How Lionism started & what does it mean being a lion

Lions Clubs International (LCI) is a secular service organization with over 44,500 clubs and more than 1.3 million members in 206 countries around the world. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States, the organization aims to meet the needs of communities on a local and global scale.

Lions Clubs International was founded in the United States on June 7, 1917 by Melvin Jones, a Chicago businessman. Jones asked, with regard to his colleagues, "What if these men who are successful because of their drive, intelligence and ambition, were to put their talents to work improving their communities?" Jones' personal code, "You can't get very far until you start doing something for somebody else," reminds many Lions of the importance of community service.

The Lions motto is “We Serve.” Focal Lions Club programs include sight conservation, hearing and speech conservation, diabetes awareness, youth outreach, international relations, environmental issues, and other programs.

The stated purposes of Lions Clubs International are:

To Organize, charter and supervise service clubs to be known as Lions clubs.

To Coordinate the activities and standardize the administration of Lions clubs.

To Create and foster a spirit of understanding among the peoples of the world.

To Promote the principles of good government and good citizenship.

To Take an active interest in the civic, cultural, social and moral welfare of the community.

To Unite the clubs in the bonds of friendship, good fellowship and mutual understanding.

To Provide a forum for the open discussion of all matters of public interest; provided, however, that partisan politics and sectarian religion shall not be debated by club members.

To Encourage service-minded people to serve their community without personal financial reward, and to encourage efficiency and promote high ethical standards in commerce, industry, professions, public works and private endeavors.

Charitable Work

Much of the focus of Lions Clubs International work as a service club organization is to raise money for worthy causes. All funds raised by Lions Clubs from the general public are used for charitable purposes, and administrative costs are kept strictly separate and paid for by members. Some of the money raised for a club’s charity account goes toward projects that benefit the local community of an individual club.

Service Projects

Lions Clubs plan and participate in a wide variety of service projects that meet the international goals of Lions Clubs International as well as the needs of their local communities. Examples include donations to hospices, or community campaigns such as Message in a bottle, a United Kingdom initiative which places a plastic bottle with critical medical information inside the refrigerators of vulnerable people. Money is also raised for international purposes. Some of this is donated in reaction to events such as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Other money is used to support international campaigns, coordinated by the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), such as Sight First and Lions World Sight Day, which was launched in 1998 to draw world media attention to the plight of sight loss in the third world. Lions take on all sorts of various fund raisers to fund these projects. For example, the Dublin, Virginia Lions Club host two flea markets a year, and sell their famous Lion Dog, a fresh prepared variation of a corn dog.

Lions focus on work for the blind and visually impaired began when Helen Keller addressed the International Convention at Cedar Point, Ohio on 30 June 1925 and charged Lions to be Knights of the Blind.

Lions also have a strong commitment to community hearing- and cancer-screening projects. In Perth, Western Australia, they have conducted hearing screening for over 30 years and provided seed funding for the Lions Ear and Hearing Institute established September 9, 2001, a center of excellence in the diagnosis, management, and research of ear and hearing disorders.[9] In Perth, Lions have also been instrumental in the establishment of the Lions Eye Institute. In Brisbane, Queensland, the Lions Medical Research Foundation provides funding to a number of researchers. Prof. Ian Frazer's initial work, leading to the development of a HPV vaccine for the human papillomavirus which could lead to cervical cancer, was funded by the Lions Medical Research Foundation.

Lions Clubs International has supported the work of the United Nations since that organization's inception in 1945, when it was one of the non-governmental organizations invited to assist in the drafting of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco, California.

Lions Clubs International Foundation

Lions Clubs International Foundation is “Lions helping Lions serve the world.”Donations provide funding in the form of grants to financially assist Lions districts with large-scale humanitarian projects that are too expansive and costly for Lions to finance on their own.[11] The Foundation aids Lions in making a greater impact in their local communities, as well as around the world. Through LCIF, Lions ease pain and suffering and bring healing and hope to people worldwide. Major initiatives of the foundation include the following:

SightFirst programs

Childhood Blindness Project

Lions Eye Health Program (LEHP, pronounced "leap")

River Blindness/Trachoma

SightFirst China Action

Sight for Kids

Other sight programs

Core 4 Preschool

Vision Screening

Disability programs

Lions World Services for the Blind

Diabetes Prevention/Treatment

Habitat for Humanity Partnership

Lions Affordable Hearing Aid Project

Low Vision

Special Olympics Opening Eyes

Youth Programs

LEO Clubs

Lions Quest

Membership is by invitation, though individuals are rarely turned away, and attendance at meetings is expected on a monthly or fortnightly basis. Due to the hierarchical nature of Lions Clubs International, members have the opportunity to advance from a local club to an office at the zone, district, multiple district and international levels.

In 1986 the constitution of Lions Clubs International was amended to allow for women to become members.Since then many clubs have admitted women, but some all-male clubs still exist.