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PALMETTO OPTIMIST
About Us
Make a Real Difference For Youth In Sumter
By providing hope and positive vision, Optimists bring out the best in youth, their communities, and ourselves. The Palmetto Optimist Club of Sumter brings hope and opportunity to youth through literacy initiatives, compassionate support for children battling cancer, and community programs that inspire service, creativity, and connection.
Books, Blankets, and Bright Futures.
Join a community of volunteers bringing hope and opportunity to local kids.
Join us on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 6:45 PM at Friends Cafe at 1105 N Lafayette Dr.
Call us at (803)847-5834
Email us at PalmettoOptimistClub@gmail.com
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @PalmettoOptimistClub
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Scholarship Opportunities
Essay Contest
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Open to Students under the age of 19 as of 10/1/25.
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Write an original 700-800 word essay on the assigned topic.
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Topic “How My Acts of Service Help Me Understand What My Community Means to Me”.
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Deadline: February 1, 2026
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Submit using the button below.
Oratorical Contest
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Open to Students under the age of 19 as of 10/1/25.
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Prepare a 4-5 minute speech on the assigned topic.
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Topic “The Moment I realized I belonged - The Definition of Community”.
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Deadline: March 9, 2026
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Contest Date: March 14, 2026 @ 2:00 PM (location TBD)
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Submit using the button below.
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Donate a Duffle Bag
Children in foster care often arrive in care with the clothes on their backs or all of their personal items in a garbage bag. Your $20 donation will purchase a duffle bag for a child in foster care at Crosswell Children's Home in Sumter, SC. The Palmetto Optimist club will personalize the bag with the child's name and deliver it to the home. Click the duffle bag to the right to make your donation.
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Buy a Cookbook
There is something special about gathering around a table, sharing meals, stories, and traditions that bring us closer together. This cookbook is a celebration of those moments, filled with recipes from friends, families, and members of the Palmetto Optimist Club who believe in the power of community. But this cookbook is about more than great food. Every page represents our commitment to making a difference. The Palmetto Optimist Club is dedicated to bringing hope and a positive vision to youth in our community. Through scholarships, youth programs, and community events, we strive to create opportunities that inspire confidence, creativity, and connection. Proceeds from this cookbook directly support our efforts to serve youth locally and benefit organizations that extend that impact even further. Together, we are helping to fund programs that change lives, right here in Sumter and beyond. As you flip through these pages, we hope you discover new favorites, revisit cherished classics, and feel connected to the people and purpose behind each recipe. Thank you for being part of this journey with us.Because when we come together, whether around a table or in our community, we bring out the best in each other.
Palmetto Optimist Club
Donate New or Used Bicycles
The Evening Optimist Club of Sumter conducts an annual a project for underprivileged youth in the Sumter Community called “Cycles for Christmas”. Over the last 25 years more than 5000 bicycles have been given to needy children in the Sumter area. This year the Palmetto Optimist Club would like to continue to support that effort.
“Cycles for Christmas” involves collecting used bicycles, donated by individuals throughout the county, and having them repaired and/or refurbished to be distributed to deserving Sumter young persons. The Sumter County fire stations have agreed to serve as our drop off points again this year. The cycles are being collected, sorted and repaired by Optimist and other volunteers.
Donations can be made at all Sumter Area Fire Stations.
(Alice Drive Fire Dept. preferred) If you need bikes picked up or would like to volunteer your time, contact Tom Lawrence 803-983-2875.
