For more than 50 years, the Point Loma Optimist Club (PLOC) has supported Point Loma and Ocean Beach youth and the Peninsula community.
In addition to providing annual support to groups fostering musical, athletic and academic achievement, PLOC has been a major contributor to the Peninsula YMCA since its inception.
The service club’s impact has been profound, as evidenced by annual scholarships it gives to graduating Point Loma High School seniors, various sports teams and oratory and essay contests it supports, including the summer sailing program it sponsors for 40 youngsters in partnership with the San Diego Yacht Club and the Peninsula YMCA.
“We are trying to expand our involvement and philanthropy in the Point Loma community,” said current Optimist Club president Travis S. Jaedtke, who added he’d like to reintroduce the club to the public and indoctrinate the community about all that the club is doing to advance worthy causes within the Peninsula.
“We feel we can do more,” Jaedtke said. “The list of organizations we’ve helped over the years is something we feel not everyone knows about, including who we are, and what we do. If anyone can benefit from our services, we’d just like to put it out there to help the community.”
The mark PLOC has left in the community is clearly evidenced at the Little League fields below the fire station on Catalina Boulevard, named “Optimist Field,” along with the 150 U.S. flags the club places along a two-mile stretch of Rosecrans Street every Sunday and national holiday.
Chartered in 1954, PLOC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit focused on benefiting youth and community philanthropy. With a membership exceeding 50, the club is poised to grow, expanding its influence.
“Our goal is just to serve the community,” said Jaedtke, an Ocean Beach resident for many years who was introduced to the PLOC by a close friend who persuaded him that becoming “optimistic” was the best thing he could do to help make the Peninsula community a better place.
Becoming an Optimist is also the service-minded thing to do, said Jaedtke.
“Just seeing what they do contributing back to the community is a good thing,” he said, extending an open invitation to any and all organizations in the Peninsula to take advantage of the club’s services.
“We (PLOC) want to reach out,” Jaedtke said. “If you have an organization in Point Loma or in the Peninsula, look for us to help contribute. We’re looking to better the community. We felt this was the best way to reach out.”
PLOC meets Tuesday mornings at 7 a.m. at the San Diego Yacht Club, located at 1011 Anchorage Lane. Every meeting includes a guest speaker. During the summer, a monthly steak fry is held at the yacht club on a Monday evening at 5:30 p.m. in lieu of that week’s breakfast meeting.?
For more information about the Optimist Club of Point Loma visit www.pointlomaoptimist.org.