Sauk Trails Madison Optimist Club bi-weekly Get-Togethers:
Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday at 11:45 AM our Optimist Club meets at the Vintage on the West side of Madison. (Exception: Nov/Dec). We we share about events in our personal life. The dollars are put into the Sauk Trails Foundation Youth fund for Scholarships. Following there enjoy each others company while having a great lunch. Optimists open with the Pledge, Prayer, Announcements and 'Happy Dollars', when is usually a pre-scheduled speaker, chosen by an optimist, and we finish with the Creed. Come and join us anytime.
Sauk Trails Madison Optimist Club - STOC, sponsors a JOI Club of students at Vel Phillips Memorial High School:
Optimists sponsor and support the Spartan Youth Service Student JOI Club at Vel Phillips Memorial High School. The JOI Club has 6 different committees of over 125 youth and provide many hours of service to the community. The club benefits from the Optimist International Insurance and have advisor support from the club. They look forward to some Optimist co-projects, such as the Lussier Christmas Party. The students can also can be part of the SWIS District and Optimist International programs that are available for ALL JOI students.
The group uses Tiktok, but usually only link to their Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/vpm.sys/
STOC Quarterly Honor JOI Students at lunch Get-Togethers:
JOI Students are honored at a quarterly lunch. The students can share about their activities in school, why they are members of the Spartan Youth Service Team, what volunteering they enjoy doing, and what they plan on doing in the future. Some of these same students may also be possibly considered for a scholarship in the future. We get to know the JOI students, that the Optimist Club sponsor, and they also find out more about our Club.
Sauk Trails Annual Banquet, Induction Officers for New Year:
The STOC Annual Induction Banquet is held in later September / early October for the new year. The club members are honored for their support of the club and community. Club Officers and Board Members are Inducted for a term to start on October 1st of the year. This is a good time held by all. A wonderful dinner is held which is enjoyed by the many optimists and guests attending. Thanks to Optimists for the many raffle items that are made available. There is sharing about the many activities that our club does including: Lussier Community Xmas Party, JOI Activity, Respect for Law, Scholarships, Essay / Oratorical Contests, and other activities.
Annual Christmas Party prep for Lussier Center:
Every year the Sauk Trails - Madison Optimist Club plans, does fund raising, and provides the support for over 125 kids each year. Come join in the experience and fun. Each year the planning for the annual Lussier Christmas Party starts the middle of summer with approaching many businesses for contributions, food and toys, purchasing of presents for each of the kids attending, based on their ages and hiring someone to provide a program. The day of the program, there is a need for support from many optimists and from the JOI - Junior Optimists. Great Time for Everyone.
Essay Contest Club Program, end February each year:
Students under the age of 19 as of Oct. 1 of year can write a 700 - 800 word essay to compete for a Southern Wisconsin District -Contest. The Sauk Trails Optimist Club sponsors an Essay Contest each year. There are students who would like to compete for the $2,500 SWIS scholarship by writing an essay and providing it to the club Essay Chair by mid-February of the Optimist Year for competition. Optimists can participate in judging the Essays. The Clubs winning Essay needs to be submitted before the end of February to the SWIS District. The theme this year is available on the SWIS Website at: Essay_Information.
Oratorical Contest Club Program:
Students under the age of 19 as of Oct. 1 of year can give a 4-5 minute speech at the Club Level. The club winners compete against other clubs in their SWIS Zone with the winners going to the SWIS District. There they can compete for a $2,500, $1,500 or a $1,000 scholarship. The top winner at the district level can then compete at the International level for more scholarships. There is more information in the SWIS District website at: Oratorical_Information.
Respect for Law Program:
Annually the Sauk Trails Optimist Club has been honoring West Madison Precinct Officers either at lunches or at the precinct, depending on schedules. A presentation is given by police department heads of the precinct about the relationships being established in the communities being served. The two officers being honored share about their duties and their reasons for being a police officer. Each officers name is placed on a plaque, which is disiplayed at the precinct, and added to all the names of previous honorees. More info at: Respect_Information.
