About Us

Our club was organized August 6, 1971 with twenty six charter members.  One of those is still a member.   The sponsoring club was Cayce-West Columbia which is no longer active.

For more than three decades the Optimist Club of St. Andrews has dedicated itself to helping the youth of the Irmo-St. Andrews area.

Mrs. Nixon is generally credited with starting the “Just Say No” anti drug program for kids.  However, we think we were the first to organize and sponsor a club in a school even before the national announcement.  Please see “Our Projects” page for our current community activities.

Our members are civic minded men and women who want to give back to the society that supports us.

Our meetings are like family get-togethers with fun being the primary object.  The last Friday each month we reserve for club business, some of it “monkey”.  The other Fridays we have an outside speaker telling us about all kinds of things going on in our community.  Click here to see photo of our speakers.

However, we get serious about supporting the kids and our community.

What is an Optimist Club?

An Optimist Club is a voluntary organization of civic-minded men and women banded together for progressive thought and action in community service. Membership, which is by invitation only, is composed of citizens drawn from business, industry, agriculture and the professions. Members are motivated by the desire to contribute to the community from which they and their families draw daily benefits.

The purposes of the Optimist Clubs are to develop Optimism as a philosophy of life; to promote an active interest in good government and civic affairs; to inspire respect for the law; to promote patriotism and work for international accord and friendship among all people; to aid and encourage the development of youth, in the belief that the giving of one's self in service to others will advance the well-being of man, his community and world. Junior Optimist student clubs are also active in high schools and lower levels and referred to as JOOI clubs.

Meeting the needs of young people in communities worldwide, Optimist Clubs have been "Bringing Out the Best in Kids" since 1919. Optimist Clubs conduct positive service projects aimed at providing a helping hand to youth. Club Members are best known in their communities for their upbeat attitudes. By believing in young people and empowering them to be the best they can, Optimist volunteers continually make this world a better place to live. There are 105,000 individual Members who belong to more than 3,200 autonomous Clubs.

Optimists conduct 65,000 service projects each year, serving six million young people. Optimists also spend $78 million on their communities annually.  Click here for Optimist International site.