Dor-Wood Optimist Club: Bringing out the Best in Kids

The Dor-Wood Optimist Club’s mission has been bringing out the best in kids in Kettering, Ohio, since 1965. The secret of the club is in the name – they are committed to looking on the bright side of life and making a positive difference in their community.

In addition to their safety, sports, and family activities for children, they also support organizations, like Crayons to Classrooms (C2C), whose work benefits children in Kettering schools. The Dor-Wood Optimist Club graciously invited C2C staff to give a presentation on the organization’s programs last summer. After the presentation, they showed interest in C2C’s mission and encouraged C2C to apply for funding. The Dor-Wood Optimist Club awarded C2C a grant for the 2023-24 school year in support of Kettering teachers of students in need.

The donated funds helped stock C2C’s Teacher Resource Center with the supplies teachers need to guide students to academic success. Already this school year, 14 teachers from seven Kettering schools have come to “shop” for free at C2C and have taken over $13,000 worth of supplies, benefiting over 3,000 students. Other Kettering teachers have already scheduled times to come shop this semester, and many more are expected in the new year.

In C2C’s 2023 teacher survey, one Kettering teacher shared that C2C has “helped take a load off my pocketbook and the students greatly appreciate all that has been done for them. A lot of my students do not have much at home and every little bit makes a difference in these kids’ lives.” C2C is grateful to the Dor-Wood Optimist Club for their donation and honored to be counted among the many worthy causes they support across the Miami Valley.