at the Urbandale Optimist Club

The Urbandale Optimist Club is a group of people who are passionate about giving back to the community and building a better future for youth. Our group conducts projects in Urbandale and the surrounding Des Moines metro area, focusing primarily on youth as our mission is to"Bring Out the Best in Youth, Our Communities and Ourselves".

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If you are passionate about improving the community, we would love to have you join us!

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What Makes Us Different?

There are so many volunteer opportunities in the Des Moines metro, all with great causes and missions, but we love being members of the Urbandale Optimist Club because of the flexibility to make our club exactly what we want it to be! 

 

We adjust to the needs of the community

The needs of the community are constantly changing, and we change along with it. As new programs because necessary or projects are no longer filling a need in the community, we adjust to become better partners for Urbandale and the greater Des Moines metro.

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We welcome all members

Our members are a variety of ages, life stages, careers paths and more. We find that incorporating a variety of perspectives allow us to better serve our community. You will often find members inviting along friends, kids and grandkids to help out with events. We love having new individuals join us, whether for one specific project or as new members of the club.

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Volunteer Around Your Schedule

When you join the Urbandale Optimist Club, there are no mandatory events or meetings. We encourage members to attend our monthly meetings, social events and our community projects whenever possible, but we understand that life happens. Our members have a variety of involvement levels, from members who show up for a few projects a year to members who are active on the board and involved with every project throughout the year.

 

Our Partners

We partner with a variety of organizations and community groups which help make our projects and work in the community possible. We are always looking for new organizations to partner with, so contact us if you are interested in working together.

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Volunteering with Schools & DayCare Programs in the Des Moines Metro Area

The Optimists work hand-in-hand with the local school system conducting projects involving English language learning students, conducting essay and public speaking contests that carry scholarship awards and a writing project dubbed Truly U to illustrate the literary talents of middle school students.  

 

Community Projects For the Childhood Cancer Campaign

The club has had a long standing partnership with the Children's Cancer Connection of Des Moines doing projects to positively impact he lives of children affected by the disease as well as their families. One of our favorite projects is the annual bowling event.

 

Partnering with Police To TEach Respect For Law

One of the main initiatives within Optimist International, our parent organization, is the Respect For Law program. Our members partner with the Urbandale Police Department for various efforts in support of this initiative, including National Night Out, held every year in August.

 

Leadership & Personal Development

When you join the Urbandale Optimist Club, you are exposed to many opportunity for personal and leadership development. Members are welcome to get involved overseeing projects as soon as they join! We encourage new members to choose a project that speaks to them and jump right in to the planning process.

 

Every Optimist Club consists of a board of directors who vote on and oversee the operations and projects of the club. These positions may include:

• President

• Vice President

• Secretary

• Treasurer

• Social Media and Website Manager

• and more!

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Each position holds a year long term (October - September) and is voted on by members of the club. In addition to available positions at the club level, Optimist International also offers opportunities to get involved at the District, Regional, National and International level.

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How to Get Involved

The Urbandale Optimists meet the second Monday of every month at Cozy Cafe in Johnston. During our monthly meetings, we have guest speakers from local organizations, discuss upcoming projects and brainstorm new efforts. These meetings are a great opportunity to learn what we are about and how you can get involved. In addition to our monthly meetings, we welcome guests to join us at upcoming projects or reach out to learn more.