Boise Optimists Chalk the Walk for Childhood Cancer

 The Boise Optimist Club has been a long-time supporter of childhood cancer programs. It has partnered with the Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI) to provide Beads of Optimism for children completing steps in their cancer treatment and held many activities to support the children and their families at Christmas and beyond. 

At Christmas, the club would bring Santa to visit with Mrs. Claus, the elves, and presents. In the spring, the club would host a prom for young students who couldn't attend theirs because of their treatment, and typically, in late summer, it would host a picnic, treating families to a carefree day where all children had the opportunity to run and play. 

That project couldn't happen this year due to COVID-19. Like the resourceful Optimist Club that they are, the Boise Optimist Club decided on a different way to lift spirits and timed their event to coincide with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. 

Over the Labor Day weekend, the Bishop Kelly High School Art Club joined with the Boise Noon Optimist Club to Chalk the Walk in front of the Children's Oncology Clinic at St. Luke's Hospital in downtown Boise, Idaho. The club shared the accompanying photos with us. Thanks to all for sharing your optimism. 

Re-imagining Optimist Club service during the pandemic

The school season has arrived and the first semester of the 2020-2021 school year will be like none other. 

Some children are heading back to the classroom and many more are staying home for distance learning that will take place via Zoom or other platforms. For the foreseeable future, parents will continue in the multiple roles they began in the spring when COVID-19 forced the world into quarantine. In addition to being mom and dad, they've also adopted the role of teacher or tutor and gym coach. 

There are time management challenges for parents working from home and childcare challenges for those who must report to their place of business. Wouldn't this be a great time for Optimist Clubs to step-up their service to their communities? 

Some ideas that come to mind: 

• Host online activities like storytelling, art class, or a singalong. 
• Create a series of mini scavenger hunts and have children check-in at a certain time each day, for a certain length of time, to report their finds. 
• Host a virtual walk for children, and adults too, to complete a certain route. Take pictures along the way and submit their favorite for a raffle prize. 
• Host an online talent show for singing or an online poetry slam.
• For those communities that can, partner with a church or community center to host any of the above in a properly physically distanced environment. 

We are looking for more innovative ways that Optimist Clubs can provide support to children and families in these difficult times. Please click here to share ideas about how Optimist Clubs may re-imagine service and support for youth and community and we'll share your ideas with others. 

Promise yourself work only for the best. We'll get through this pandemic because we're optimists.

Be a superhero. Be an Optimist volunteer

There are a number of people being called superheroes today and they aren't the celebrities that we have grown accustomed to idolizing.

Instead, we are hearing of the countless hours of care that health care professionals are giving on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle. We are also hearing about the delivery persons, grocery store clerks, and others decreed to be essential workers who are showing up every day while others remain at home helping to prevent the spread of the disease.

Today, May 17, 2020, our cities, counties, and states are beginning to open up for the resumption of services. Individuals will slowly return to work and the economy will rebound as more money begins to circulate. Something that has never changed, whether we are experiencing lockdown or freedom, our communities need helpers. Children need helpers. Disadvantaged and marginalized individuals need helpers. The world needs helpers. Those helpers are called volunteers.

Volunteers come in all ages, shapes, and sizes. They have different passions and interests. One thing is true about all volunteers: they look on the bright side. They see hope and want to share that vision with others.

We call such positive volunteers optimists. Isn't it wonderful that there is an organization that promotes optimism as a way of life? An organization that encourages people to bring out the best in themselves, in youth, and in their community? What is it, you ask?

It is Optimist International and we would love to have you join us and become an Optimist Volunteer.

Click here to find an Optimist Club near you. We hope to see you soon!

Strategy is relevant

During this time of COVID-19 disruption, I've had the good fortune to stay connected with many Optimist Club members from different clubs and regions. We've shared worries and most importantly, we've shared positive thoughts and plans for the future. We've also shared thoughts for what I've heard called our NOW normal.

Led by the Optimist International office, President Adrian Elcock, and its international committees, the organization is conducting online elections for its 2020-2021 leaders and is in the planning stages for conducting the Optimist International Convention virtually. Yes, I think we are adapting to our NOW normal. I promise to share more here about the virtual convention, among other things, as information becomes available.

