Granite City Optimist Club

04/27/2026

The Granite City Optimist Club donated diapers and wipes to the Madison County Soup-N-Share Outreach Program in Madison, Illinois, for their bimonthly diaper distribution initiative. Shown in the picture are Sherrie M. Hare, Executive Director of Soup-N-Share and Paul Hellrich, president of the Granite City Optimist Club.

02/13/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19Pk1TiJqd/

Abraham Lincoln believed leadership meant courage, integrity, and putting people first, even in the hardest moments. His belief in unity, service, and hope reflects the very heart of Optimism.
🌟 Lead with optimism. Serve with purpose. Join Optimist International and help shape the next generation of leaders. Visit https://www.optimist.org/landingpage/ and find out how you can serve.

02/05/2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNz2cx1nFHg

Visit www.oifoundation.org to learn more

12/11/2025

10/02/2025

Rest is not the opposite of living. It's what lets us show up fully for life. Here’s how to ease into it if you feel restless when relaxing.

12/17/2024

“Music has healing power. It has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours.” – Elton John“Music is a weapon in the war against unhappiness.” – Jason Mraz“Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife.” ― Kahlil...

10/31/2024

"If you look for evidence that people are conspiring to hold you back and the world is working against you, then it will take you no time at all to find precisely that.

If you expect to encounter helpful people and experience a world that is working with you, then you find plenty of evidence to support that view as well.

The raw material for a sweet life or a bitter life is always there. The story you emphasize is the one you notice." James Clear

10/24/2024

Author Terry Pratchett on the ripples we leave behind:

"No one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away, until the clock wound up winds down, until the wine she made has finished its ferment, until the crop they planted is harvested. The span of someone's life is only the core of their actual existence."

10/17/2024

3 Ideas From Me
I.

"Being kind to others is mostly about your actions.

Being kind to yourself is mostly about your thoughts."

​II.

"There is no need to fear any problem you are working on. If you are working on it, then you are influencing the outcome.

It's the problems you don't address that should concern you."

III.

"Before you worry about how to win the game, figure out whether the game is worth winning."

James Clear

10/14/2024

"Cognitive ability is your brain’s horsepower – the raw, unfiltered, can-solve-differential-equations-while-watching-Netflix kind of power. Cognitive style, on the other hand, is what you actually do with that brainpower. It’s the difference between owning a high-end supercomputer and using it solely to play Minesweeper.

As University of Pennsylvania professor Phil Tetlock said about making accurate predictions: “A brilliant puzzle-solver may have the raw material for forecasting, but if he doesn’t also have an appetite for questioning basic, emotionally charged beliefs, he will often be at a disadvantage relative to a less intelligent person who has a greater capacity for self-critical thinking.”

Raw smarts are powerful – but only if we use them well." Eric Barker