Partners In Education

Optimist International partners with schools across the country, sponsoring scholarship contests for students to earn money and recognition for their academic achievements and communication skills, organizing community activities, raising money for childhood cancer, and fostering a culture of service and optimism. In addition, our hundreds of Junior Optimist International Clubs empower youth to volunteer for causes they care about, developing confidence and leadership skills while strengthening their communities.

Here are just a few ways local Optimist and Junior Optimist Clubs are partnering up on education in their communities across the country.

Middle School teacher Jennifer Pecco was working with her class to restore a wetland near the school, he contacted her to see if she could use some funding. Having some funds left from another project that would cover a portion of the project, the most immediate need was to purchase rubber boots for the students to wear in the marshy area. The Morehead Optimist Club Board approved a donation of $1,100 and presented a check to Ms. Pecco April 4 at their weekly meeting.

This outdoor classroom project is a tremendous undertaking, but with the assistance of wetlands biologist Tom Biebighauser, the students will learn surveying skills, biology, design, and they will see the project develop from concept to reality.

“During COVID, our students didn’t have the opportunity for close interaction,” Ms. Pecco said. “So, this is a tremendous opportunity for them to work together closely and develop their teamwork.”

Morehead Optimist Club sponsors wetlands project

MOREHEAD, KENTUCKY – When a creative science teacher developed a class project that involved the re-establishment of a wetlands area, the Morehead Optimist Club stepped up and donated to help fund it.

When Morehead Optimist Club President Bill Redwine read on social media that Rowan County

The project will include removal of cattails that have overtaken the area and the replanting of native plants, which will attract wildlife that feed on mosquitoes and other insects to create a natural bug control.

“This type of project is perfect for the Optimist Club to sponsor as it develops the minds of our students while creating an area that can be observed and enjoyed by everyone,” said Optimist Club President Bill Redwine.

Woodstock Midday Optimist Club provides mics for Cherokee County Schools

In 2018, when Woodstock Midday Optimist Club held our annual Club Communication Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, a long-time contact with the Cherokee County Schools, Educational Audiologist Dr. Jan H. Henriques, mentioned that Cherokee County Schools could use some new equipment in classrooms for students who are hard of hearing.

The school system did not have the money, so we asked Dr. Henriques to speak to our Club about the “MIC Balls” that Cherokee County wanted to purchase. These “MIC balls” are microphones that can be tossed to students who have the floor to speak, she explained. The devices wirelessly transmit what the student says to the classroom TV so everyone can hear it.

On May 2, 2018, the Woodstock Midday Club voted to take on the multi-year project and partnered with the Optimist International Foundation to begin accepting donations.

This year, the Woodstock Midday Club requested and received a $1,000 grant from OIF as part of the Optimist International Foundation Childhood Health and Wellness Grant Program.

Woodstock Midday’s MIC Balls project has given Cherokee Schools $18,500 and helped 3,980 to 7,960 children over the last 5 years, not including additional money raised through March 2023.

On Dec. 14, Dr. Henriques, along with Don Garner and Melissa Sneed, both special education directors with Cherokee County Schools, joined us to accept a check for $5,500.

As Dr. Henriques indicated, “The technology keeps evolving, but the schools feel that this product at this time is quality and helping many students hear and learn in the classrooms. It also helps teachers by reducing vocal strain. The teachers love when we place a system in the classroom!”

Rushmore Noon Optimist Club reaches thousands in Red Ribbon Week campaign!

The Rushmore Noon Optimist Club of the Black Hills has taken over the oldest and largest youth drug prevention program in the nation: Red Ribbon Week, partnering with local businesses, the South Dakota National Guard and Central High School JROTC to make the week-long campaign a success.

Red Ribbon Week began in 1988 as a tribute to DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who was murdered in 1985 by drug traffickers.

The Rushmore Noon Club reaches thousands of children in the Black Hills during the event each November. Members distribute 12,000 red ribbons to K-12 students, and businesses offer free or discounted items to those wearing their ribbons. The Club also sponsors a billboard contest for the best elementaryaged drug free artwork. The winner is revealed in front of the real billboard, with news media present to capture the excitement.

The Red Ribbon Week kick-off event features a celebration on Dinosaur Hill, the highest location in the community. Community members gather as the mayor reads a proclamation and raises a drug-free pledge banner signed by local students atop a 70-foot dinosaur sculpture where the whole community can see.

