What is an Optimist Club?
An Optimist Club is a group of concerned citizens joining together to help the youth in their community. The Optimist Club motto is "Friend of Youth”. Working directly with young people in their community, Optimist Club members organize and conduct many types of events and programs for youth. Each Optimist Club tailors its service activities to meet the needs of its community. Often, an Optimist Club will respond to a special local need... by providing relief to disaster victims, or by building athletic fields, or by sponsoring youth bands or choral groups... anything is possible to an Optimist Club member! Funding for an Optimist Club's projects is generated from within that club's community, and the funds generated tend to stay there... where they can do the most good.
What is Optimist International?
Optimist International is one of the largest and most active service-club organizations. It acts as a “clearing house” of ideas and development tools that can be drawn upon by any Optimist Club when needed.
- Membership: 114,000 (7/31/02)
- Total Clubs: 3,500 (7/31/02)
- First Club: Buffalo, New York, 1911
- O.I. Founded: June 19, 1919
- 6,000,000 young people served each year.
- 65,000 service projects conducted annually.
- $78,000,000 spent annually on community service projects.
More information is available at the Optimist International website at http://www.optimist.org or at the Optimist Arizona Regional website at http://www.azoptimist.org
Optimist Creed
Promise Yourself -
- To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
- To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
- To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
- To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
- To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
- To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
- To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
- To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
- To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
- To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
