Optimist International Community Club News

Club News

The Ocean City/Berlin Maryland Optimist Club is about to hit the $2 million mark for rewarding scholarships and other honors, supported by the largest indoor boat show in its coastal region.

The Ocean City/Berlin Optimist Club’s boat show features more than 150 vendors selling boats, personal watercraft, and more. The boat show that works for kids

by Charles Smith Ocean City/Berlin Maryland Optimist Club

The Club hosted its 37th annual Seaside Boat Show February 14-16, 2020. The show provides the Club with the major portion of funds needed to support a youth-identification program, scholarships and an honor student banquet, which run $250,000 per year. The show began with 5,000 square feet in the Ocean City Convention Center. Each year the event grew, and it now covers 200,000 square feet filled with vendors of boats, personal watercraft and more.

The Club raises money with booths that are rented by more than 150 vendors, entrance fees paid by more than 16,000 attendees, and selling ads in the event’s program.

The success of the event is clear: In May, the Club will have bestowed $2 million in scholarships since 1989. Running the show is a full-time effort from Charlie Dorman, show chairman for 30 years, and his wife Carol.

The show has expanded to the point that it is the largest indoor boat show on the Delmarva Peninsula, which is made up of parts of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia on the Atlantic Coast. Several significant programs are run each year, including a scholarship program at the local Stephen Decatur High School. In the fall, Club Member Steve Acton and 15 to 20 other helpers visit each local elementary school, Head Start and prekindergarten in the area, and take fingerprints and pictures of kids for our Youth ID Program.

More than 2,200 kids participate each year, and more than 65,000 children have been finger printed since 1985. Each May, the local high school honor students are recognized at the WeXL Banquet. Students, parents, politicians, school board members, teachers and Optimist attend the banquet at the convention center.

More than 1,200 attend each year. As the Ocean City/Berlin Optimist Club approaches its 50th anniversary, the members continue to support the fund raisers and programs. More than 100 kids participate in our Oratorical Contest and more than 60 enter the essay contest. More than 30 participated in the county art contest run by our club. The Boat Show is really is “The show that works for kids.”

Optimist Club of Keego Harbor, Michigan

Students use the Husky Tool Room at Roosevelt Elementary School in Keego Harbor, Michigan.

by James Bugg

The Husky Tool Room is a 10-station shop located in a side room of the Media Center in Roosevelt Elementary School. It was developed through a joint effort of the West Bloomfield School District, school principal, Lowe’s Home Improvement and the Optimists of Keego Harbor.

The Husky name comes from the school mascot, a sturdy breed of work dogs – the Husky. The need for an elementary level tool room was identified during a lunch gathering with a local cabinet maker, who had hired a pair of high school students to help in his shop. He said they were quick learners, but lacked hands-on experience with basic tools. Several members of the Keego Harbor Optimist Club began talking about how they learned basic shop skills by working with their parents. We wanted to provide those learning experiences to the youth in our community.

We talked with the principal of our local elementary school and came up with the idea of a small workshop to enrich the experiences of the students and to provide an opportunity to develop special talents in our students. We received a $5,000 grant from Lowe’s to equip our shop with basic hand tools (hammers, levels, tape measures, etc.) and some supplies. A cabinet maker gave us the end cuts from his cabinets. Soon we were ready to go. Our first big project was a program for the firstgrade students – Daddies and Donuts – where the first-graders built bluebird houses with an adult male (Father, grandfather, uncle or friend). A highlight for us was when a first-grade girl took the hammer from her dad and showed him the correct way to hold it.

Points of pride:

• The school has a fifth-grade legacy project each year. Last year they built a Little Free Library in front of the school.

• The school participates in the Michigan Design Prize competition each year for K-12 students. Last year the challenge was to design something that would make life better for the people in Michigan. Roosevelt Elementary School students in kindergarten – second grade won first, second and third place, while the students in third through fifth grades won first and second place

• The Optimists sponsor a pine wood derby with cars the students build and race them during school on the day the Cub Scouts hold their derby at night. Our Club sponsors the pack. Members of the Brussels Optimist Club donated $20,000 to area hospitals this spring.

