Optimist International

Optimist International, commonly called Optimist Clubs, is an international service club organization with 3,200 clubs and over 103,000 members in 200 countries around the world. The international headquarters is located in St. Louis, Missouri.It was founded in the U.S.A. in 1911 in Buffalo, New York. Membership is set by each club, but is usually open to anyone and attendance at meetings is expected on a monthly or twice-monthly basis. Optimists are a community-based organization with a hierarchy that can take a member from a club to office at zone, district, national and international levels. Each club raises its own funds and chooses its own service projects. Typically, these projects are aimed at children. Sponsoring youth athletic leagues, scholarship essay and speech contests and supporting local schools are examples of typical projects.
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