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2021-San-Diego-Registration-Package

Pacific Trails Middle School JOI Club

Fellow Optimists and Friends,

Forwarded herewith is the latest on the activities and plans for upcoming events of the Del Mar – Solana Beach sponsored Pacific Trails Middle School Junior Optimist International (JOI) Club!  They are having fun with all their community service activities and projects.  This JOI Club is the newest in the California South District having been chartered in December 2020.  Please read JOI Club President, Sydney Mafong’s message below and enjoy the photos and slides as well!  Optimistically, Jim

From: Mafong, Sydney 
Sent: Monday, April 26, 2021 9:48 PM
To: undisclosed recipients

Subject: Pacific Trails Middle School JOI Club

Hi Everyone,

Here are some updates on the PTMS JOI Club:

On April 16, we completed our 3rd sack lunch making of the year. This time, we made 120 sack lunches, a new high! That brings our total number of sack lunches made to 343. That’s a lot of meals! Great job everyone!

We had a club meeting on April 23, and we discussed a lot which I will be summarizing in this email. I also attached the slides we went over during the meeting.

Last Saturday, April 24, Katie, Ariana, and I participated in a lagoon restoration project. We helped out at the Batiquitos Lagoon with other Junior Optimists. We lifted logs and rocks, making a garden area. We also pulled out invasive weeds and planted succulents.

This Friday, April 30 from 2:00-3:00 at Sage Canyon,we are doing our kit making project! Ariana, Katie, and I have emailed multiple dentists and pharmacies asking for donations for our toiletry kits, but only one has responded and they said they are unable to donate. We are holding off on making toiletry kits but we will be making first aid kits this Friday since I can donate the supplies for about 100 first aid kits. Katie will take these kits to the Stand Up for Kids organization to be distributed to kids in need.

At our meeting, we also discussed a “92130 cares fresh food connection” where we pick food from local grocery stores and deliver it to people in need. We are doing this project on May 9. Ariana, the project manager, will email out more information soon.

We decided that we will be meeting at the “Ponce Recycling Center” in the Del Mar Highlands Town Center on May 1st (this Saturday) at 2pm. Even if you are not participating in the recycling project, it would be great if you could come since we will be going to get food and hang out in the shopping center afterwards. It’s important to have some time to bond and get to know each other a little better, so I thought this was a great opportunity to do so.

We also talked a little bit about the in-person Annual Optimist Convention. This is occuring in Atlanta, Georgia from June 30 – July 2, 2021. There will be Optimists and Junior Optimists from all over the country attending. If you are interested, please register by May 1st. The registration and more information is linked in the slides.

This was not discussed at our meeting, but I just received an email saying there is an opportunity for us to do a project on the last day of school, June 11. We will be volunteering at the San Diego Food Bank. This is super exciting because we are trying to coordinate this project with the CCA, TPHS, and CVMS JOI Clubs! We might be able to wrap up the school year in a four-club community service project if this all works out. I will send out more information once I receive it.

I apologize about the long email but we had a lot of different projects and activities discussed at our past meeting. Make sure to take a look at the slides as well since there is some additional information. 

Thank you all so much for being a part of this club and I hope to see you soon at one of our projects!

Optimistically,

Sydney Mafong 

President, Pacific Trails Middle School Junior Optimist International (JOI) Club  

Fellow Optimists and Friends,

Our Del Mar – Solana Beach Optimist Club sponsored Hooves For Humanity Junior Optimist Club, an equestrian based Junior Optimist Club focused on rescue animals, horses, and adoptable puppies has provided “essential services” throughout the pandemic caring for, grooming, feeding, and exercising horses daily throughout the pandemic.  They recently ‘fostered’ an adorable litter of puppies caring for them until they each found their ‘furever’ home.  Now, they are gathering up and donating books, primarily children’s books, to the Goodwill organization for reuse by shoppers in the Goodwill stores.  Junior Optimists are finding ways to perform useful community service and at the same time reuse existing resources, giving them new life.  Way to go Junior Optimists. 