Brussels Optimist Club, Ontario

The Brussels Optimist Club donated $20,000 to four hospitals in its region of Ontario. The Club contributed $5,000 each to hospitals in Wingham, Listowel, Clinton and Seaforth to pay for medical equipment and facility upgrades. The group tapped into their own reserves to provide the donation when their regular benefit event was postponed due to the coronavirus, a hospital representative said.

Optimist Club of Del MarSolana Beach

By Audrey Eller

The Optimist Club of Del Mar – Solana Beach, California A child rides in one of 12 wagons members, family provided to Rady Children’s Hospital and friends recently by the Optimist Club of Del MarSolana Beach and the Oceanside brightened the lives, Optimist Club. and created smiles, for children hospitalized in Rady Children's Hospital with gifts of Chad's Bracket red wagons equipped with a unique, adjustable IV pole attached that safely accommodates IV infusion bags, and other medical equipment. The wagon also has a safety belt, and a backrest. The Oceanside Optimist Club also participated in the project.

The Club donated 12 wagons to the San Diego hospital, raising money for the project through an appeal to members and a grant from the Optimist International Foundation. The group had originally planned to donate five wagons, but raised enough money to more than double their goal.

It all began with an accident several years ago at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite. Roger Leggett, a grandfather, and his son, Chad, visited his 4-year-old granddaughter, Felicity, who had undergone brain cancer surgery. As they approached the elevator a lady with her son in a standard wagon was also pulling an IV cart.

The wheels of the IV cart got stuck in the elevator door tracks and almost flipped over on the child. Roger and Chad began exploring how they could safely attach an IV pole to a wagon. Chad, just 24, an EMT, died tragically from heat stroke six weeks after their discussion. Roger continued with the project, and designed a heavy-duty hospital-grade, stainless steel bracket to be attached to a red wagon, which would safely accommodate an adjustable IV pole for infusion bags, and medical equipment.

After many renderings, and adjustments, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Scottish Rite, approved Chad’s Bracket red wagon. Children’s Miracle Network also endorsed the product.

There are now 1,175 wagons in hospitals in 38 states. and eight foreign countries. Chad's Bracket red wagons allow children to be transported for lab tests, and other procedures, around the hospital, and for occasional trips outdoors. Numerous children will use the wagons. When a child goes home the wagon will be sterilized, and assigned to another child.

Optimist Club of Keswick, Ontario

by Jane Morson

In 2006 when Optimist Frank Tuttle casually asked a pumpkin farmer “hey how much for 100 pumpkins” he had no idea of the adventure he was starting for the club. For the past 13 years this farmer has opened up his pumpkin patch to the club to pick, free of charge, as many pumpkins has needed and every year the amount has grown.

The Optimist Club of Keswick has expanded their reach beyond local daycares, schools and classes for kids with exceptionalities.

The Optimist Club of Keswick picks and distributes more than 700 pumpkins to kids in their Ontario community each year.

Our JOI Club began in January 2019 and has brought the club new connections and partnerships. This year the JOI Club was asked to partner with the local food pantry on a Halloween Fundraiser which required 300 pumpkins for the kids to carve. This event was a great success with five Club members and 14 JOI Members coming together with 30 community volunteers to dress up and create a wonderful experience for the 200 youth and their families that visited the haunted house and carved pumpkins.

Several of our members took a truck load of pumpkins to a small community just outside of ours for their annual Halloween event. Our 100 pumpkins has grown to more than 700 pumpkins. For 28 years, Optimist Frank has enjoyed helping and supporting youth in Georgina. He enjoys helping out on many of the events but the Pumpkin Program is very special to him. He loves being at the center of it from picking the pumpkins, washing the pumpkins and most importantly delivering the pumpkins. “It is the look on the kid’s face as they peer out the window when we unload and deliver the pumpkins to their teacher, that makes the hard work all worthwhile," he says.

This year our pumpkin-picking adventure saw 20 Optimist Club members, JOI members and their families along with 22 community members come together with trucks and trailers to collect 700 pumpkins. It took 126 volunteer hours to pick the pumpkins, 26 volunteer hours to wash the pumpkins and 72 volunteer hours to deliver the pumpkins to local schools and daycares.

Submit your Club or District news for a future edition of the Optimist Magazine to magazine@optimist.org. Reports must be less than 400 words, and may be edited for length, clarity and style. Any pictures should be submitted as attachments.