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

BTS: Shop with a Cop

With so many communities struggling to find ways to connect police officers to those they serve and protect in a positive manner, here is a thought. Many Optimist Clubs, among other service clubs and groups, host Shop with a Cop events at Christmas. Why not hold a similar event right now to help children get ready to go back to school?

I would like to take credit for this little brainstorm, but I borrowed the idea from Caldwell, Idaho where the Fraternal Order of Police recently launched its first Back to School Shop with a Cop event. Shopping day will take place on August 14, 2015 and it will be similar to the Christmas event; however, this shopping spree will find the children buying school supplies, backpacks and shoes, among other things that students need throughout the year.

Each participant will receive $200 and the police officers will accompany the young students on their shopping  trips to ensure they are using their money for the intendend purposes. As we Optimist Club members know, given the chance, the children often try to buy for others first before buying for themselves.

Shop with a Cop programs help humanize the police officers and set a positive tone betwen young people and those in authority so that if a child finds himself or herself in trouble, they are able to trust the police.

Why would an Optimist Club be involved in such a program? Because it meets two of the purposes of Optimist International:

• To inspire respect for law 
• To aid and encourage the development of youth, in the belief that the giving of one’s self in service to others will advance the well-being of humankind, community life and the world

Along with our other two purposes: 

• To promote patriotism and work for international accord and friendship among all people
• To develop optimism as a philosophy of life, utilizing the tenets of the Optimist Creed

Optimist Clubs are working to bring out the best in youth, our communities and ourselves; right here, right now.

Photo credit: Canyon County Sheriff's Office

Dictionaries will never go out of style

Does anyone really use a printed and bound dictionary anymore? I hear that asked whenever a dictionary donation program is mentioned and I always think, well, if they don't they should. There's something special about feeling the weight of a book in one's hand and actually flipping the pages to find what you are looking for presents a sense of accomplishment that one can't find or feel on Google.

I'm happy to report that the Stevens Point Noon and Plover Optimist Clubs in Wisconsin recently donated 600 Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionaries to the third grade classes in their school districts. It was the 10th year that they the clubs have sponsored this activity.

Shown here are some happy third graders from the St. Stephen Elementary School. Thanks to the Stephens Point Optimist Club for the picture.

Back to school time brings out the Optimist Club

For sixteen years, the Sheboygan Noon Optimist Club has helped students go back to school. And over the years, the school supply drive has grown to serving 800 students to more than 1700 at last count. It's a family tradition for some. Having received the supplies when they were a student, they now return to volunteer in the program.

 Approximately 100 volunteers, Optimist Club members and others, volunteer the day of the event. According to program co-chair Linda Machtig, families begin to line up as early as 3:00 in the morning. It's like Best Buy after Thanksgiving Day, she explains.

She also explained that the need is so great that next year they will begin to advertise earlier for donations. More than 15,000 products were purchased this year, totally depleting their funds. The Optimistic way though is not to complain, but instead, find a way to do more. The Sheboygan Noon Optimist Club promises to do just that.

 Watch a clip of the Sheboygan Noon Optimist Club’s Back to School Basics School Supply Giveaway.


      

Video courtesy of the Sheboygan Press. 

Optimists "Stuff the Bus"

Serving New Hanover County schools
North Carolina

The Optimist Club of the Port City joined in with the Communities in Schools campaign to help students return to school with the supplies they need. Now in its eighth year, businesses, individuals and service clubs help "Stuff the Bus."

Buses were located at Walgreens, Walmart and Office Depot stores. Last year more than $60,000 worth of supplies were donated. This year, the Communities in Schools program hopes to top that amount.

Optimist Club President Andrew Nettleman believes this program is important because it  "[helps] kids get started in the right direction early on in life so they are not running into the same issues others in the community face later down the road."  Read all about the project at New 14 Carolina.

With good timing or forethought, Project Stuff the Bus took place on a government sponsored tax-free weekend allowing more supplies to be purchased for students.