Optimistically,

Jim Parrotte 

JOI Clubs Committee Chair, Del Mar – Solana Beach Optimist Club

Hooves For Humanity JOI Club Donates Books for Reuse

Congratulations to Sydney Mafong of her Essay being selected as the CALSO Optimist District’s Essay Contest Winner and informed her that her submittal was forwarded to OI as the District’s entry into the International Essay Contest competition.  She was delighted!  I also invited her to read her Essay at the Quarterly District Meeting on May 1, 2021 probably sometime between 11:30 AM and 2:30 PM, but that I had not seen the Agenda for that day so at present couldn’t narrow the time down further.  Sydney is delighted to be able to read her winning Essay at the May 1st meeting. 

According to Lynn Reiter-Woodhead, Past District Governor, “We have a winner for the CALSO District Essay Winner!  It is Sydney Mafong, sponsored by the Del Mar/Solana Beach Optimist Club!”

Sydney Mafong is the Charter President of the Pacific Trails Middle School Junior Optimist International (JOI) Club which was Chartered on December 9, 2020, and is sponsored by the Del Mar – Solana Beach Optimist Club.  Sydney was the prime mover in organizing and starting up the JOI Club.  Even before the Club was officially chartered, Sydney organized and led outdoor community service projects including park trail cleanups and park grounds cleanups in the Elizabeth Rabbitt Neighborhood Park and the Del Mar Mesa Preserve Trail. The newly-organized and chartered Pacific Trails Middle School JOI Club has performed several additional projects after the first of the year including; making nutritious sack lunches for the homeless.  Each of the 110 lunches included a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, granola bar, fruit roll, mandarin orange, a bottle of water, and a handmade card with an inspirational message to provide cheer. The lunches were delivered to Father Joe’s Villages in downtown San Diego where they were distributed to people in need.  Current projects in work include additional lunch making, neighborhood recycling of cans and bottles, and making toiletry/health kits with planned items including masks, toothbrushes and toothpaste, hand sanitizer, shampoo, and deodorant. The Pacific Trails Middle School JOI Club meets via ‘ZOOM’ on alternating Fridays and performs all Club projects in a safe, masked, and socially distanced manner under the supervision of their two JOI Club Advisors.  

The current issue of “The Southernor” contains articles on some of the above projects. 

Optimistically,
Jim Parrotte
Secretary, Del Mar – Solana Beach Optimist Club 

—–Original Message—–
From: Lynn Reiter Woodhead <lwoodhead@cox.net> 
Sent: Friday, April 16, 2021 6:47 PM
To: Rick Lakin <rilakin@gmail.com>; Bill Parry <sarahcheeselady@san.rr.com>; Agatha Graney <goodone17@hotmail.com>; MIKE Poirier <uwmike@att.net>; Jim Parrotte <JimParrotte@hotmail.com>; Dave Bean <dfbean@san.rr.com>; Bonnie Styles <bmstyles@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: CALSO District Essay Winner 2021

Hello All!

We have a winner for the CALSO District Essay Winner!  It is Sydney Mafong, sponsored by the Del Mar/Solana Beach Optimist Club!  Jim Parrotte can tell you more about her- I don’t want to steal his thunder!

I’m hoping she will be able to read her winning essay either at our 3rd Quarterly meeting or our District Convention in August. More to come.

Congratulations Sydney!

Lynn

Fellow Optimists and Friends,

The Del Mar-Solana Beach Optimist Club conducted its annual Essay Scholarship Contest based on a theme of “Reaching your Dreams by Choosing Optimism“.

A panel of three judges evaluated the local students’ essays using strict Optimist International rules to determine the winners. First, second, and third place winners will present their Essays at the Club’s Wednesday evening ‘Zoom’ meeting on March 17^th at 6:00 PM. 

First Place went to Sydney Mafong, a student at Pacific Trails Middle School. Sydney was awarded a check for $250.00, gold medallion, and certificate. Her essay advanced to the District contest for a chance at even greater prizes including a college scholarship.

Second Place went to Olivia D, a student at Torrey Pines High School. Olivia was awarded a check for $150.00, silver medallion, and certificate.

Third Place went to Adam Proshchenko, a student at Torrey Hills Elementary School. Adam was awarded a check for $100.00, bronze medallion, and certificate.

