We are the Cabo San Lucas Optimist Club, legally registered as a civil association in Mexico, and members of Optimist International, an organization dedicated to helping youth throughout the world.   The first official Optimist Club was formed in Buffalo, N.Y. in 1911.  The association of clubs that is known today as Optimist International was formed on June 19, 1919, when representatives of 11 clubs held a convention in Louisville, Ky., and adopted the name International Optimist Club.  The Cabo San Lucas Optimist Club was formed in 2002 and formalized as a civil association under Mexican Law in 2004.

Our major project, KidSmart, seeks donors to sponsor a student for one year, with a $450.00 donation that provides school uniforms and shoes at the beginning of each school year and also provides a monthly stipend of 250 pesos to be used for bus fare, lunch money, or school supplies.  An additional part of that project is providing English and computer classes to the same students in private courses.  Sponsors are encouraged, but not required, to interact with their child and their families as they choose. We have a core group of dedicated members and volunteers who mentor the kids on an ongoing basis here in Cabo San Lucas. For Americans, tax deductible donations in U.S. dollars can be made to our “Cabo San Lucas Optimist Club” account in San Jose, California, and tax deductible donations in Mexico can be made through our “Cabo San Lucas Optimist Club, A.C.” peso bank account in Cabo San Lucas. 

The purpose of Project KidSmart is to see that high-achieving students from very low-income families have the opportunity to get at least a high school diploma. In poor families in Mexico, older children often have to drop out of school to take care of younger children while the parent(s) work, or have to go to work themselves to help maintain the family. This program was designed to intercept high-risk youth, and help them lift themselves above the poverty level.

The first kids were recommended to us by DIF, a Federal Program for the Development of the Integral Family, or "family services", here in Los Cabos in 2002.  Now we have two wonderful volunteer social workers, Maria Esther Yañez and Patricia Flores, that identify prospects for our project, do home visits and socio-economic studies of the families to help us reach the neediest kids.

Project KidSmart Cabo presently has 42 honor students in the group. A new Optimist Club in San Jose del Cabo has their own KidSmart group with 35 honor students.  We are helping that club find sponsors too.  The CSL Optimist Club has kids from grade 5 through grade 12 and several now attending local universities.  We maintain a small group to be able to provide various programs and monthly outings for them, to teach them that their performance is rewarded.  On the other hand, if a student drops below the equivalent of a B+ average for more than one report card period, they lose their scholarship and another student has the opportunity to take their place in the program. 

The Cabo San Lucas Optimist Club also accepts and appreciates general donations, which are used for other projects to help the kids of our community, such as soccer uniforms for a junior high team, used computers for a junior high computer course that had none, used computers for our own students, Christmas presents for the DIF projects, emergency food supplies to families in crisis, and assistance with our monthly outings, which are a reward for the high achievement of the students.  Many local businesses and private individuals have donated goods and services for our program and projects. 

We received several large donations to begin to enroll our kids in private English and computer classes.  We need more donations to keep this program going.  Los Cabos is an international tourist destination and these courses will provide the proper foundation for “our kids” to get good jobs and/or go on to university level.

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