conduct and philosophies," she explained.

The Optimist Club of Mammee Bay has identified a school in the community that it will work more closely with in the coming year as it continues to serve the youth. 

Photo courtesy of the Optimist Club of Mammee Bay. 

Youth is our thing

The  motto for Optimist International is "Friend of Youth." Optimist Clubs will typically use the same motto and more recently, they use the alternate tagline which is a shortened version of the mission statement "Bringing out the Best in Children." 

Of course some get more creative as did the Optimist Club of Christiana, Jamaica. According to Jamaica newspaper The Gleaner, "the Optimist Club has been creating a positive impact on the lives of people of the Manchester town, in particular the children, as they work at nation building."

Club president David Grant sums up the Optimist Club's work much more concisely. He said, "Youth is our thing." And a new motto was born.

Among its many accomplishments, the Optimist Club of Christiana has given more than $7 million in scholarships and works with the local schools to refurbish facilities, buy books and landscape the buildings for the beauty of the community.

Yes, youth is their thing. Yes, youth is our thing - the thing that binds all Optimist Clubs together in service.

A trip to Jamaica: Meet the Sunset Liguanea Optimist Club

What do you think of landing pages with music? Hokey? So 2006? Well, I've decided to give this website special dispensation for playing music when I arrived because

• The music is smooth
• It seems appropriate for an Optimist Club in Jamaica

The Optimist Club of Sunset Liquanea in Kingston, Jamaica invites you to find out more about the projects and purposes of their Optimist Club and Optimist International. As you enter you meet club President Patrick, read their mission statement "Building capacities through teamwork and participation" and find out how engaged this club is in society's challenges as they work to bring out the best in kids.

You can meet the members of the Sunset Optimist Club, find out about their sponsors and then move on to their blog with pictures and stories from many of their projects. As of today, the most recent project was completing a playground at the Marie Atkins Basic School. Please click here to see the wonderfully colorful and heartwarming pictures. 

I hope you enjoy your online visit to Jamaica via the Sunset Liguanea Optimist Club.

Christmas Chinese luncheon

True or false: if you are going out to eat on Christmas Day you have to go to a Chinese restaurant.

The notion popularized byThe Christmas Story is probably more true than false. That's why this link in particular caught my eye "Support the Optimist Club of Mona Christmas Chinese Luncheon."   I clicked on the link and discovered that an Optimist Club was holding a fundraiser before Christmas with a Chinese luncheon delivery. 

What a great idea!  Chinese take-out, delivered straight to you during your busiest season.  It's a way for your Optimist Club to provide a service, make money for your club's youth projects and have a little fun with Christmas customs and beliefs.

Now is the time to provide more service to youth in the Caribbean

Our Optimist Clubs in North America celebrate the holiday season with gusto.  It is an opportunity to throw parties, give gifts and help children feel the wonders of the season.  It is also an opportunity for our capitalistic nature to emerge as we sell Christmas trees, wreaths, candy, popcorn and all sorts of accoutrements of the season.

But in other countries, the holidays are not so commercial.  They are celebrated with joy and reverence, and for some the mission of the Optimist Club is not temporarily hijacked by frivolity.  I found this to be true in Jamaica where the Optimist Clubs in the Caribbean District recently heard from Lloyd B. Smith, President, Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  Mr. Smith gave a solemn message and challenge by saying that social clubs will have to play a role in helping youths find their identities.  Doing so will help alleviate social problems in Jamaica.

The presentation came as part of the Caribbean District's first meeting of the 2009-2010 administrative year.  This meeting provides training for club officers and others to carry forth the mission of service to children by building and maintaining youth and adult Optimist Clubs.  District Governor Gene M. Simpson explained, ""Our club mainly focuses on youths and their development and, while we acknowledge that there are similar organisations out there that offer similar services, we want our organisation to be the service club of choice as it relates to what our core function is about."

Thank you for your service to the youths of the Caribbean District and best wishes for success and happiness in the coming year. 

Read the full article "Social clubs need to help youth find themselves."

Optimist Club of Mandeville, Jamaica reaches out with love

Some Optimist Clubs choose to perform really big projects and they garner newspaper articles and praise for the large contributions. I am always so excited when I see a small, meaningful project make headlines and that is the feeling I have about this project from the Optimist Club of Mandeville, Jamaica.

Members of the Optimist Club visited the Hanbury Home and provided a day of entertainment and caring. Hanbury Home is made up of 80 orphaned young people. The children thrived from the interaction provided by the Optimists which including reading stories, talking one-on-one with them and providing hugs. The House Mother said the visit provided positive relations for the children, but that the adults also helped her complete her tasks.

We often forget how lending our hands and hearts in such a simple way can make a difference in the lives of so many. Thank you to the Optimist of Mandeville. Keep reaching out to others.