In addition to the public celebration, a local JROTC Club partners with the Rushmore Noon Club to tie red ribbons on statues of presidents located on downtown streetcorners. For their support of Red Ribbon Week, the JROTC Club was awarded the National 2021 Fulcrum Shield Award for the best drug free youth program.

The Rushmore Noon Club also sponsors a Spirit Award for schools that show the best Red Ribbon Week spirit. Winners receive a cash prize and a Red Ribbon Week traveling trophy.

“Red Ribbon Week has been a tremendous program for the Rushmore Noon Club and allows us to Bring out the Best in Youth!” the Club said.

Celebrating 50 years of Rineyville, Kentucky, Optimism – The Good, The Bad and The Future

Celebrating 50 years of Rineyville, Kentucky, Optimism – The Good, The Bad and The Future

Nearly 50 years ago — on June 12, 1973 — Rineyville parents, teachers and businesspeople came together to form an Optimist Club. They believed Rineyville could become a better neighborhood by being a “Friend of Youth,” and while the Club has changed a lot over the last five decades, it is still going strong.

The Club’s major accomplishment during those early years was constructing a community building at Rineyville Elementary School. For nearly three decades, that building held not only community events but also served as a library and computer lab.

The Club’s programs flourished from the 1980s to early 2000s. During that time, it was not unusual to see 60-80 kids in the Rineyville gym on Monday nights in the fall and early winter learning how to play basketball.

The 1990s and 2000’s saw many changes in the Club. The Rineyville Optimist Club Rodeo, which began in 1993, has since become the centerpiece of the Club’s fundraising efforts and a signature community event for Hardin County. Over the last decade, Members have begun to see adults who first came to the rodeo as children bringing their own children to the event.

The late 90s saw the Club’s first female Members. Today, nearly one in four Rineyville Optimists are women, and the Club is hoping to increase that number.

In 2004, The Rineyville Optimists sponsored the Bluegrass Junior Optimists (JOI) Club, which now has more than 40 Members.

The decade from 2005 to 2015 was challenging for the Club as Members grew older and had less hands-on contact with community youth. Many of the programs that had done so well in earlier years withered, and there was serious talk of folding the Club in 2015.

But the last eight years have seen a turnaround as the Club looked for innovative ways to involve youth groups in the rodeo, still the biggest event of the year by far. Parking, tickets and concessions are often run by high school groups as fundraisers, and local 4H and youth riding organizations perform and display their skills before the crowd.

Last year, the Club ran its first-ever Youth Fishing Derby at Freeman Lake. Nearly 100 children attended, and the second annual Derby is scheduled for June 3rd of this year. The Club’s newest Members are younger and possess skills, energy and new ideas that are motivating many long-time Members. Looking back over most of the Club’s history, long-time Member Rickie Tharpe is looking forward to expanding the Club's membership and activities. He believes in “looking at the sunny side” and expects that Rineyville Optimists will be a "Friend of Youth" for another 50 years!

West Haven clothing donations

Each year, the Winter Haven, Florida, Optimist Club selects projects that benefit the youth of Polk County. Previously, the Club’s Members collected nearly 400 pairs of new children's socks that were distributed to three local elementary schools selected based on the social-economical needs of the children in the schools' communities.

This school year, the Club partnered with residents of the Lake Ashton community to collect 1700 pairs of new socks and underwear, another needed item. School staff were delighted and very thankful for the donations — twice as many as the previous year.

Share Your Optimism!

Rewards for New Member Recruitment

Beginning April 1, 2023, recruiting new Optimists can earn you rewards! The Member from each Region who recruits the most new Members between April 1 and June 30 will receive a $100 gift card. The winners' names will also be placed in a drawing for free registration to the International Convention in Arlington, Virginia.

A second-place winner from each Region will receive a $75 gift card and be entered into a drawing for a ticket to the President’s Banquet at the Convention, while a third-place winner from each Region will receive a $50 gift card and be entered into a drawing for a ticket to the Heritage Brunch.

Members aren’t the only ones up for rewards; Districts are also in the running. The District that adds the most new Members and the District with the largest percentage of new Members will each have their Governor and a partner seated at the head table during the President’s Banquet.