Optimist Club of Erie

Optimist International (OI) is a worldwide, volunteer service organization established in 1919. There are 3,800 independent Optimist Clubs throughout the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and abroad. These clubs contribute almost $80 million and countless volunteer hours in the communities they serve.

Optimist members are so much more than just those who see the glass half full instead of half empty. In the early days of Optimism, businessmen from all walks of life gathered together for fellowship and to volunteer in making a difference in the lives of delinquent boys.

Today, Optimist clubs include both men and women who support and encourage all children throughout the world. Optimists focus their volunteer work on educational, athletic, artistic and inspirational activities for over 6 million kids and teens, guiding these youth to become our future leaders. Learn more about the Optimist Youth Programs.

To help guide the 120,000 Optimist worldwide in “Bringing Out the Best in Kids,” members follow the tenets of The Optimist Creed. This pledge guides Optimists and non-members to live a happier and more fulfilling life.

Optimist leadership starts at the club level with the president, secretary-treasurer, vice presidents, board of directors and chairs. Click here to meet our club’s officers and members. Clubs are then grouped into Zones (about 5 – 7 clubs per Zone) that are then assembled into Districts. (On the average, there are about 70 clubs per district.) Throughout OI, there are 53 districts.

Optimist International is led by an elected president, regional vice presidents, and a Board of Directors. (Get a current list of OI leaders.) OI also has paid staff to provide the administration, support, resources and services to the clubs and members. The OI headquarters are located in St. Louis, Missouri and is supported by the dues that each member pays.

Visit the Optimist International website for more information.

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.
                                                                 ---Optimist International
  
  Learn about the history of The Optimist Creed.

Mission Statement

Optimist International’s mission is to foster an optimistic way of life, through a network of optimists, dedicated to the full development of their potential in order to provide ever-expanding service to the youth, the community and the world.

Vision Statement

Optimist International will be recognized worldwide as an organization of people committed to optimism and self-development for the improvement of youth and community.

Purpose of Optimist International

To develop optimism as a philosphy 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.

Motto

"Bringing Out The Best In Kids"

"Friend of Youth"

“Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.” This is the opening line of The Optimist Creed, a pledge that is recited by Optimists at the conclusion of each meeting. It includes 10 resolutions that help inspire members, as well as non-Optimists, to simply try to become a better person.

What is interesting about the Creed is that its author didn’t create the text specifically for Optimists. Christian D. Larson wrote “Promise Yourself” that was included in his book titled “Your Forces and How to Use Them.” Written in 1912, the book’s theme of “you can do anything you want to do if you only set your heart and mind to it” reflects the intentions of Optimists.

Seven years after “Promise Yourself” first appeared, the Optimist organization was officially established. In its early days, members were searching for a slogan, creed or motto to follow. It just so happened that the wife of a member from the Optimist Club of Los Angeles clipped a small item from a news publication and gave it to her husband, Jim Westervelt. He read it over and over and recognized the relevance it had to Optimism. Jim reprinted this item in his club’s yearbook and distributed copies while the club tried to form new Optimist clubs. It found its way into the Optimist magazine in 1921 and by the next year’s International Convention, almost every delegate had a copy of that news clipping—“Promise Yourself."

From that point on, it was adopted as The Optimist Creed and has been translated into numerous languages.