“These students all did a wonderful job of articulating this year’s theme among some tough competition. They expressed themselves well through the essay and deserved the honors they received,” Club Essay Scholarship Contest Chairperson, Janis Lavigne said.

The Optimist Club of Del Mar – Solana Beach, CA has been participating in the Optimist Essay Scholarship Contest for many years and has been active in the community since 1981.  Other programs and service projects that the Club is involved in include the Optimist Oratorical Scholarship Contest, Miracle League of San Diego, Junior Optimist Clubs, Scouts, Children’s Challenge Awards, Casa de Amistad, Ronald McDonald House, Rady Children’s Hospital, Community Resource Center, and High School Scholarship programs.    

The announcement of the Club’s Essay Scholarship Contest Winners also appeared today in this week’s local newspapers dated March 11, 2021.

During this evening’s Board of Directors Meeting, some of the participants asked what our Junior Optimist Clubs are doing, if they are meeting, and any projects ongoing.  The below forwarded message is sent by Sydney Mafong, President of our newly formed Pacific Trails Middle School Junior Optimist International (JOI) Club.  This is a repeat of a project they performed earlier this year making nutritious lunches for the needy to be distributed by Father Joe’s Village.  This coming Friday they are making lasagna for distribution by an organization called “Lasagna Love”.  The members will prepare their lasagnas in their own homes at the same time using the “Zoom” platform to make it a comradery building joint project.  In their short time in existence they have already performed park cleanups and hiking trail cleanups with Park Rangers.  They are also currently conducting neighborhood recycling to obtain funds to do even more projects, while performing valuable community service at the same time.  These wonderful young Optimists get it!  They find ways to do valuable community service even under the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and while not being able to meet live, in-person, in their school.  Keep up the GREAT work Junior Optimists!

Optimistically,

Jim Parrotte

Junior Optimist Clubs Committee Chair, 

Del Mar – Solana Beach Optimist Club  

From: Mafong, Sydney  

Hi Everyone,

Here are some updates on the Pacific Trails Middle School JOI Club:

Many of you have been working on the recycling project. Hopefully your recycling bins are filling up. My bin was filled up last week! Hopefully we can get more donations throughout the week. If you are participating in this project, please let me know how you are doing. The date we are meeting at the recycling center will be determined depending on the amount of donations you all have.

On Friday, March 5th, 5 of us participated in our second sack lunch making project! We made 113 sack lunches! I attached some photos of our project to this email. A special thank you to Katie and her family for buying all the supplies for this project. We still have leftover supplies so if we can do this project again!

This Friday, March 12, we are having a virtual lasagna making! We are making lasagnas at home while on Google Meet. The food will be donated to families in need through an organization called Lasagna Love. Thank you to Ariana for being the project manager for this event. Ariana sent more details for this project in a separate email. Please contact Ariana by tomorrow, March 10 if you will be participating. If you are participating, please have all the ingredients and a lasagna recipe ready for Friday. I hope to see you all there, virtually!

Thank you so much to everyone participating in our projects. I’ve had so much fun with our projects and meeting some of you in-person. I really hope those of you who have not yet been able to participate in projects can take part in our lasagna project/future events. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Optimistically,

Sydney

Optimist International

Oratorical World Championships Goes Virtual

An important announcement from the Optimist International Oratorical Committee regarding the upcoming World Championships. To protect the safety of the students, volunteers, and staff, the 2021 Optimist International Oratorical Regional and World Championship contests will be held virtually again this year and will be live-streamed. Moreover, thanks to the generosity of the Optimist International Foundation and the Canadian Children’s Optimist Foundation, the scholarships offered at the District, Regional, and World Championships have been fully funded. ~ Dave Bruns Member of the International Oratorical CommitteePlease visit the official World Oratorical website page to download the full press release. Click here: https://www.optimist.org/member/scholarships4.cfm

February’s Del Mar – Solana Beach Optimist Club Zoom evening session was held on February 17^th and was a jam packed, fast moving affair.  Club Vice President Judy Trendel presided over the session as the “Zoom Host” controlling the gateway and the flow of the evening’s events.  We are finally kind of figuring out how to have a fun, yet productive time using the Zoom platform.  “Seeing” fellow Optimists, unmasked, having fun and enjoying each other’s company that is ALMOST, but not quite, like being together in person with real, not ‘virtual’ hugs.  Hopefully, we will all be able to meet again in-person soon. 