"This is what we as Optimists do"

“We support kids in the community, and this is one of the things that we as Optimists do,” said Todd Winkel, Member, Brandon Valley Optimist Club.

In this instance, the Optimist Club was donating $905 to help defray the costs of school lunches throughout the school district. It is done nearly anonymously as the school food services director watches for students whose school lunch funds are running low and then supplements their accounts to be sure those children do not go hungry.

The Brandon Valley Optimist Club raised the money through the Annual Wild Game Feed. The wild game was donated from hunters in the community and included pheasant, geese, duck, caribou, elk and venison. About 250 people attended the event.

Formed in 2008, the Brandon Valley Optimist Club is located in Brandon, SD. They are known in the community for hosting unusual fundraising events. One of the fun activities occurred soon after the club was organized: Plunger Bowl 2009. Take a look at the fun.

Plunger Bowl 2009 from BIG John Small on Vimeo.

Helping children return to school

The Optimist Club of Des Plaines, Illinois adopted the Plainfield Elementary School for their first-ever school supply drive. And what a supply drive it was!

The Optimist Club reached out to members and were rewarded with an SUV-load of crayons, paper, pencils, binders and more supplies than were expected. It took a flat-bed dolly to move the supplies inside and once inside the kiddos were there to help sort, stack and distribute the supplies to others.

As we know, the economic situation has made it especially tough for families to send their children back to school.  School supply drives are becoming much more common amongst Optimist Clubs.

Thanks to the Des Plaines Optimist Club for the pictures, the story and especially for serving your community.

Backpacks for Boys Town

It's hard to believe that for some students, the school year has already begun, but I know that it has because I am hearing starting to hear stories from Optimist Clubs who are helping children get a great start.

In Middleton, Idaho a brand new club has plans in the works for a Back-to-School party in the first week of September. 

In Deerfield, Illinois the Optimist Club is hosting a Mudfest where high school students kick-off the year with an annual volleyball and tug-of-war in the mud. 

Many clubs are providing backpacks for students like the Saddleback Optimist Club of Laguna Woods, CA. Shown in the picture is Teresa Dinh, Program Director for Boys Town, who stopped by the Optimist Club to pick up over 100 backpacks donated by the Optimist Club with donations from Costco, club and community members. 

Is your Optimist Club hosting a back-to-school activity? Please tell us about it or send a picture.  We'd love to highlight your story right here.  Thanks.

Picture provided by the Saddleback Optimist Club. 

Children get ready for school in Elk Grove, California

Free haircuts, clothes and school supplies will help the children in Elk Grove, California go back-to-school in style.  About 100 students in the Elk Grove School District participated in 'Childspree' provided by the Optimist Club, Kohl's, the Elk Grove Unified School District and Soroptimist International. They also received dental supplies and were treated to a pancake breakfast from the Lions Club.

According to Sandy Waite, a Healthy Start Coordinator in the Elk Grove School District, Childspree is an annual event in Elk Grove. The activity allows individuals and organizations to contribute to the success of local students and help get them started on the right foot each year.  According to national data from the US Department of Agriculture, the average, middle-income family will spend as much as $760 per year to send their child to school.  It is important that the community is able to assist especially in tight economic times.

Thanks to the Elk Grove Optimist Club for the photo and story.  

Optimist Club participates in annual Sock Off competition

Here is another service club competition and this time children receive a direct benefit.  Six service clubs in Gratiot and St. Louis Counties, Michigan competed in the Annual Sock Off.  The winner is determined by the club that collects the most socks and under clothing for children.

The proud winner of the Golden Sock Award for 2009 is .... The Exchange Club.  Also participating were the Optimist Club of Gratiot County, Alma/St. Louis Rotary, Breckenridge Rotary, Kiwanis Club, Exchange Club and Ithaca Rotary Club. 

Together the clubs collected more than 2,000 pairs of new socks and underwear for the Back to School project.  Now in its sixth year, the Back to School Project provides clothing and school supplies to children in an effort to ensure that they have the basic tools to succeed at school.