Oliver's Summer Hangout

Established in 1993, as a community safe haven for children during the critical out of school hours. The Optimist Club has had a long-term collaborative partnership with the City of Miami, as its exclusive community provider at the Theodore Gibson Park (located within the heart of Overtown, Miami).

In its 30-year history, The Optimist Club of Overtown has successfully pivoted its hallmark, sports enthusiast programming, to include academic advisement, ensuring students are on track for on-time grade promotion, high school graduation, while preparing them to successfully navigate their post-high life.

In the last 4 years, the Optimist Club began using a strength-based case management model which empowers our student scholars, by focusing on their strengths, while empowering them to make prosocial decisions. Students join the Overtown Optimist Club, as early as five years of age through high school graduation and beyond.

After nearly three decades, we believe we've developed a methodology which delivers real impact and value to the children and families whom we serve. The OOC is a uniquely positioned community-based organization, combating the challenges of student disengagement and low academic achievement by creating personalized, case management profiles, and individual goal planning, where all students are challenged to meet high academic and social expectations.

30 YEARS OF SERVICE
10,000 + KIDS SERVED
1,000 + VOLUNTEERS
200 + ORGANIZED SPORTS TEAMS

Mission

Overtown Optimist Club has a mission of increasing student and family access to affordable, inclusive, high quality youth development programming with an eye towards health and wellness. The Overtown Optimist Club Health and Wellness initiative has a two-pronged objective. The seminal objective of the Club has been to create and sustain a safe haven for students and families during the critical out-of-school hours. To achieve its mission, the Club activates a year-round out-of-school program model, where athletics continues to be one of our many tools for outreach, and a vehicle which invests in the wellness of our children. Find more about us on our website at www.theoptimistclub.org.