Make a difference: Join an Optimist Club

As I continue to mature and grow older (it is inevitable), I am acutely aware of the fact that I have not had children. There is not anyone younger than me running around with my genes. How will I leave my legacy, my mark on the world?

I know that I have done many good things for many communities as a member of an Optimist Club. I have made a difference because I've empowered others to make a difference for their children and the cities where they live. My legacy will be the work I have given through my Optimist Club.

For example, four years ago, I helped start the Middleton Area Optimist Club. Like most new Optimist Club projects, it was slow to get going, but we chartered with more than 30 people. That's the good news. At the turn of the administrative year, about half of those people quit. That's the bad news.

However, this challenge brought an opportunity to make a difference. Fifteen individuals remained enthusiastic about their ideas to bring good things to Middleton. As a rural town outside of the Boise MSA, they longed for more activities that they could do at home without having to drive thirty or more miles to participate.

The group decided to host Free Movies in the Park. They collaborated with the Parks and Recreation District to purchase a big screen and video equipment. They enlisted 12 theater screen advertisers and community advocates to cover the movie licensing and on September 12, 2014, they will conclude the third season of Free Movies in the Park by hosting "Frozen" along with a Family Fun Fair.

The Middleton Area Optimist Club has made a difference. By completing their goal to create more activities for families in Middleton, the club has made the community more cohesive, generated more partnerships, and inspired the City to pursue initiatives to do more of the same.

The Middleton Area Optimist Club has also grown to more thirty members again and it has developed many more activities for the community. The Middleton Area Optimist Club makes a difference every day as do I, as a member of this special group.

That's why I encourage you to join an Optimist Club so that you too can make a difference every day. Do this and begin to build your legacy through the good works of an Optimist Club.

Find an Optimist Club here  or let me know if I can help you get a new Optimist Club in your community by sending me an email message here.

Image courtesy of  Far Reach at www.farreachinc.com 

Volunteerism and your community

"Those who aren't volunteering, just probably haven't been asked yet," says Tahna Cooper, executive director of the CASA program in Twin Falls, Idaho. In this video Cooper explains how volunteers make time to give one-on-one support to children through the Court Appointed Special Advocate Program and comes to that conclusion based on the feeling one gets in service to others. It is fulfilling to give of oneself in service to others. It makes our communities better places to live.

Barry Knoblich is also highlighted in this video. As the membership chair for the Twin Falls Optimist Club, he explains that service is fun. Over the past three years, the Twin Falls Optimist Club has grown by 50 members, and now 125 (and still growing), the club has donated more than $30,000 to a school track fund, and made many other contributions of money and time to a number of worthwhile projects that may not have happened without the club's support. The Optimist Club understands that if a project is not fun, a volunteer might not stay around long enough to feel the fulfillment that service brings.


Twin Falls, Idaho is blossoming from the attention of its community volunteers. Your city can too. Get involved - one way to do that is to start an Optimist Club. Ask me how.

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. 

Sometimes you have to feel the difference

There is a perception in this world that we think and say, "What's in it for me?" Actually, it is more of a reality. Fifty years ago, it was normal to join a group like an Optimist Club in order to give something back to the community. Today, potential and existing members evaluate the time that they will have to give to attend meetings and projects and look for how their involvement will advance their career.

Rarely do individuals examine the social nature of belonging and I find that even after many years of participating, I still have trouble putting it into words succinctly. The experience is different for each individual, but for me, belonging to an Optimist Club means that I have:

• The opportunity to learn about what is happening in my community from learned experts during presentations at club meetings
• A social group that shares similar values and goals
• A network of peers that I work with to conceive and perform projects that make our community a great place to live
• Knowledge and appreciation of the work performed by others in order to collaborate, not duplicate, efforts
• An increased awareness of local, national and international challenges
• The willingness to take the steps to make a difference. 

In writing this post, it comes to my mind that making a difference should not be the key motivator for service for the words imply that there are immediate benefits to our actions when we volunteer our time. It belies the reality that time, planning, fundraising, and other critical steps must be taken by someone in order for everyone to realize the benefits of action; not to mention it ignores that there are consequences of inaction or misguided action. 

That is why nonprofit and charitable organizations persist. It's easy to give money for others to organize so that you may, or may not, show up to perform a volunteer task. If you are truly committed to taking the steps to make a difference in your community, I ask that you reconsider your gift. Instead of money, please give your time and perform ground roots organizing through a service club. Your end result may not be as flashy, but your efforts will be more sincere. You will feel the difference rather than see it. 

Please click here if you would like more information about joining an Optimist Club in your community.

Optimist volunteers help special needs children

The Optimist Club of Tall Timbers, 2nd District, Tall Timbers, Maryland received a well-earned honor this week when they were recognized by the St. Mary's County Disability Commission for their work with special needs children. As part of the ceremony, Commission Chair Susan Erichsen explained that the Tall Timbers Optimist Club is "dedicated to bringing out the best in kids through its local community service and outreach programs."  She described the Spring Dance, Shop With a Cop and the Fall Festival full of kid-friendly activities.

She then hit on two programs that set the Tall Timbers Optimist Club apart from the rest: Camp Inspire and donations annually to a specific local child in need. Each year, the Fall Festival proceeds are designated to these two programs.

• Camp Inspire is the first summer day camp in Southern Maryland designed especially for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. It is coordinated by the St. Mary's Recreation & Parks District. 
• Specific children in need are also beneficiaries of the Optimist Club's fundraising efforts. Among others, some stories of past recipients include a 4-year old with cancer whose family received help with medical bills and a young boy with Cystic Fibrosis. 

The members of the Tall Timbers Optimist Club received the honor together as they were named "Volunteers of the Year."

See more at the Optimist Club of Tall Timbers, 2nd District website.