Welcome to our New Website!
Optimists Make A Difference
The Optimist Club of Ancaster Township is a Community Service Organization dedicated to our Optimist International Mission: "Through hope and a positive vision, we bring out the best in youth, our communities and ourselves." We have been supporting children and youth in Ancaster since 1956 . New members are always welcome. You will be asked to fill in an Optimist Membership Application Form and then you will be invited to attend our next Optimist Dinner Meeting as our guest. You matter and you will make a difference!
100 Years of Optimism in Canada
The Toronto Optimist Club was founded 100 years ago, marking the birth of Optimist International as a truly international organization.
Founded on Jan. 22, 1924, the Club had a vision of “community betterment," aiming "to help the delinquent boy, and to spread the doctrine of optimism” across Canada.
Since then, our mission has evolved to bringing out the best in youth, our community and ourselves. But the same passion and hope for the future that drove the Toronto Optimists still drives our organization today.
In its first 20 years, the Toronto Optimist Club sponsored 16 other Canadian Clubs, and Canadian membership grew to more than 1,000 by 1944. Today, there are over 10,000 Optimists in Canada, and Clubs continue to grow throughout the country. Last week, we welcomed our newest Club in Canada, the Seaway Optimist Club in Central Ontario.
Since the founding of Optimist International's first international club, the organization has expanded into more than 27 countries worldwide, including Uganda, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea, and we now have Districts in the Caribbean and Nepal.