This website was created to share information that we, as Optimist Club members and Optimist Clubs, might not be getting from other sources. Over the past thirteen years, we've experienced ups and downs in communication. Right now, during this time of disruption, I've sometimes felt over-connected and perhaps you have too. Certainly, hearing the news media, the US President, other world leaders, and state/province, and local leaders and politicians might be seen as a full-time job. Reading the memes, both positive and negative, can fill up our social media streams making it tough to connect with those with whom we most want to speak. Even the messages created by Optimist International and Optimist Clubs can be staggering as we stretch our minds to ask, why does this matter to me?

Hence, I decided my membership recruitment and retention message for this month must touch on strategy.

Membership recruitment and retention tip #81: [COVID-19 social distancing edition #2] 

Stay connected in a meaningful way. Last month, our advice was to stay connected in this time of physical distancing. We encouraged you to connect with your members via social media platforms like Zoom, Facebook, Instagram, among others, and even the old-fashioned telephone. By reaching out, we let others know that even during a crisis, we can weather the storm together. With another month ticked off the calendar, we want to say that while it is important to reach out, it is even more important to reach out in a meaningful way. 

Once the connection is confirmed, you must add some strategy to your communications plan. Decide what the message is that you want to say - it may be informative, entertaining, or a call to action - and then create a text, graphic, or video to deliver the message. 

But don’t stop there. Use data to determine where the message should be posted and how your members will be most likely to receive it. Be selective in the content of the message and the delivery system. With all the media that is bombarding us at this time, it’s easy to overlook something important because the last time we heard from a particular source it was frivolous or worse. 

The content of your messages must be consistently relevant or they won’t be worth your member’s time.

Do you need help? 

If you need help creating relevant content for your Optimist Club members, I would love to help. We have a tried and true social media editorial calendar that will engage your members and help your Optimist Club excel. 

Reach out to Linda Vaught here. 

Volunteer appreciation week begins with optimism

While we continue to stay safe at home, please know that optimism and hope live on inside us. 

As Optimist volunteers, we'll soon be back to regular meetings where we can plan events and share our service and spirit with all. 

Thank you for being an Optimist volunteer.

Social distancing won't stop optimism. Stay safe at home

I saw a meme on Facebook that said March came in like a lion and went out like a seven-headed beast. Oh my, that is the truth!

Unprecedented times have arisen from a foe never seen before: COVID-19. The coronavirus has stalled the economy, placed health care workers on the frontline, and sent individuals into isolation to "flatten the curve," a reference to limiting the number of deaths that could occur if we do nothing to address its virulence. Cities, states, and countries around the world have taken this warning seriously and put social distancing orders in place.

Social distancing means we must stay at least six feet apart from others when we are outside and more directly, we should stay inside and safe at home. Only essential workers should be reporting to work and all social gatherings of ten or more have been canceled or postponed.

Staying with these orders, Optimist International has canceled its 2020 Optimist International Convention, the 2020 Junior Optimist Convention, and the Optimist International Junior Golf Championships. More information may be found here.

The Optimist Scholarship Contests will continue and have been shifted to online programs. Information for competing in the Optimist International World Oratorical Championships will come directly from Optimist International. The PNW District competition will be held via ZOOM on April 25, 2020, and more information will be posted on Facebook as received. Click here for general directions to host an online contest. 

Now for our most important announcement:
Social distancing won't stop optimism. Stay safe at home. 

Click here to connect with the PNW District Optimist Clubs on Facebook.

Click here to connect with Optimist International on Facebook.

Stay connected, stay positive, and stay well.

Who said there is no such thing as a free lunch?

Optimist Clubs encourage potential members to visit them and try them out. Most clubs that gather at mealtimes offer a complimentary meal to the guest.

This quick post is a membership recruitment and retention tip that we received from the Twin Falls Optimist Club.

In addition to offering a meal to the potential new member, the Twin Falls Optimist Club also gives a free meal to the sponsor of the new member when they join.

Now we know! Whoever said there was no such thing as a free lunch wasn't an Optimist. But you can be an Optimist by joining an Optimist Club today.

Find a club near you by clicking on this link.

If you need additional help or would like to start an Optimist Club in your community, please send an email to Linda Vaught.  We'd love to help you #BeAnOptimist.

Why should you be an Optimist Club member?

