Join our Club

Optimist Club Members Receive as Much as They Give  

• The fellowship of proactive people with optimistic mindsets.  
• New social and working relationships with individuals from  across section of our communities.  
• The opportunity to develop and demonstrate leadership skills locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.  

Whether you are searching for an outlet to help your community, personal development, or rewarding camaraderie, you’ll find what you’re looking for in your local Optimist Club. Joiners become more tolerant and empathetic to the needs of their community.

Every Optimist Club was formed by people who wanted to reach out to help youth and the community; people like you and me. Members of an Optimist Club usually live in or work in the community. Members have joined together to serve others and to promote Optimism as a way of life. 

Each Optimist Club is chartered as a Member of Optimist International. This gives the Club the right to use the Optimist name and provides each Club with services and programs offered by Optimist International. Each Optimist Club operates autonomously. This means they operate independently of each other. They choose their own activities, elect their own officers and raise their own funds.

A Club’s service activities are based on the needs of the community. What a Club can do  is limited only by the imagination and resources of the Members.  

Optimist Clubs do share certain similarities.  This offers you, the Member, the assurance  of knowing wherever you are, should you wish  to attend an Optimist Club’s meeting, certain components will be the same. The programs  and guest speakers offer the Members an opportunity to learn, grow and improve themselves. The program features the youth  in the community, as in the Essay and Oratorical Contests or in the Youth Appreciation activities. Club meetings help to reinforce commitment and allow us to take pride in our accomplishments.

As Members of Optimist Clubs, individuals have the opportunity to "Bring Out the Best in Kids" along with other like-minded citizens. Through an Optimist Club, volunteers can answer the needs of local youth by organizing meaningful service projects. To pass the idea of becoming an Optimist along to someone you know, contact our Membership Chair. 

Any Optimist Member who is enrolled as a full-time college student (minimum of 12 credit hours) is eligible to have their annual dues reduced.

Life Membership is an honor often bestowed by a Club on an Optimist who has shown years of dedication to the Club and the organization. Optimists can also enroll themselves in Life Membership. Through Life Membership, a one-time fee is paid and the Optimist pays lower dues for life. 

Individuals can show their support of Optimist International by becoming Friends of Optimists. A Friend of Optimists may be someone who does not have an Optimist Club in their area, or they may not have time to dedicate to a local Optimist Club. Optimist Clubs can also bestow a Friend of Optimists membership on a community member who has shown great support for the Club.