A citizenship club is bringing a lot more optimism to Tecumseh High School and the New Carlisle Community.
The Tecumseh High School’s Junior Optimist Club held its first organizational meeting in January. The club meets weekly and is advised by Tecumseh Local School District Assistant Superintendent, Mrs. Paula Crew.
According to the club’s Public Relations Officer, Harley Adamson, both Crew and the students are excited about the new club and its goals.
“Mrs. Crew really wanted to bring the club to Tecumseh. She mentioned it to me and other students, so we decided to make it happen. It’s a brand-new club, so we are still kind of small. We only had eight people at our first meeting, but we are growing. I think it’s because the things we are going to be doing will be making a real difference in our community.”
Adamson says Tecumseh’s Jr. Optimist Club’s motto is “Making the Community a Better Place, One Service Project at a Time.” The new club members did not waste any time doing their first service project. The Jr. Optimists recently spent three of their weekly meetings making 23 fleece blankets for residents at Dayview Care Center in New Carlisle. Adamson says the experience was rewarding.
“We spent a lot of time making the blankets, and when we gave them to the residents they were so surprised to see that kids my age cared about the people in our community. We met a 95-year-old veteran, and the look on his face when we presented him with his blanket was just heartwarming! I don’t think I will ever forget it. It was great to know our work helped make someone that happy!”
In addition to the Blanket project, Crew and Adamson say the Jr. Optimists have helped with the mobile pantry in Park Layne and New Carlisle. They also collected plastic trash bags to make into mats for homeless people.
Crew frequently mentions in both person and on social media how proud she is of Tecumseh’s Jr. Optimists.
“The kids are just great! They work really hard and they care a lot about others. I am in continuous awe of the amazing time these students donate to help our community! (I’m) very proud!”
Adamson says she is excited to see how the club continues to grow and what service projects she and other Jr. Optimists will get to do together in the future.
“We have five officers now. They are: President David Gehret (Senior), Vice-President Miranda Guisinger (Freshman), Treasurer Lexi Perez (Junior), Secretary Olivia Crew (Freshman), and Public Relations Officer Harley Adamson (Freshman). Everyone in the club is working to recruit new members so we can do more (outreach). We had 15 people at our last meeting. We are also always looking for more service projects to do, and we would love for people to give us some ideas so we can keep helping make our community a better place!”
To share service project ideas with Tecumseh’s Jr. Optimist Club, or to just get more information, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
