lionsfacts

Lions Club Facts

Membership
Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organization with 1.3 million members in approximately 45,000 clubs in 205 countries and geographical areas.

Lions are men and women who volunteer their time to humanitarian causes. Founded in 1917, the volunteer organization's motto is "We Serve."

Service to Others
Worldwide, Lions clubs are recognized for their service to people who are blind and visually impaired. This service began when Helen Keller challenged Lions to become ?knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness? during the 1925 Lions Clubs International Convention.

The International Association of Lions Clubs began as the dream of Chicago businessman Melvin Jones. He believed that local business clubs should expand their horizons from purely professional concerns to the betterment of their communities and the world at large.

Among the objects adopted in those early years was one that read, "No club shall hold out the financial betterment of its members as its object." This call for unselfish service to others remains one of the association's main tenets.

In 1925, Helen Keller addressed the Lions international convention in Cedar Point, Ohio, USA. She challenged Lions to become "knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness." From this time, Lions clubs have been actively involved in service to the blind and visually impaired.

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