A few of the many projects conducted by our Optimist Clubs:
- Working with schools to enhance education
- Conducting substance abuse prevention programs
- Sponsor Camp Boggy Creek (for children with serious illnesses)
- Sponsor youth sports teams (Clearwater Challengers Little League)
- Tutoring and mentoring young people
- Keeping kids safe during Halloween thru Treat Trail, PAL and Sallie House
- Supply school supplies to kids in need
- Thanksgiving (Supplying 20 Complete dinners to families with kids)
- Christmas (Supplying 20 Complete dinners to families with kids)
- Sallie House - Easter and Christmas Celebrations
- Mason Dixon Christmas Wish Fund (to a family with kids only)
How Do We Earn Our Money?
Before the pandemic, our fundraiser was a Spaghetti Dinner with Raffle and a 50/50. We are now able to resume this fun on going fundraiser. We now have a Coloring Book with the Optimist Creed as the wording and drawings that reflect the words in the creed.
Halloween Time was Fun!
We offer a Family Plan:
Interested in more than one family member being involved in Optimism? Then you need to contact us to learn about saving with our Chapter. See the members listing on the Contact Us page and get in touch with one of us for more information.
Contact us by email: [email protected]
Join our excitement
Even though we couldn't earn any money this year due to the coronavirus our club members voted to use the money we have to still help the kids in the community.
This was our 16th year of donating to Mason Dixon's Christmas Wish Fund to help provide a better Christmas to a family with kids that needed assistance. Being on the air with Mason and the crew is a great thing. If you didn't get a chance to hear it at the time, click the hyperlink under the spotlight to hear it now. Come join us and be a part of something great in the community.
Mason Dixon of Q105, Nancy Berghammer, Secretary/Treasurer of Optimist Club of St Petersburg presenting our donation on the air.
Wish to make a Donation Made in Honor or in Memory of a Friend?
If anyone would like to make a donation in which it will help children in the community please feel free to contact us. Thank you
Mason Dixon Christmas Wish Fund
Easter Egg Hunt
The Downtown, Breakfast,and Sunset Optimist Clubs along with our Club held the Easter Egg Hunt at Lealman Park on March 31st for the kids to find the many Easter eggs with prizes in them and giving out bags of candy and prizes to all of the kids that came out. New bicycles were given to the winners. When asked if the kids had fun we were advised that the squirrels had a good time too!
Celebrating 99 Years of Community Service
Trombone Received from Laudi is Donated to Lealman Elementary School
That's only 4 years younger than Optimist International (OI)! Our club was chartered in the same year (1924) that the OI Convention voted the right to charter Junior Optimist Clubs everywhere. The motto "Friend of the Boys" was adopted and in 1972 the motto was changed to "Friend of Youth" to reflect service to both boys and girls. It wasn't until 1987 that the OI Board of Directors voted to admit women for membership. The number of clubs expanded due to women being involved. It was a success.
A member of the community (Laudi) posted that he had a trombone he wanted to donate so that a student who is interested in music could get some good use out of it. We answered his post and he choose our club and gave it to us.
Lealman Elementary is just one of the schools we sponsor and it turns out that they had been looking for a replacement trombone because theirs was bad. The timing was just right.
Optimist member Nancy (left) presenting the trombone to Vice Principal of Lealman Elementary School
We donated 2 Bicycles to honor 2 students at Lealman and Lealman Honored Us
Lealman had an idea to honor a 1st and 5th Grade student with a bicycle for their being honored students throughout the year. We supported that and purchased the bicycles along with helmets and locks. The chosen students were picked by the school.
At a present luncheon at the school honoring the students from all the grades we too were honored on stage and presented with the framed picture showing the presentation of the bicycles by us.
Thanksgiving & Christmas Dinners Supplied to Families with Kids
This year was different and wasn't easy due to pandemic. But we were able to supply Gulfport Elementary School with 10 complete Thanksgiving dinners. Lealman Elementary decided that they wanted to have 20 complete dinners for Christmas instead. This will be a large project to complete all with 10 dinners for Gulfport too. But were up for it and we pushed to get it done.
Laudi came through again
Laudi who is a member of the community came through again with his kindness toward students. He got in touch with us advising that he had a Yamaha PRS 290 piano keyboard that he wanted to donate and could we find a home for it. We took him up on it and found Clearwater Fundamental Middle School with a teacher known for being a great music teacher. She was contacted and advised that she would love to have it and that it would get great use.
Ms C. Zebley Director of Bands and Chorus accepting the donation.
Turkey, mash potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, cranberry sauce and apple and pumpkin pies for dessert. We hope we have helped them to celebrate these holidays during this hard time.
We wish to thank Brooke and Destiny at Walmart in Pasadena for their help in this project.
They are great!
Destiny, Nancy, Sue & Brooke
Our club is always looking for ways to earn money to give back to the kids in the community. If anyone has any suggestions we are open to hearing them. We wish to keep our club going in supplying help to the kids. We now have a Coloring Book as a fund raiser with the Optimist Creed being the main idea with pictures of what is being said on each page.
Want to help us out? Check under the Contact Us page.
We are ready for the kids to celebrate Halloween at the Sallie House, the Pinellas Treat Trail. Pinellas Trail was really busy with over 2,000+ kids in costumes coming to get their candy and seeing Darth Vader. It will be fun as it is every year!
