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Bringing Out the Best in Kids!
It's our motto, it's who we are and what we do. We are people who care about our communities and want to make a difference in the lives of young people. Optimist Clubs conduct positive service programs for children in communities throughout the world.

Mission Statement: By providing hope and positive vision, Optimists bring out the best in kids.

Description:
Meeting the needs of young people in communities worldwide, Optimist Clubs have been "Bringing Out the Best in Kids" since 1919. Optimist Clubs conduct positive service projects aimed at providing a helping hand to youth. Club Members are best known in their communities for their upbeat attitudes. By believing in young people and empowering them to be the best they can, Optimist volunteers continually make this world a better place to live. There are 105,000 individual Members who belong to more than 3,200 autonomous Clubs. Optimists conduct 65,000 service projects each year, serving six million young people. Optimists also spend $78 million on their communities annually.

Purposes of Optimist International
To develop optimism as a philosophy of life utilizing the tenets of the Optimist Creed; To promote an active interest in good government and civic affairs; To inspire respect for the law; To promote patriotism and work for international accord and friendship among all people; To aid and encourage the development of youth, in the belief that the giving of one’s self in service to others will advance the well-being of humankind, community life and the world.

The 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.

History:
The Grand Forks Optimist Club has been active for over 30 years and serves several thousand youth each year. We meet informally every Wednesday at noon at the Bronze Boot in Grand Forks for fun and fellowship.

We have two fund raising projects: Fruit Sales in November and Gift Wrap at the Columbia Mall in December.

We have several projects which include Bicycle Safety which is conducted every spring for every 3rd grade class in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, Foster Family Picnic, Easter Baskets, Respect for Law, Oratorical and Essay Contests and Youth Appreciation.

Optimist International officially sponsors three International Programs: the Childhood Cancer campaign (CCC), the Optimist International Junior Golf Championships (OIJGC) and the organization's scholarship contests. In addition, Optimist International also encourages involvement in several other community activities such as:
Respect for Law
Tri-Star Sports
Youth Appreciation Week
Youth Safety

We also make donations to the local Boy and Girl Scouts, SPA, Campbell Library Reading Program, and Firehall Theater just to name a few.

Contact people:

Angie Holkesvig, Lietenant Governor Zone 12, (218) 773-1739, (email) Tim Goetz, Past President, (701) 741-1909, (email)

Address:

PO Box 12652 Grand Forks, ND 58208

Web Site: None specified

Directions:

We meet every Wednesday at 12:00 noon for fun and fellowship at the Bronze Boot located at 1804 N Washington, Grand Forks, ND 58203