Scholarships for deserving Students:
Annually, at the end of each school year, 2-3 scholarships are presented to deserving students. Criteria on volunteer activity, as well as grades are considering in determining the scholarship recipients by the school. Scholarships are presented to students from the JOI - Junior Optimist Club Team and other schools, based on STOC Board decisions and fund raising dollars available.
Grants requested and/or considered:
Each year organizations can present their community projects that impact youth and/or families at a lunch during the year. They can then be considered for grants. Grants can also be requested for consideration by the Board each year. In the most recent year there were $500 grants given to: WayForward, Literacy Network, LoganSmiles, and Miracle Network.
STOC Annual Student Golf Program:
There has been an Annual Student Golf Program scheduled by SWIS District for late Summer / early Fall for anyone interested in participating. Currently in this year, there is not enough Optimist support by the SWIS District BUT it could still be of interest to Optimist Clubs by members. It's a Fun Time for Everyone.
Sauk Trails Madison Annual Special Get-Together Dinner:
Sauk Trails Annual Progressive Dinner for Optimists Every Years couple years we have 2-3 houses planned for Appetizers, Main Entrees, Dessert for fun good food and comrade with optimist members, significant others, and invited guests. Each year we have some different hosts who do such a great job and we so enjoy their accepting to provide their home. It's a good time, good food, and lots of fun. FUN_Pic1, FUN_PIC2, FUN_PIC3, FUN_PIC4, FUN_PIC5.
Contribute to Youth and Community Funds through Fundraisers:
Currently the Sauk Trails Optimist Club Participates in the following. These are evaluated yearly with some continued and others added.
Sauk Trails Fundraisers - National Mustard Day Program: The Mustard Volunteer Program Downtown Middleton on Saturdays in August is our annual tribute to the king of condiments. National Mustard Day is the biggest fundraising event of the year. Sauk Trails Optimists participate in this annual event. Since National Mustard Day is a street festival, most of us will be working outside in different tents, running games for a few dollars each, selling souvenirs & cold drinks, grilling and serving hot dogs, to serve mustard samples, assisting guest vendors, pushing a cart around to supply drinks and snacks to workers at each booth, With many volunteers, who earned money for our STOC Foundation for the hours they work, this is an annual VERY FUN Event. MustardGroup
Sauk Trails FundCrazr Program: Sauk Trails particpates in the SWIS District program by selling $20 fundcrazr cards for the football season each fall. Winners weekly can win anything between $10 and $500 depending on the various scores of games during the week. At the end of the season, each club receives back between $10-$12, depending on the number of tickets sold by all the clubs in the SWIS District.
Culver's Volunteering Program: About quarterly during a year, a Tuesday is scheduled at the Culver's on Mineral Point Road for 8 optimists who can volunteer (either 4-6 and/or 6-8) at the Culver's. Duties include welcoming, busing tables, serving food, and other activities. This is a fun event and another great fundraiser for the STOC Foundation for the hours worked. CulverGroup
Bratfest Volunteering Program: Annually in May, usually during Memorial Day weekend, Optimists can volunteer to help with grilling, wrapping, serving brats & hotdogs to the attendees. Money earned goes back to club for scholarships and grants. Brat_Gr1
Bucky Book Program: Recently in the Fall, the sale of Bucky Books was re-established. Each book sold by Optimists provides for an amount which goes back directly to our STOC Foundation. There is also a program for every 5 books sold, 1 more book is free which can also be sold or given away as an incentive gift.
Nut Fundraiser On-Line Ordering Program: The TerryLynn Fundraiser profits are for the Sauk Trails Youth Foundation to support youth activities. If you order online, they can have the items shipped directly to your or a customer's home. The profit on the sale will go directly to the Sauk Trails Optmist Club. More information is available in the STOC Newsletters. Nut_site
STOC Website and STOC Newsletter:
The Sauk Trails Optimist Club was chartered in 1992. There is a lot of information available in this STOC Website. STOC Newsletters have been created, put on this website, and distributed every 2-3 months to provide more information about the club. There is also links to District and International Websites on this STOC Website. There are also Historical Pictures available on this website.
Work with other Service Clubs:
One of the goals is to work with other Southern Wisconsin - SWIS Clubs in the community to promote volunteerism and Optimism.
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