Optimist

Club needs volunteers to continue youth-based fundraising and programming

To the Editor:

We need your help! We need you! For the past 74 years the Paris Optimist Club has been supporting the youth of Paris The Optimist club has sponsored minor hockey, minor baseball, soccer and football as well as Girl Guides and Scouts.

Each year we provide scholarships and awards at Paris District High School, Tollgate Technological School and St John’s College. In addition, we award a graduating Grade 8 student from each of the elementary schools in Paris a Spirit of OptimismAward.

For the past 15 years we have been very proud to sponsor the Junior and Senior Football teams at Paris District High School One of our major fundraisers is the youth dance for students in Grade 5,6,7 and 8, held once a month at the Syl Apps Community Centre

Over the years we have raised funds for several major projects including the Skate Park Anyone who grew up in Paris has been touched or assisted in some way by the efforts of the Paris Optimist Club

We cannot continue to financially support these programs and events without more members If you can spare some time and commitment to this great program, please come and join us.

The only requirements are that you are 18 years or older and can pass a police check. There is one dinner meeting a month as well as a board meeting If you are new to Paris, it is a great way to meet new people and to give back to the community.

For more information contact us through messenger or email optimistmarilyn@gmail.com.

Marilyn McCulloch

- EDITORIALVolunteerism is the backbone of a good community

I once read that volunteerism is a basic expression of human relationship. It is about people’s need to participate in their societies and to feel that they matter to others. Every thriving city, community or society is built on the basics of volunteering. For decades, the fabric of Paris’ small knit community was woven together by volunteers from a variety of organizations – The Optimists, The Lion’s Club, The Kiwanis Club, The Paris Museum, the downtown BIA, the Horticultural Society, the Paris Agricultural Society, the Women’s Institute (and I know I didn’t touch upon everyone) – all with a common desire to make this community the best it can be. Unfortunately, that mentality is dying with the times. Every service club, every sports organization, every community-based group is in dire need of volunteers. People want to have services available within their community but aren’t willing to put in some time and effort to ensure these services remain in place. You can’t expect local, provincial or federal governments to fund high school scholarships, local park upgrades, sports teams, free community activities. These are possible only because people donated their most valuable resource: their time. As the community continues to grow, with more and more individuals of all walks of life, let’s hope we start to see a resurgence of volunteerism or all the things we admire about this community will start to fade.

Casandra Turnbull, Managing Editor

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