Royal Oak Optimist Club Makes Difference in Many Ways
(Lara Mossa, May 28, 2024)
ROYAL OAK, MI – Every time Mike Ripinski sees a child with a Royal Oak Optimist Club sticker on a bike helmet, it makes him feel good. Ripinski is a member of the local organization which works in a variety of ways to give back to the community, including free helmets for kids.
“That’s always been my passion, ever since I was a soccer coach was to be involved with the kids in our community,” he said. “It’s all about helping kids. It was a nice fit for me.”
Ripinski is one of about 35 members of the nonprofit association that conducts fund-raising events and provides charitable donations to youth and other organizations in the area. The group, which includes local residents, past Berkley and Royal Oak residents, and business people connected with the area, meets every Wednesday at 7:15 a.m.at the café in the Woodward Corner Market and once a month on Wednesday evenings at various restaurants in the Royal Oak area.
The No. 1 project the organization supports is the Safety on Wheels program, which provides free bike helmets to every third-grade student in Royal Oak and Berkley schools. Up to 800 helmets will be awarded this spring, said Ripinski, who will be on the board this fall and has served on the board previously. The program is about five years old, and the group used to sell bike helmets at a reduced cost but now provides them free every year.
While that is the association’s most well-known project, there are many other charitable groups to which the Royal Oak Optimist Club contributes. Every year, the group holds speech and essay contests for middle and high school students, which provides scholarships to the winners. There also is a Youth Appreciation Day, a program that is more than 30 years old and features an awards breakfast, certificates and gifts to high school students selected to be honored by local teachers and administrators.
Other organizations supported financially include the Detroit Youth Club, which was formerly known as the Boys and Girls Club; Gilda’s Club, a group dedicated to helping individuals and families affected by cancer; Teen Clean Closet, a volunteer group that provides necessities to junior high and high schools students such as toothbrushes and personal care products; as well as Camp Casey, a Southfield-based group that brings horses to kids who are seriously ill so they can pet and ride them.
The Royal Oak Optimist Club holds major fund-raising events throughout the year to support these causes. Some of those include trivia and comedy nights and a bowl-a-thon. In addition, the organization publishes and sells advertisements for a booklet that features the group.
Besides these endeavors, the group hosts local experts to speak on different topics at the meetings; Marc Kat is the current president and there are some membership fees.
Ripinski and his wife, Dawne – both real estate agents – have been members for more than 20 years. They selected the Royal Oak Optimist Club above other nonprofit organizations in the area.
“It’s helped both of us get connected in the community,” Mike Ripinski said. “We’re known in the community. We don’t look for a benefit for our real estate business, but we’ve made a lot of contacts.”
Founded in 1946, the Royal Oak Optimist Club, is part of Optimist International formed in 1911 and found in more than 2000 clubs worldwide. For more information, go to the Facebook page Royal Oak Optimist Club or to the website www.royaloakoptimists.org.