I've been watching a thread on Facebook that speaks to what Optimist Clubs do. A well-meaning district leader is creating memes - she calls them flyers - to answer the question "What is an Optimist" or "What does an Optimist do?" Within two hours of asking for help, this member had created and posted ten project examples with descriptions like this:

• "Optimists raise money to improve the lives of youth in the area. We enjoy doing fundraisers and donating proceeds to scholarships, athletics, band, clubs, and many other youth organizations."
• "Optimists teach bicycle safety, host bicycle rodeos, and even provide thousands of bicycles to kids each year."
• "Optimists provide support to children with cancer and other childhood health-related issues."
• "Optimists support Junior Optimist Clubs all over the world."

Another district leader chimed into the discussion to encourage the meme-creator to reconsider her approach and to instead focus on why Optimist Club members participate in the many projects she was highlighting. He said, "I've just seen membership sold both ways. And in my experience, the person that sold the WHY inspired me. The person who sold the what tired me." He provided the link to Simon Sinek's Ted Talk "Start with Why" for emphasis.

But it was our own PNW District leader and Past Optimist International President Ron Thompson that led me to comment on this discussion. Ron wrote, "I don’t see fellowship anywhere, and I believe our coming together with the purpose of developing optimism as a philosophy of life, enjoying each other and developing lasting friendships and reciting the Optimist Creed (with a banner displayed)."

Optimist Clubs host the Optimist International Oratorical and Essay Contests, and Junior Golf Championships. They support food banks, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Sea Scouts, teach children to read, honor children for citizenship, scholarship, and kindness, recognize first responders for their duty and sacrifice, among other things.

Optimist Club members share optimism and fellowship and create friendships that last a lifetime.






























I created this meme from a picture taken at the West Tacoma Optimist Club's 60th Anniversary party and shared it with the group. Not only do I think it addresses the feeling of belonging that Ron described, I think it makes a point that we are Optimist Club members. 

Our Optimist Clubs conduct many diverse projects that speak to local needs and international initiatives, and our members gain personal satisfaction from participating in those projects because along the way they also make friendships and share a philosophy of life that nurtures their soul.

Won't you be our friend? Find an Optimist Club at this link and get involved. #JoinAnOptimistClub today.

Tell the world, "I am an optimist"

Are you looking for the right gift for your optimistic friends? Do you have a negative Nelly that you'd like to see sporting a positive attitude? This t-shirt is the right gift for them!

Winston Churchill said it best when he remarked, "I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else."

Click on the link to add this simple shirt to your Christmas list today. I am an optimist.
Order now. Delivery is approximately two weeks.

Encourage new projects, invite participation

I have always believed that the secret to membership growth in an Optimist Club or any organization is participation. Working together for a common cause is altruistic, a statement and the proof that we really do that are the projects that each club produces each year and how the projects engage our members and stakeholders.

Optimist International President Adrian Elcock has a grand idea for the 2019-2020 administrative year. In a Facebook post featuring his daughter, he says that each club should strive to start at least three new projects and gives an example of an online book drive as an opportunity to engage the young and old.

This thought was perfect for the membership retention and recruitment tip of the month: 

Membership recruitment and retention tip #74: Encourage participation. Sometimes people join an organization or club as an obligation or a favor. They pay their dues, their name is placed on the roster, and that is all. When the new year rolls around, they may or may not renew their membership. It’s up to you and other club members to help retain those rookie members by encouraging them to participate in your projects. Invite them to join a committee, help plan an event, and most importantly, come to social gatherings. Participation leads to teamwork and teams revel in a common purpose that makes it hard to pull away. Encourage participation and you’ll find that your members want to stick around to be involved.

Imagine a new year of optimism

Happy New Year, Optimist!

Optimist International President Adrian Elcock asks you to imagine the future. In this video, he kicks off the year with optimism, as we would expect, and momentum, as the centennial year we've just experienced has allowed.



As we imagine our future as an organization, President Adrian promises to embrace technology, improve communication, and share optimism with members and nonmembers alike as we celebrate the work that we do and the spirit that every Optimist Club embodies.

By imagining our new future, as individuals and as an organization, we will have success today. By imagining the future, we will plan for tomorrow and envision the success we will achieve.

Please join us as we welcome the 101st president of Optimist International, Adrian Elcock, to the most inspirational leadership role offered by the organization. We wish you, and all Optimist Club members around the globe, joy in this wonderful new year.

Imagine your Optimist Club's future.  What will your Optimist Club achieve?

Good luck in all of your endeavors.