NORTH HILLS : Group to Form Optimist Club

In an effort to reach out to youths in the community, a citizens activist group will form the first Optimist Club in North Hills.

Optimist Clubs develop after-school activities, build playgrounds and provide other services geared toward children in their community. There are more than 4,000 clubs nationwide. Last year, Optimist Clubs raised more than $31 million and sponsored 55,000 youth projects.

“The big benefit for North Hills will be to get members of the community in one group that meet on a regular basis and to get kids involved in community work themselves,” William Bratly, 52, governor of the Optimist Club Pacific Southwest District, which includes about 100 clubs with nearly 3,000 members, told the North Hills Community Coordinating Council’s Community Outreach Committee.

In North Hills, apartment tenants, landlords, merchants and homeowners plan to focus their attention on projects tailored to the youths in their community, Bratly said.

“One of the first projects would be to raise funds to put a gym floor in the United Methodist Church for the kids to have a safe place to play,” Bratly said. Cost to convert the concrete floor to a hardwood floor could reach $50,000.

Rodney Fink, 38, a member of the Community Outreach Committee, believes that the Optimist Club will inspire youths to take pride in their community.

“We’re trying to model how to become productive members of the community,” Fink said.

The first meeting of the Optimist Club will be held at 6:30 p.m. May 11 at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 15314 Rayen St., North Hills. At least 25 adults are needed for a club.