We were pleased to welcome new Club Member, Caryn McCall, who comes to us originally from South Africa, by way of several years in England, before landing in sunny San Diego!  Caryn has four children, three born in England, one in the United States, all are under twelve years old.  Caryn’s oldest has been in Scouts for many years and has therefore caused Caryn to be involved in Den and Pack activities.  Caryn is now taking over as the Club’s Liaison to our Club-sponsored Cub Scout Pack 734 and will periodically report the status of the Pack and its activities and on the disposition of Club funding.  Caryn discussed some of the possible Scout activities that may be pursued in the near future, pandemic conditions providing for their safe pursuit.  She mentioned several opportunities/organizations including; ‘92130 CARES’, which is an effort to connect local families who have fallen on hard times due to the pandemic with other local families who are in a position to help, and ‘Fill-A-Belly’, an organization which promotes relationships with the homeless and the hungry by sharing a meal, having conversations, playing games for entertainment, all with the ultimate goal of fulfillment and encouraging living life to the fullest.  Caryn shared that Pack 734 Scouts had received a ‘guided tour’ of the US Marines Helicopter Museum located on the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS), Miramar, which they reportedly thoroughly enjoyed!  Thank you Caryn, we know our Scout Pack 734 is in good hands with you there to guide and assist. 

Gary Wilson shared with us that he met earlier in the day on Wednesday with 19 members/applicants to the Junior Optimist International (JOI) Club that he advises at the Carmel Valley Middle School (CVMS).  The CVMS JOI Club members/applicants met in-person with Gary in a designated classroom at the school, remained socially distanced and masked, and discussed possible projects like beach cleanups, garage sales, bake sales, and the like that they can pursue once pandemic conditions permit.  Gary is receiving completed applications and will be officially adding members to the CVMS JOI Club roster soon.  Four of our other Club-sponsored Junior Optimist Clubs are meeting variously via Zoom and/or in-person to conduct planning meetings and are safely performing community service projects including; recognizing First Responders, cheering Assisted Living Facility Residents, feeding the homeless and hungry, caring for horses and shelter puppies, cleaning up local parks and trails, and planting trees.  They’re all busy and safely enjoying each other’s company!  

Club Essay Contest Chairperson, Janis LaVigne, provided an update on the Club’s Optimist International Essay Scholarship Contest.  All entries received by the January 31^st deadline were submitted to the outside judging entity on February 5^th and are currently being judged.  The Club’s contest winners are scheduled to receive awards and medallions following the completion of judging.  The 1^st Place winning essay will be submitted as the Club’s entry into the District level contest.  

The Club’s Optimist International Oratorical Scholarship Contest is currently underway with Club Oratorical Contest Chairman, John Murphy, working with applicants to complete the video recordings of their speeches and get them to him for processing and judging.  The Club level Oratorical Scholarship Contest is scheduled for completion during March.  Top placing speakers will receive awards and medallions.  The very top winners’ videos will be submitted as the Club’s entries into the Zone One level contest.  

Zone winners compete in the District level contest.   

Judy briefly overviewed the planning discussed at February’s Club Board of Directors meeting for an on-line fundraiser auction the Club will conduct in the not too distant future.  More on this as the planning progresses.  Judy additionally announced Club Member Birthdays occurring during February.  In her role as the Club’s Optimist International Foundation Representative, Judy announced that she will be contacting everyone to solicit their participation in this year’s 50^th Anniversary Dime-A-Day Drive.  

Club President Don LaVigne recited the ‘Optimist Creed’ to close the Zoom session.  The next regularly scheduled Zoom session will have a Saint Patrick’s Day theme and will be, appropriately, held via Zoom at 6:00 PM on Saint Patrick’s Day, Wednesday, March 17, 2021.  

Optimistically,

Jim Parrotte 

Secretary, Del Mar – Solana Beach Optimist Club