The St. Paul Optimist Club has a Foundation named "St Paul Friend of Youth Foundation".  It was set up in 1996 as a charitable 501 (c) 3 organization. Its purpose is that we seek to honor achievement in the face of adversity and promote excellence in the development of leadership through education and to increase our ability to provide funding support to St. Paul youth striving for higher education
 

Each year the St. Paul Optimist Club joins with the local St. Paul community to march in the annual Grand Old Day Parade, which kicks off the summer season for kids/families, and is always held on the first Sunday in June. 
One of the key purposes or tenets of being an Optimist Club Member is to "to aid and encourage the development of youth", and we do that by passing out bookmarks to all the kids we see along the parade route.
Promoting the benefits of reading during the summer months provides positive validation and encourages active learning.